Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Samuel 7:1
And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
Ch. 2Sa 7:1-29. The Promise of Perpetual Dominion to the house of David
=1 Chronicles 17. Cp. Psa 89:19-37
1 3. David’s desire to build a house for the Lord
1. when the king sat in his house ] When the king dwelt in his house, which he had built in the “city of David” (ch. 2Sa 5:9; 2Sa 5:11; 1Ch 14:1). At what period of his reign David formed this resolution to build a temple cannot be exactly determined. On the one hand the emphatic words “when the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies” (cp. 2Sa 7:9) seem to point to a time after some at least of the wars recorded in ch. 8. On the other hand it was before the birth of Solomon ( 2Sa 7:12), and so cannot be placed in the latter years of his reign. The arrangement of the book is not strictly chronological, and this narrative finds a most suitable place here from its close connexion with the subject of the preceding chapter.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
There is no indication how soon after the bringing up of the ark these things occurred, but it was probably at no long interval.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Sa 7:1-17
I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
Proposal to build a temple
1. The spirit of David was essentially active and fond of work. Even in Eastern countries, with their proverbial stillness and conservatism, such men are sometimes found, but they are far more common elsewhere. Great undertakings do not frighten them; they have spirit enough for a lifetime of effort, they never seem weary of pushing on. When they look on the disorders of the world, they are not content with the languid utterance, Something must be done; they consider what it is possible for them to do, and gird themselves to the doing of it. For some time David seems to have found ample scope for his active energies in subduing the Philistines and other hostile tribes that were yet mingled with the Israelites, and that had long given them much annoyance. When all his enemies were quieted, and he sat in his house, he began to consider to what work of internal improvement he would now give his attention. Was it right that there should be such a contrast between the dwelling-place of David and the dwelling-place of God? It was the very argument that was afterwards used by Haggai and Zechariah after the return from captivity, to rouse the languid zeal of their countrymen for the re-erection of the house of God. Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your celled houses and this house lie waste? A generous heart, even though it is a godless one, is uncomfortable When surrounded by elegance and luxury, while starvation and misery prevail in its neighbourhood. To the feelings of the godly a disreputable place of worship, contrasting meanly with the taste and elegance of the hall, or even the villa, is a pain and a reproach. What we have more need to look at is the disproportion of the sums paid by rich men, and even by men who can hardly be called rich, in gratifying their own tastes and in extending the kingdom of Christ. Wealth which remunerates honest and wholesome labour is not all selfishly thrown away. But it is somewhat strange that we hear so seldom of rich Christian men devoting their superfluous wealth to maintaining a mission station with a full staff of labourers, or to the rearing of colleges, or hospitals, or Christian institutions, which might provide on a large scale for Christian activity in ways that might be wonderfully useful. It is in this direction that there is most need to press the example of David.
2. When the thought of building a temple occurred to David, he conferred on the subject with the prophet Nathan. Nathan was to inform David that, unlike Saul, he was not to be the only one of his race to occupy the throne; his son would reign after he was gathered to his fathers, the kingdom would be established in his bands, and the throne of his kingdom would be established for ever. To this favoured son of his would be entrusted the honour of building the temple, God would be his father, and he would be Gods son. The proposal which David had made to build a temple was declined. The time for a change, though drawing near, had not yet arrived. The curtain-canopied tabernacle had been designed by God to wean His people from these sensuous ideas of worship to which the magnificent temples of Egypt had accustomed them, and to give them the true idea of a spiritual service, though not without the visible emblem of a present God. The time had not yet arrived for changing this simple arrangement. God could impart His blessing in the humble tent as well as in the stately temple.
3. But the message through Nathan contained also elements of encouragement, chiefly with reference to Davids offspring, and to the stability and permanence of his throne. To appreciate the value of this promise for the future, we must bear in mind the great insecurity of new dynasties in Eastern countries, and the fearful tragedies that were often perpetrated to get rid of the old kings family, and prepare the way for some ambitious and unscrupulous usurper. To David, therefore, it was an unspeakable comfort to be assured that his dynasty would be a stable dynasty; that his son would reign after him. A father naturally desires peace and prosperity for his children, and if he extends his view down the generations, the desire is strong that it may be well with them and with their seed for ever. But no father, in ordinary circumstances, can flatter himself that his posterity shall escape their share of the current troubles and calamities of life.
4. The emotions roused in David by tills communication were alike delightful and exuberant. He takes no notice of the disappointment–of his not being permitted to build the temple. Ally regret that this might occasion is swallowed up by his delight in the store of blessing actually promised. And here we may see a remarkable instance of Gods way of dealing with His peoples prayers. Virtually, if not formally, David had asked of God to permit him to build a temple to His name. That petition, bearing though it did very directly on Gods glory, is not vouchsafed. But in refusing him that request, He makes over to him mercies of far higher reach and importance. And how often does God do so! How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their prayers not being answered, in God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future.
5. It is a striking scene that is presented to us when David went in, and sat before the Lord. It is the only instance in Scripture in which any one is said to have taken the attitude of sitting while pouring his heart out to God. Yet the nature of the communion was in keeping with the attitude. We seem to see in this prayer the very best of David–much intensity of feeling, great humility, wondering gratitude, holy intimacy and trust, and supreme satisfaction in the blessing of God. We see him walking in the wry light of Gods countenance, and supremely happy. The joy of David in this act of fellowship with God was the purest of which human beings are capable. It was indeed a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh that men would but acquaint themselves with God and be at peace! (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
Davids desire to build a temple
I. Davids counsel and purpose to build the temple allowed by man but disallowed by God.
1. First, the moving cause of this counsel was the peace God had given him now round about.
2. Second, Nathans over-hasty approving of Davids purpose (v. 3) before he had well considered it in his own mind, or consulted with God about it. This was Nathans private opinion, but not by Divine revelation, which showeth, that the prophets did not always speak by prophetical inspiration, but sometimes as private men by a human prudence.
3. Third, God suffers not His servants to lie long under mistakes. He comes to Nathan that night to rectify both his and Davids error (2Sa 7:4-7), from whence:
(1) This mistake arose from a pious mind, therefore God soon discovers it, and reveals His will therein (Php 3:15).
(2) David thought, because God had promised there should a house be built him, when Israel was once settled in Canaan (Deu 12:10-11), that now the time was come, and he was the man whom God had designed to do this great work.
(3) God took this pious purpose of Davids so well that he accepted of the will for the deed (1Ki 8:18, and 2Co 8:12). Nay, God doth not only graciously accept it, but he doth bountifully reward it (v. 10, 11), etc., here, as if David had done the deed.
(4) This Divine acceptance of Davids pious purpose (as if it had been a performance) was signified by Gods calling him twice over My servant David (v. 5, 8).
II. The reasons God rendered to David why he was refused to build the temple.
1. He was a martial man, and had shed much blood. The temple was a type of the church built by Christ, that Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), therefore saith God, I reserve this piece of service for thy son Solomon, whose name signifies peaceable.
2. It was meet the shadow should be suitable to the substance.
2. A second reason is rendered by Solomon (1Ki 5:3), that God had designed David soon after this transaction to wage war with the nations round about Israel, therefore could he look for little leisure to carry on so great and glorious a fabric.
3. The third reason of Gods refusing David for this work is found in this Divine oracle to David here, saying, there is no necessity or present haste for building Me a house, seeing that a tent has given Me content to dwell in, ever since Israels coming out of Egypt, and so will be still till My time be come; yet as I have been hitherto all-sufficient unto Israel, so will be as efficacious to them from the ark of My presence in the tabernacle, as if it were magnificently fixed in the temple.
4. The oracle of God secretly taxeth David for being too preposterous in his zeal, saying all the judges of Israel were willing to wait for a Divine warrant to this great work, none of them durst undertake it for want of my commanding warrant, and wilt not thou wait also? Zeal must be rightly timed (1Ch 17:6.) (C. Ness.)
The sanctuary for the people
I. The sanctuary, in Davids view was the house of the Lord. The sanctuary signifies a holy or a sanctified place–a dwelling-place of the Most High–a place where people assembled to honour God and worship Him in the spirit of liberality and holiness.
II. In the sanctuary, work must be done for the world. The religion of Christ reaches out to the lost and the undone. Giving is not a hindrance but a help. The poorest as well as the richest feel that it is a blessed privilege to give. The widows mite has a right to a place in the aggregations which support missions and which build up the waste places.
III. The sanctuary is the training-place for the nobler nature. Business is laid aside. The sharpness, the grasping, the watching, the suspicious spirit may be banished.
IV. The condition of the sanctuary evidences our regard for God. What we do for friends at home attests our love for those committed to our keeping. So what is done for the sanctuary proves the regard cherished for every effort put forth to promote the glory of God and advance the interests Of our fellow-men. David felt this when he called attention to the fact that he dwelt in cedar while the ark of God dwelt within curtains. He did not desire to build the temple to save his soul, but because of his love for God and of his desire to promote the interests of His cause. (J. D. Fulton, D. D.)
The intended temple
David looking at his own personal comfort did not say, Let me now enjoy it; I have paid dearly for it; everything in my house cost me blood; if any man is entitled to a long quiet afternoon in life, I am the man; I am thankful for this tranquillity, and nothing shall disturb it. Men of Davids quality never made speeches of that kind: their peace is in their activity; their Sabbath is in their worship. So, said David, look at the condition of affairs: I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwelleth within curtains, etc. Truly, he was a poet with a fine sense of rhythm. Were a syllable too-much in a line it would afflict him like the puncture of an edged instrument. Without studying letters, he knew when things swung in astronomic rhythm and balance and harmony. We may have lost that fine sense of unity and practical poesy; some men have lost it in speech. God has set all things in relation. He is a God of order. He has published the universe as a poem, and all his goings fall into noble sequence. We must study that spirit and pray for it, so that we cannot rest while a picture is out of square, whilst a pillar that ought to be upright is leaning a little to the right or to the left. We ought to be flung into disorder and sense of shame by a false colour, a false note. But while this is impossible to us in a practical way, what is possible to us is a sense of moral justice, a sense of righteous relation, a sense of what is due to God. To be at ease whilst His house is without a roof is to proclaim oneself no child of Heaven.
1. Having come into personal comfort, David will do good. That is the right expression of gratitude. What can I do for the Church? What can I do for the poor? Having read many books, and acquired some information, what can I do for the ignorant?
2. Nathan and David settled the matter according to their own will. Nathan was a man who might perhaps be not indisposed to agree with the king whatever he said. He may come to another temper under Divine ministry; for that we must wait. The idea struck Nathan as a good one. Nathan had no objection. He said, The idea is beautiful; carry it out instantaneously; the Lord is evidently with thee; that is a thought the image and superscription of which cannot be mistaken; and Nathan went home to sleep. There are some things that appear to need no judgment. There are some proposals that are so beautiful and precious that we at once accept them, endorse them, and pass them on to fulfilment, and then retire to rest. The Lord taught David another lesson; he said: This thing is all wrong; it is out of season; there is much more to be done before this man can advance in the direction he has proposed: my house must not be built by his hands; I have an interest in my house: I care for the masonry as well as for the sanctuary. No blasphemer ought to be engaged in building the walls of a cathedral; no flippant man ought to touch the meanest part of Gods house; and no man of blood should build s temple.
3. Yet how gentle is the Most High! Who can speak like God? It is the dignity that gives the value to the condescension. The lesson which God taught to David is to trust the providence which has been good from the very first:–Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote,–so I am not going to forsake thee; if I had taken thee from a throne, reasoning in another direction might have been at least partially justified, but I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. God will have His providence judged as a whole–that is to say, he will have the mind thrown back to the point of origin, and have all the days linked, like loops of gold, like loops of light; then he will say to the subject of His gracious government: Look back at the beginning; count the days; read between the lines; study the whole, and see how all the time I have been building thee a house; and, until that house is finished, wait! What peace it would give to us all if we could adopt this holy method of criticism I Look at the beginning: Where were we? What were we? How have we been trained, watched, defended!
4. God further shows that all things are critically timed: Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (v. 12)–But God never sleeps. He says: I will put thee to rest, O brave soldier, chivalrous grand heart I will close thine eyelids, stained with rivers of tears; I bury the universe. We must leave something for the future to do. All things are written down in Gods book. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Significance of the ark within curtains
Was not that long continuance in the humble tabernacle intended to make plain the contrast between this God and the gods who were enshrined in the massive structures that Israel had seen in Egypt? Was it not a lesson, even in the days when Israel needed some accommodation to its weakness in the shape of symbolical and ceremonial worship, that He dwelleth not in temples made with hands? Was it not an early gleam of the perfect day–a protest as strong as could then be made against localising the Divine presence and creating sacred places? The degree of religious development in Israel could not yet dispense with all localising, but the minimum of it was attained by the dwelling of the ark in the tabernacle; and there was a danger, which experience proved to be only too real, that a gorgeous temple should become the tomb of religion rather than the dwelling-place of God. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The church contrasted with the palace
The cedar was largely used for decorative purposes throughout the whole East. In Nineveh and its Remains, Layard thus describes the internal appearance of an Assyrian building: The ceilings . . . were divided into square compartments, painted with flowers, or with the figures of animals. Some were inlaid with ivory, each compartment being surrounded by elegant borders and mouldings. The beams, as well as the sides of the chambers, may have been gilded, or even plated with gold and silver; and the rarest woods, in which the cedar was conspicuous, were used for the woodwork. (Zep 2:14; Jer 22:14; 1Ki 6:15; 1Ki 7:3.) The true relation of the houses of men to the house of God may be illustrated from Ancient Athens. The dwelling-houses of Athens were mean; its temples were the wonder of the world, abounding in all magnificence of wealth and art. (Sunday School Times.)
Remembering Gods house
Mathew Henry says: Note: When God, in His providence, has remarkably done much for us, it should put us upon contriving what we may do for Him and His glory. What shall I render unto the Lord? And John Trapp adds: Ahab dwelt in a palace of ivory, and yet had no thoughts of heart for God and His service. David and Ahab both have their like among the sons of men.
Purpose in life
The great Socialist, Robert Dale Owen, says: I committed one fatal error in my youth, and dearly have I bewailed it; I started in life without an object, even without an ambition. Had I created for myself a definite purpose–literary, artistic, scientific, social, there would have been something to labour for, and to overcome. But the power is gone. I have thrown away a life. I am an unhappy man. Lack of purpose has ruined more lives than has a deliberately-chosen bad purpose. It leaves that life at the mercy of every shabby influence without a guiding principle or unifying power. (H. O. Mackey.)
Communion with God
The narrative presents David–
I. Still concerned for the glory of God. Looking round upon the splendid house he has reared, the contrast between that and the place where was the ark of God grieves him. I dwell in a house of Cedar but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
1. The gratitude of his heart to the Giver of all his mercies is strongly characteristic of the man. His heart was tender as a womans and strong as a heros. True gratitude always acknowledges first the Band Divine. The grateful heart needs no constraint to bring the offering of the first-fruit to the Lord.
2. The piety of David is unmistakably shown here. The needle suddenly disturbed and forced from its centre trembles to return. David is never at rest, never restful, until he is obeying and serving God. A gracious soul will always revolt from meanness towards Gods house and luxury toward his own. Devoted souls love to consecrate wealth and leisure to God. Gracious hearts can never do enough for God. These remove the reason for the sarcasm of the infidel, that, judged by the houses they are said to dwell in, the Christians gods are very human.
II. Gods reply and Davids reception thereof.
1. The purpose in Davids heart is accepted.
2. The actual building of the Temple is denied him. Generous impulses should be taken to God. He speeds not who tries to run before the Lord sends him. Impatient hurry is apt to lead astray.
3. A wonderful promise is given him. Dr. Kennicott, Bishop Horsley, and others point out that the Hebrew verb translated If he commit iniquity is not in the active but in the passive voice, and thus the passage would be rendered, I will be his Father, and he shall be my son: even in his suffering for iniquity I shall chasten him with the rod of men (with the rod due to men), and with the stripes (due to) the children of men. Another view is presented in Psa 89:1-52. It is not the king himself but his children that are supposed to transgress and require correction, but out of faithfulness to them their chastisements are not to be destructive. Dr. Gifford, in his Voices of the Prophets, thus writes:–The seed which shall be of Davids sons must be some descendant later than Solomon; and the whole description is such as cannot be applied to a mortal king, or only as far as he is type of one greater than himself. It points to eternal and spiritual truth prefigured and embodied in the Kingdom of David to be realised in the Kingdom of his Son. David seems to have grasped the double application of this prophecy, to have risen to the prophetic within the promise. Reference to his Psalms will clearly establish this (62, 45, and 110.). And also study of Davids prayer and thanksgiving will establish this.
4. Davids reception of the promise. His heart is filled with warmest emotions of gratitude and delight. Large as the promise would be if confined to Solomon, it would scarcely account for the profound humility and reverence depicted in the language used by David. His emotions are irrepressible. (H. E. Stone.)
Concern for religious things
Davids self is all right, but in the nobility of the grace that God has given to him, his thoughts are away from self and upon God. What ails John Welsh that he rises at a most unseasonable time to wrap his plaid about him, and sob, and groan, and cry? The ark of God–that is, Scotland–is within curtains, is being buffeted by the winds of indifference, and that robs the eyelids of John Welsh of their sleep, and he tells his wife that he cannot rest, for he has the souls of three thousand to answer for, and he knows not how it is with many of them. John Welsh is like David, concerned not for himself, but for God. Ah, the times have been in this land when men were burdened with the public state, when a Christless generation would lie heavily on the hearts of the covenanted people, when sleep would fly, and groans and tears would come for the wickedness of the land. Campbell, of Kinnioncleugh, what ails you? You are in the covenant of grace, and the tears, bitter and salt, are running down your cheeks. What is the sorrow? What is the burden? Has the Lord forsaken you? They ask him, Why this agony and groaning? He replied, It is the ark in Scotland that I am concerned about. It is Scotlands kirk that I am troubled about. Ah! there are few now burdened about Scotlands kirk. As prosperity and wealth come, the spiritual drought and spiritual darkness, and the awful indifference of a generation that will not have God, do not lie as burdens, as they should, on our hearts. We are content with the houses of cedar; we are content, and we rub our hands in a kind of competing glory in church extension. Denomination after denomination is rushing on for denominational objects, and the unholy fire is being spread abroad, while all the time Gods ark is within curtains, the people axe unsaved, and their hearts are empty of love to Jesus. (J. Robertson.)
Self-denying grace needed in the church
Do you know the problem in the heathen field? Do you know why those Chinese and those heathen tribes refuse to come to Christ? It is because they do not believe in our earnestness. For every commercial post there are a thousand applicants; for every chance to get the gold that perisheth, there are competitors by the score; but to tell the story of redeeming love, one is considered sufficient for a province containing two million souls. Oh, this awful blame that lies at the door of the professing Church of Christ! We are dwelling in cedar while the ark of the Lord is buffeted by the storms. Real grace cannot be content with self, with the house of cedar. Because our wealthy churches have no missionary spirit, have no self-denying, but are wasting their givings on self, the poorer parts of the cities and the heathen fields are left struggling and helpless. Verily God in His day will judge the so-called Christian communities. Oh, for more of the self denying grace that David had! He felt that the very house of cedar was about to tumble down upon him while the ark of God was exposed to the storms of the night. (J. Robertson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER VII
David consults the prophet Nathan about building a temple for
the Lord, and is encouraged by him to do it, 1-3.
That night Nathan receives a revelation from God, stating that
Solomon, not David, should build the temple, 4-16.
Nathan delivers the Divine message, and David magnifies God for
his mercies, and makes prayer and supplication, 17-29.
NOTES ON CHAP. VII
Verse 1. When the king sat in his house] That is, when he became resident in the palace which Hiram, king of Tyre, had built for him.
And the Lord had given him rest] This was after he had defeated the Philistines, and cast them out of all the strong places in Israel which they had possessed after the overthrow of Saul; but before he had carried his arms beyond the land of Israel, against the Moabites, Syrians, and Idumeans. See 2Sa 8:1-14.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
When the king sat in his house, i.e. was settled and warm in the house which Hirams men built for him, 2Sa 5:11; then he reflected upon the unhandsome and unsettled state of the ark. From all his enemies, Philistines, Moabites, and others; so that they durst not invade his land, as they had formerly done; for though you read of Davids wars with them, 2Sa 8, yet in them David was the aggressor, and entered their lands.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house,…. Which Hiram’s servants had built for him, having no occasion to go out to war:
and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; both at home and abroad; though this rest and peace did not last long; for the next chapter gives an account of each of the people he was engaged in war with, 2Sa 8:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2Sa 7:1-3 When David was dwelling in his house, i.e., the palace of cedar (2Sa 5:11), and Jehovah had given him rest from all his enemies round about, he said to Nathan the prophet: “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, and the ark of God dwelleth within the curtains.” in the singular is used, In Exo 26:2., to denote the inner covering, composed of a number of lengths of tapestry sewn together, which was spread over the planks of the tabernacle, and made it into a dwelling, whereas the separate pieces of tapestry are called in the plural; and hence, in the later writers, alternates sometimes with (Isa 54:2), and at other times with (Son 1:5; Jer 4:20; Jer 49:29). Consequently refers here to the tent-cloth or tent formed of pieces of tapestry. “Within (i.e., surrounded by) the tent-cloth:” in the Chronicles we find “under curtains.” From the words “when the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about,” it is evident that David did not form the resolution to build the temple in the first years of his reign upon Zion, nor immediately after the completion of his palace, but at a later period (see the remarks on 2Sa 5:11, note). It is true that the giving of rest from all his enemies round about does not definitely presuppose the termination of all the greater wars of David, since it is not affirmed that this rest was a definitive one; but the words cannot possibly be restricted to the two victories over the Philistines (2Sa 5:17-25), as Hengstenberg supposes, inasmuch as, however important the second may have been, their foes were not even permanently quieted by them, to say nothing of their being entirely subdued. Moreover, in the promise mentioned in 2Sa 7:9, God distinctly says, “I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies before thee.” These words also show that at that time David had already fought against all the enemies round about, and humbled them. Now, as all David’s principal wars are grouped together for the first time in 2 Samuel 8 and 10, there can be no doubt that the history is not arranged in a strictly chronological order. And the expression “after this” in 2Sa 8:1 is by no means at variance with this, since this formula does not at all express a strictly chronological sequence. From the words of the prophet, “Go, do all that is in thy heart, for the Lord is with thee,” it is very evident that David had expressed the intention to build a splendid palatial temple. The word , go (equivalent to “quite right”), is omitted in the Chronicles as superfluous. Nathan sanctioned the king’s resolution “from his own feelings, and not by divine revelation” (J. H. Michaelis); but he did not “afterwards perceive that the time for carrying out this intention had not yet come,” as Thenius and Bertheau maintain; on the contrary, the Lord God revealed to the prophet that David was not to carry out his intention at all.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| David’s Care of the Ark. | B. C. 1042. |
1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
Here is, I. David at rest. He sat in his house (v. 1), quiet and undisturbed, having no occasion to take the field: The Lord had given him rest round about, from all those that were enemies to his settlement in the throne, and he set himself to enjoy that rest. Though he was a man of war, he was for peace (Ps. cxx. 7) and did not delight in war. He had not been long at rest, nor was it long before he was again engaged in war; but at present he enjoyed a calm, and he was in his element when he was sitting in his house, meditating in the law of God.
II. David’s thought of building a temple for the honour of God. He had built a palace for himself and a city for his servants; and now he thinks of building a habitation for the ark. 1. Thus he would make a grateful return for the honours God put upon him. Note, When God, in his providence, has remarkably done much for us, it should put us upon contriving what we may do for him and his glory. What shall I render unto the Lord? 2. Thus he would improve the present calm, and make a good use of the rest God had given him. Now that he was not called out to serve God and Israel in the high places of the field, he would employ his thoughts, and time, and estate, in serving him another way, and not indulge himself in ease, much less in luxury. When God, in his providence, gives us rest, and finds us little to do of worldly business, we must do so much the more for God and our souls. How different were the thoughts of David when he sat in his palace from Nebuchadnezzar’s when he walked in his!Dan 4:29; Dan 4:30. That proud man thought of nothing but the might of his own power, and the honour of his own majesty; this humble soul is full of contrivance how to glorify God, and give honour to him. And how God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace and glory to the humble, the event showed. David considered (v. 2) the stateliness of his own habitation (I dwell in a house of cedar) and compared with that the meanness of the habitation of the ark (the ark dwells within curtains), and thought this incongruous, that he should dwell in a palace and the ark in a tent. David had been uneasy till he found out a place for the ark (Psa 132:4; Psa 132:5), and now he is uneasy till he finds out a better place. Gracious grateful souls, (1.) Never think they can do enough for God, but, when they have done much, are still projecting to do more and devising liberal things. (2.) They cannot enjoy their own accommodations while they see the church of God in distress and under a cloud. David can take little pleasure in a house of cedar for himself, unless the ark have one. Those who stretched themselves upon beds of ivory, and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, though they had David’s music, had not David’s spirit (Amo 6:4; Amo 6:6) nor those who dwelt in their ceiled houses while God’s house lay waste.
III. His communicating this thought to Nathan the prophet. He told him, as a friend and confidant, whom he used to advise with. Could not David have gone about it himself? Was it not a good work? Was not he himself a prophet? Yes, but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. David told him, that by him he might know the mind of God. It was certainly a good work, but it was uncertain whether it was the will of God that David should have the doing of it.
IV. Nathan’s approbation of it: Go, do all that is in thy heart; for the Lord is with thee, v. 3. We do not find that David told him that he purposed to build a temple, only that it was a trouble to him that there was not one built, from which Nathan easily gathered what was in his heart, and bade him go on and prosper. Note, We ought to do all we can to encourage and promote the good purposes and designs of others, and put in a good word, as we have opportunity, to forward a good work. Nathan spoke this, not in God’s name, but as from himself; not as a prophet, but as a wise and good man; it was agreeable to the revealed will of God, which requires that all in their places should lay out themselves for the advancement of religion and the service of God, though it seems his secret will was otherwise, that David should not do this. It was Christ’s prerogative always to speak the mind of God, which he perfectly knew. Other prophets spoke it only when the spirit of prophecy was upon them; but, if in any thing they mistook (as Samuel, 1 Sam. xvi. 6, and Nathan here) God soon rectified the mistake.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Second Samuel – Chapter 7 and First Chronicles – Chapter 1
David Conceives a Notion, 2Sa 7:1-3 AND 1Ch 17:1-2
The incident about to be recorded is one of the pivotal events of God’s plan of the ages. It occasions God’s giving of the Davidic covenant, which is a milestone in the unfolding of Messianic prophecy. The time was after David had completed his wars against the Philistines and consolidated his kingdom among the surrounding nations.
The ark is in its sanctuary in the city of Jerusalem. It was now that David conceived the notion that he should construct a palace for the ark, and the idea of the temple was born. Nathan, the prophet, appears here for the first time in the Scriptures. Nothing is known of his origin, but it is apparent that he was a major influence in David’s kingship. To him David expressed his desire to construct a house of cedar, like the king’s palace, for the Lord.
In this first appearance of Nathan, the prophet appears a bit naive, or over-zealous. He was too certain of himself in speaking concerning the will of God. The king’s idea for building a cedar house for the ark and removing it from its tent of curtain seemed good and right. It was meant to honor the Lord, so the prophet assured David that he should do all that was in his heart “for the Lord is with thee.”
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY NOTES
2Sa. 7:1. When the king sat in his house, etc., i.e. the palace mentioned in 2Sa. 5:11. Many commentators place the events of this chapter later on in the life of David, inasmuch as they think it could not be said at this period that he had rest from all his enemies, yet nearly all agree in understanding from 2Sa. 7:11 that Solomon was, not born at the time. It therefore seems necessary to understand the rest spoken of as only a temporary interval of peace (for he was more or less involved in war until the end of his life), and if so, the conception of building a temple to Jehovah seems to follow here most naturally. It is quite in keeping with Davids devout character, and just what we should expect from him, that his first interval of repose should be occupied with such a purpose.
2Sa. 7:2. Nathan, the prophet. This prophet here appears for the first time, and it is evident that he sustained a similar relation to David as Samuel and Gad had done, and as the latter still continued to do (see 2Sa. 24:11-19). If the expression first and last in 2Ch. 9:29 is to be taken literally, he must have lived late into the life of Solomon, in which case he must have been considerably younger than David. At any rate he seems to have been the younger of the two prophets who accompanied him, and may be considered as the latest direct representative of the schools of Samuel. The peculiar affix of the prophet as distinguished from the seer given to Samuel and Gad (1Ch. 29:29) shows his identification with the later view of the prophetic office indicated in 1Sa. 9:9. (Dean Stanley.) Most bible scholars consider that this part of the book of Samuel is at least compiled from Nathans work mentioned in 1Ch. 29:29. Within curtains, literally, within the tent-cloth.
2Sa. 7:3. Nathan said, etc. This answer shows that, even if David did not expressly state his intention, Nathan understood his purpose to build the temple, and sanctioned his design from his own feelings, not by Divine revelation. (Michaelis.)
2Sa. 7:4. That night. The one following the day in which the conversation took place. The Word of the Lord came. By the conversation held with David during the day, Nathans soul with all its thoughts and feelings was concentrated on Davids great and holy purpose; this was the psychological basis for the Divine inspiration. (Erdmann) Shalt thou, etc. The question involves a negative reply. (Keil.)
2Sa. 7:6-7. Here Jehovah gives two reasons why Davids proposal should not be carried out but this does not involve any blame as though there had been any presumption on Davids part but simply showed that it was not because of any negligence on the part of the former leaders of the people that they had not thought of erecting a temple, and that even now the time for such a work had not yet come. (Keil)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.2Sa. 7:1-7
DAVID FORBIDDEN TO BUILD THE TEMPLE
I. A good mans desire may be in harmony with the mind of God, yet its accomplishment may be contrary to the Divine will. It must always be right and always pleasing to a good father for his son to desire to honour him and to express by some outward act his sense of love and gratitude. But while the feeling is in itself most acceptable to him, he may desire it to take some other form of expressing itself, or he may see that some other season will be a more fitting one for this particular outward expression of his childs love and reverence. The feeling which prompts the desire must be right at all seasons, but the accomplishment of the desire may be unseasonable or undesirable. So it was with Davids desire and purpose at this period. It was most fitting and could not but be pleasing to God that David should desire to build Him a house far more beautiful than his own palace. We should feel that David was out of harmony with himself if he had sat contentedly in his palace while the ark of God was within curtains. And it is plain that the feelings which gave birth to his purpose were very acceptable to God, as all grateful emotion and desire to express them must ever be. Yet he was forbidden to carry out his design. Let no good man, then, ever think that, because his desire is not fulfilled it is displeasing to God. It may be quite the opposite. The gratitude and reverence that desires to do something for the glory of God must be most pleasing to such a God as ours; but although the feeling may be genuine and the motive pure, He may see reasons for not permitting the purpose to be carried out.
II. Those who instruct others in the oracles of God may be right in their general interpretation of the Divine will, and yet wrong in their application to special instances. Every servant of God is sure that it is the will of God that His glory shall be the ruling aim, and His service the first thought in the life of His children. But he may sometimes be mistaken as to the best methods of promoting that glory or the best time for undertaking a special service, and he must not therefore be dogmatic on these matters. Nathan was quite right in encouraging David in his endeavours to bring his own people and the surrounding nations into more intimate relation with the God of Israel. Like that of all the good in all ages his prayer was Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee. But right as he was in the general principle, he erred in the special application on this occasion. Although it was quite true that the Lord was with David in the sense of approval of his general feeling, He was not with him in the sense that He would permit him to undertake this particular work.
III. But when Gods servants sincerely desire to do His will, He will not permit them to remain long in ignorance. If a father knows that his children only need to know what is right in order to do it, it would surely be cruel of him to let them remain in ignorance. And when our Heavenly Father sees in His children such integrity of heart that they joyfully acquiesce in His purposes concerning themselves, and desire above all other things His guidance, we cannot for a moment suppose He will withhold from them a revelation of His will. When they are permitted to err, it must be because there is some self-will which prevents entire singleness of purposesome alloy mixed with the pure gold of a desire right in the main. David and Nathan were very soon put in full possession of Gods mind in respect to the building of the temple, and that it was so is a proof of their undivided loyalty to the Divine will, and a pledge that all who are like minded shall be as certainly instructed in the work they are to do and the part they are to fulfil.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
2Sa. 7:2. The sentiment underlying these words was in the highest degree honourable to David. They indicate that he felt it to be a moral anomaly, if not a species of dishonesty, that he should look so well after his own personal comfort and regal dignity, while yet the house of God was but a tent. It were well, in these days, that we all shared these convictions, for we are too apt to lavish our wealth exclusively upon our own enjoyment and indulgence, forgetful of the higher claims which God and His cause have upon us. I say not, indeed, that it is wrong for a man to take such a position in society as his riches warrant him to assume, or that there is sin in spending money on our residences, or in surrounding ourselves with the treasures of human wisdom in books, or the triumphs of human art in pictures or statuary; but I do say that our gifts to the cause of God ought to be at least abreast of our expenditure for these other things; and that if we so cripple ourselves by our extravagance on house, or dress, or luxuries, as to render it impossible for us to do anything for the promotion of the Gospel abroad, or for the instruction of the ignorant at home, we are verily guilty concerning our brethren, and before our God. The principle here acknowledged by David is a thoroughly sound one, and though he was discouraged from applying it in the particular way on which he had set his heart, we must not suppose that his feelings, as expressed to Nathan, were wrong. On the contrary, the spiritual instinct in him was true, and God declared that it was well that it was in his heart. Now what was this principle? It was this, that in proportion as we increase our expenditure upon ourselves for the comforts and the elegancies of life, we ought to increase our offerings to God for the carrying on of works of faith and labours of love among our fellow-men. If we can afford to enter a larger dwelling, we ought to make ourselves afford to add proportionately to our contributions for all good objects. If we allow ourselves to gratify our taste in the purchase of a new picture or a new book, we should feel impelled to do just so much more for the gratification of the impulse of Christian benevolence. The value of this principle, when rightly understood, and conscientiously carried out, will be very great. It will act in two ways. On the one hand, it will keep us from hampering ourselves in our benevolence by personal extravagance, and so be a check on that tendency to luxury which is manifested even in many Christian households. On the other hand, it will impel us to add to our gifts to the Lord Jesus Christ; since every time we do anything for ourselves there will be a new call made upon us to do more for Him.Taylor.
David was not one of those easy-minded men who are content to keep things just as they are, but one of those who are ever pressing onward, and urging others towards progress, improvement, development. A most useful order of mind it is, especially when duly ballasted by minds in which caution is more predominant. The world would stagnatethe church would settle down into the poorest and tamest society on earth, if such men were not raised up, with their trumpet-tongues and burning hearts, to rouse their fellows to high and lofty enterprise.Blaikie.
2Sa. 7:4. God will not suffer His dear children to lie long in error; but if in anything they be otherwise minded, He will reveal even this unto them (Php. 3:15).Trapp.
2Sa. 7:4-5. God demands not so much splendid outward service, but rather an inner and honest service of the heart (Isa. 4:2-4.)Schmid.
God is much more desirous of giving to us than of receiving from us.Wuert. Bible.
The true house of God is His people; there would He make His abode in the hearts of His own. A human heart that opens itself to God is a temple more pleasing to Him than the stateliest structure of gold and marble, and a church that really has the Lord dwelling in its midst is in the sight of God more precious than the noblest showy building which sets all the world a wondering.Schlier.
2Sa. 7:6. The curtained tabernacle had been specially designed by God to wean His people from those sensuous ideas of worship to which the gorgeous temples of Egypt had accustomed them; and to give them the true notion of a spiritual service, along with the visible emblem of a present God. The time had not quite arrived for changing this simple arrangement, and as long as it was Gods pleasure to dwell in the tabernacle so long might David expect that His grace might be shed forth most abundantly there. And so, whenever it seems to be indicated by God in His providence that a body of worshippers should remain in a tent-like building, they may expect that He will then shine forth in the fulness of His grace.Blaikie.
2Sa. 7:8. God signified His good acceptance by calling him His servant David; for at another time when he had offended it was plain David. (2Sa. 24:12.) I took thee from the sheepcote. So that thou needest not to doubt of my love, though I use not thy service in this particular. To be ruler over my people. Do this well, and thou needest not be idle.Trapp.
2Sa. 7:9. Fame.
1. Fame is a gift of Gods providencehence to be enjoyed with humility.
2. Fame is one of Gods noblest giftshence it may be desired and earnestly sought if righteously.
3. Fame, like all other gifts, has weighty responsibilitieshence to be used for the good of men and the glory of God.Translator of Langes Commentary.
2Sa. 7:11. This thought contains the deep general truth that God must first of all build a mans house before the man can build Gods house, and applies it especially to the kingdom of Israel.Keil.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
2. Gods Covenant With David, 2Sa. 7:1-29.
Davids Desire to Build a Temple Thwarted. 2Sa. 7:1-11
And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee,
4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?
6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me a house of cedar?
8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.
11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee a house.
1.
When did David express his desire to build a temple? 2Sa. 7:1
The first part of Davids reign was given over to conquests of surrounding territories. The first seven years of his reign were spent in Hebron as he ruled over the tribe of Judah only. David was obliged to take the city of Jerusalem as his capital. Another of his duties at the beginning of his reign was the centralization of the worship in Jerusalem. He accomplished the major part of this purpose by bringing the Ark up from the house of Abinadab and Obed-edom. He built a temporary structure to house the Ark (2Sa. 6:17). David was entering into the prosperous period of his reign; and the Phoenicians at the instigation of Hiram, King of Tyre, sent cedar trees, carpenters, and masons. They built David a house (2Sa. 5:11). As David viewed his own personal prosperity, he realized that very little provision had been made for a house of the Lord. This prompted him to propose the building of the temple.
2.
How did the Ark dwell within curtains? 2Sa. 7:2
The Ark was kept in a tent or a tabernacle (2Sa. 6:17). This had been the provision made by God for the housing of the Ark when the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness of Sinai. The original structure was described as being a tent with ten curtains (Exo. 26:1). This was the covering of fine-twined linen. Another curtain of goats hair was laid over the tabernacle (Exo. 26:7). In addition, there was a veil hanging inside the tabernacle to separate the holy place from the most holy place (Exo. 26:31). The court itself was enclosed with a curtain (Exo. 27:5). It would be hard to find any better way to describe the tabernacle than to call it a dwelling of curtains.
3.
Who was the Nathan? 2Sa. 7:3
Nathan was a prophet and a close friend of Davids. He seems to take the place formerly occupied by Samuel in the affairs of the king. Some have called him a court prophet. It is probable that his name was the shortened form of Nathanael, the name of one of Jesus apostles (Joh. 1:48-49; Joh. 21:2). Nathan first came to David when he proposed to build the temple. Later, Nathan was sent to rebuke David for his sin with Bathsheba. It is also known that Nathan wrote the history of David (1Ch. 29:29). He was with David even at the time when David was dying (1Ki. 1:11). At first Davids proposal appealed to Nathan; he encouraged him to do all that he planned because it was apparent that the Lord was with David.
4.
How did the word of the Lord come to Nathan? 2Sa. 7:4
God spake in times past in different ways and varied manners as he revealed His will to the fathers by the prophets (Heb. 1:1). On occasions, men saw visions (Joe. 2:28). This expression of the word of the Lord coming to a man was also used with regard to Samuel (1Sa. 15:10). The expression occurs frequently in Jeremiah and Ezekiel; and unless there is a definite statement in the Scripture, it is impossible to tell whether the word came by an audible voice, a dream, a vision, or some other manner. There was no question about its being the word of the Lord, and Nathan spoke what God had told him to reveal to David.
5.
Why did God oppose Davids proposal? 2Sa. 7:5
The first reason given for not building the temple was that it was contrary to precedent. God said that His dwelling place had not been a house from the time that He brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt until Davids time. Through all those ages God had used a tent or a tabernacle as a place for His worship. Joshua had established the tabernacle in Shiloh (Jos. 18:1). The tabernacle had remained there throughout the three hundred years of the judges and it was still there when Samuel was born (1Sa. 1:3). God reminded David that He had not said anything about building a house.
6.
Who was to feed Gods people? 2Sa. 7:7
From the context it is apparent that God is speaking of different tribes whom he had commanded to lead His people Israel. Throughout the time of the judges, men of different tribes were raised up to be leaders. Othniel, the first judge, was of the tribe of Judah (Jdg. 3:9). Ehud, the second judge, was from Benjamin (Jdg. 3:15). Deborah, the only female leader, was from Ephraim (Jdg. 4:5). Other judges were from Manasseh, Gilead, Naphtali and Dan. To none of these men from the different tribes had God ever given an order to build a permanent residence for the Ark.
7.
What blessings had God showered upon David? 2Sa. 7:8-9
God reminded David that he had brought him from the sheepcote. This was where Samuel had found him when he went to Bethlehem to anoint a king. God reminded David that he had made him ruler over Israel. First David had been king over only one tribe, but finally he was brought to the place where he ruled over all his people. God reminded David that He had been with him wherever he had gone throughout the wanderings as he fled from Saul. God had been with him and spared his life. God had cut off all his enemies, so that he had peace in his kingdom. Only recently in his career David had been victorious over the Philistines; these were the people who had oppressed most persistently; but in all his campaigns against them, he had been successful. Finally, God had made a great name for David. His reputation had reached to the Phoenician kingdom in the north; and Hiram, their king, had sent messengers to express his good will (2Sa. 5:11). Remembering these blessings would soften the blow of disappointment which was to be Davids as God told him that he could not build the temple.
8.
What blessings did God promise to Israel? 2Sa. 7:10
God told David that He would appoint a place for his people. He gave them the land of Canaan as their inheritance. He also promised to establish them there. They were to be planted in Palestine. Their roots were to go down deep, and this was to be their perpetual inheritance. God said that these Israelites would dwell in a place of their own and move no more. They had been nomads, driven from pillar to post. Abraham and Isaac had sojourned in tents. Jacob had died in the foreign country of Egypt. The descendants of Jacob had been slaves for four hundred years in a land that was not their own. God had brought them into a place that was their own, and this was to be their land. Although in later history they disobeyed God and were driven out, they have been allowed to return and establish the nation of Israel. In a very real and unusual sense Palestine belongs to the Jews. God said that the children of wickedness would not afflict His people any more as beforetime. How far into the future this reaches, man unheeded by Divine guidance cannot say for sure. The forty years of Davids reign plus the forty years of Solomons grandeur, would fulfill this prophecy. Gods people were to enjoy a long stay in the promised land. The children of wickedness did not afflict them any more as they had in their former years.
9.
What blessing did God promise to David? 2Sa. 7:11
God promised to build a house for David. Since David already had a building in which to live, this reference can only be to the fact that his family is to be established as a royal family. David wanted to build God a house out of stone and wood. He was not to be given this privilege, but God was to build him a house that would live for generations. Sauls house had been deposed. His family was not allowed to continue to rule over Israel. Davids house was to be established as the ruling family in Israel.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(1) Had given him rest.No intimation is given of how long this may have been after the events narrated in the last chapter; but it is evident that this narrative is placed here, not because it followed chronologically, but because it is closely related in subject, and the historian, after telling of the removal of the ark, wished to record in that connection Davids further purposes in the same direction. It must have been after the successful close of Davids principal foreign warsrest round about from all his enemiesand the future in 2Sa. 7:10 does not necessarily imply that it was before the birth of Solomon; yet it is more likely to have been in a time of quiet prosperity, before the troubles of his latter years.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
DAVID’S PURPOSE TO BUILD THE TEMPLE, AND NATHAN’S MESSAGE FROM GOD CONCERNING IT, 2Sa 7:1-17.
1. Sat in his house Became established in his royal palace on Zion.
Had given him rest It was a time of national peace and quiet, not, however, after all David’s wars.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
David Determines To Build A House Of Cedar For YHWH Like His Own, An Offer Which YHWH Graciously Refuses ( 2Sa 7:1-7 ).
It was natural that looking around at his own palace, with which he was clearly delighted, (a palace of cedar represented the height of even a king’s ambition, it was the height of luxury and a firm seal on his grandeur), David should consider that YHWH ought also to enjoy such a house. He did not, of course, realise it, but by this he was basically bringing YHWH down to his own materialistic level. He was soon to be reminded that YHWH had no such ambitions and was not to be so bound. YHWH was not interested in a local palace (even though later He would graciously allow them to build one. How we love to tie Him down to a place).
This suggestion follows naturally on what occurred in the last chapter. There the Ark of YHWH had been brought into Jerusalem and placed in a specially made Tent. Now David was thinking beyond that to placing it in a permanent home, a House of cedar. But what David was forgetting was that the Ark of YHWH was the Ark of the God of Battle, of the God of power and movement, of the God of justice, not the Ark of a God of comfortable palaces and soft living. Indeed it would be because David spent too much time in his palace of cedar at the time when kings went forth to war that he would sin with Bathsheba (chapter 11). We need to beware of ‘houses of cedar’ (Jer 22:14).
Analysis.
a
b And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for YHWH is with you” (2Sa 7:3).
c And it came about the same night, that the word of YHWH came to Nathan (2Sa 7:4).
b Saying, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says YHWH, Will you build me a house for me to dwell in?’ ” (2Sa 7:5).
a “For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” (2Sa 7:6-7).
Note that in ‘a’ David bewails the fact that he dwells in a house of cedar while YHWH dwells in a tent, and in the parallel YHWH declares that He has always dwelt in a tent while He has been with His people, ever since they left Egypt (first the Tent of Meeting and then the Tabernacle), and had never asked to have a house of cedar built for Him. In ‘b’ Nathan tells David he can go ahead, and in the parallel he has to rescind his instruction. Centrally in ‘c’ YHWH responds that same night.
2Sa 7:1-2
‘ And it came about, when the king dwelt in his house, and YHWH had given him rest from all his enemies round about, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within curtains.”
This revelation clearly comes a good way into David’ reign, for it occurs once he himself was established in his house of cedar (2Sa 5:11), a house which would have taken a good while to build, and was in fact built by Hiram of Tyre who himself ruled towards the end of David’s reign. It also occurs once David had been given rest from all his enemies, in other words when he had finally established his empire.
It is a tribute to David’s genuine feeling for YHWH that at such a time his thoughts should turn towards how he could show his gratitude to YHWH for all that He had done for him. And as he looked around at his house of cedar he began to think how wrong it was that he should have such a magnificent palace while, the Ark of God only had a tent made of curtains for its resting place. We must not, of course, trivialise this by assuming that David had a limited view of YHWH as bound to a tent. Quite apart from the high view of God that he constantly reveals in his Psalms (consider 2 Samuel 22; Psalms 2; Psalms 89), he brought up his son to recognise that ‘even the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain you’ (1Ki 8:27). And he undoubtedly knew that YHWH was continually active wherever he himself went, whether at home or abroad. Nevertheless it quite understandably felt wrong to him that, among men, YHWH’s earthly dwellingplace should simply be a place made only of curtains. (His thinking is a reminder of how often we seek to fit God within our limited perceptions and ideas).
But to his credit he did not just steam ahead and build it. He called on Nathan to in order to discover what God’s view on the matter was.
2Sa 7:3
‘ And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for YHWH is with you.” ’
It is interesting that Nathan the prophet at first went along with David. He was equally confused. He wholly approved of the idea, and assured David that YHWH was with him. This may have meant that he thought that YHWH agreed with the proposal (in which case he spoke without consulting YHWH), but more likely it was simply his reminder to David that YHWH generally fully supported David by His presence in all that he did (‘is with you’), and would therefore no doubt approve. It did however, await sanction from On High.
2Sa 7:4
‘ And it came about the same night, that the word of YHWH came to Nathan, saying,
And sure enough that same night, probably as he was seeking the face of YHWH, the word of YHWH came to Nathan. It is a reminder that YHWH knew what David had said and was fully aware of what was going on (how often we forget this). Note the inference that YHWH wanted David to know immediately that he must not go ahead. He did not want him to go ahead with his plans and then be disappointed, or even humiliated.
2Sa 7:5-6
“ Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says YHWH, Will you build me a house for me to dwell in?’ For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.”
His words commenced with a reminder that David was His servant. It was a clear reminder that great king David might be, but he served a Greater. He was as much under YHWH’s command as the least of the servants in the household were under his. But it was also a title of honour (it would be one of the titles of the greatest Servant of all – Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12; Mar 10:45). It was no light thing to serve YHWH. This is a balance that we, as His servants, must always maintain. On the one hand those who serve YHWH are greatly privileged. On the other they must be humble. They must remember that they are appointed solely to humbly do His bidding, not their own.
He then questioned what David had determined to do, and asked on what grounds he thought that he had the right to alter the situation that had always stood (i.e. the ‘status quo’)? Did he not realise that YHWH had always been pleased to dwell in a tent, ever since He had delivered His people out of Israel? And more, He had wanted to live in a tent, because He had wanted to be alongside His people, and to live as they lived. He had wanted to share with all of them in their lifestyles and in their sufferings. It was a reminder that although He dwelt in the High and Holy Place, He also dwelt with those who were of a humble and contrite spirit (Isa 57:15), and shared their afflictions. He did not want His people to feel that He was ‘above them’. He wanted them to know that He was One with them in their pains.
Nor did He need the self-aggrandisement of a house of cedar. If a Temple was to be built which would adequately portray His glory it would require to cover the whole earth, for the whole earth is full of His glory. As Solomon would say, ‘even the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house that I have built’. Thus a Tent better represented His glory, for it was a reminder that He was too great for anything more splendid, which could therefore only be seen as temporary accommodation.
2Sa 7:7
“ In all places in which I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with anyone of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”
Let David think about it. Did he not realise that YHWH had called many to be shepherds of His people Israel, just as He had David? But let him consider this. In all the places where He had walked with them, had He ever commanded that they build Him a house of cedar? The answer expected was ‘No!’ It was undoubtedly a gentle rebuke, while recognising David’s goodwill, for He was reminding David that David’s thoughts were not His thoughts, and that David did not see things as He saw them. What could a house of cedar mean to the invisible One Who dwelt on High (2Sa 22:10-14) and was constantly surrounded by the host of Heaven (Deu 33:2; 1Ki 22:19), of which the cherubim on the Ark were but a symbol? A tent indeed best represented Him, for it was a reminder that His permanent dwelling was not among men, and that no Temple could be splendid enough to reveal His glory.
All this was in total contrast with the gods of other nations who, according to their nation’s literature, were obsessed with the idea of a Temple being built for them, and conditioned their future rewards and blessings to kings on that fact. Their view was ‘you look after me and I will look after you’ (a theology of works). YHWH’s very different approach was ‘Forget the Temple. I will look after you, and I will continue to look after you’ (a theology of grace)..
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Sa 7:1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2Sa 7:1
2Sa 5:11, “And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.”
2Sa 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
2Sa 7:14
2Sa 7:15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
2Sa 7:16 2Sa 7:16
2Sa 7:12-17 Comments – A Prophecy of the Messiah as King 2Sa 7:12-17 is a prophecy of the Messiah as King. Although Solomon’s sin of idolatry was the cause of the northern kingdom being torn away from his son Rehoboam, God preserved the tribe of Judah for the lineage of David (1Ki 11:13), thus fulfilling the prophecy of this passage.
1Ki 11:13, “Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
2Sa 7:18 Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
2Sa 7:18
2Sa 7:23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
2Sa 7:23
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The News Announced to David
v. 1. And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, v. 2. that the king said unto Nathan, the prophet, v. 3. And Nathan, v. 4. And it came to pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, v. 5. Go and tell My servant David, v. 6. Whereas I have not dwelt in any house, v. 7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why build ye not Me an house of cedar? v. 8. Now, therefore, so shalt thou say unto My servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, v. 9. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, v. 10. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, v. 11. and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. v. 12. And when thy days be fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, v. 13. He shall build an house for My name, v. 14. I will be His Father, and He shall be My Son. If he commit iniquity, v. 15. But my mercy shall not depart away from Him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee, v. 16. And thine house and thy kingdom, v. 17. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
2Sa 7:1
When the king sat in his house. The order is not chronological; for the words, Jehovah had given him rest from all his enemies round about (so the Revised Version, rightly), imply the successful termination, not of all wars necessarily, but certainly of something more than that with the Philistine invaders in the Rephaim valley. A general summary of all David’s wars is given in 2Sa 8:1-18; and it was probably after he had subdued the Philistines and Moab, and his throne was now fully established, that in some time of peace, possibly before Hanun forced him into wars which won for him an empire, David sent for Nathan, and told him his full desire. Its position here immediately after the account of the bringing of the ark to Zion has a higher unity than that of chronology. It shows that David had always a larger purpose than the mere placing of the ark in its feint; and, as soon as a period of tranquillity arrived, he confided his thoughts to the prophet. Thus, with only one step taken towards his whole plan, David exercised a wise moderation in leaving the service at Gibeon unmolested. As regards the word “rest,” we have to distinguish between the first series of wars, which established David firmly on his throne, and the second series, which gave him widespread dominion.
2Sa 7:2
A house of cedar; Hebrew, cedars. As these trees were sent by Hiram, and as the house was built, and David now settled in it, some considerable time must have elapsed since his accession. Moreover, the league with Hiram would be the result of David’s successes recorded in 2Sa 8:1; for the bond of union between the two was their mutual fear of the Philistines. As we have seen before, the alliance with Tyro had a very civilizing effect upon the Hebrews, who were far inferior to the Tyrians in the mechanical arts; and David’s house of hewn cedar logs was marvellous in the eyes of a people who still dwelt chiefly in tents. David purposed to build even a more sumptuous palace for Jehovah, and advised with Nathan as his chief counsellor, and the person to whom subsequently the education of Solomon was confided. Within curtains; Hebrew, the curtain; that is, the tent. The tabernacle prepared by Moses for the ark was formed of ten curtains (Exo 26:1), but the significance lay, not in their number, hut in the dwelling of Jehovah still being a mere temporary lodging, though his people had received from him a settled land.
2Sa 7:3
Go, do all that is in thine heart. Nathan rashly approves. The king’s purpose seems so pious that he does not doubt its acceptance by God.
2Sa 7:4
The word of Jehovah came unto Nathan. Not every word of a prophet was inspired, and only a very few of the prophets, and those only upon great and solemn occasions, spake under the direct influence of the Spirit of God. In his usual relations with the king, Nathan was simply a wise, thoughtful, and God-fearing man. In giving his approval he probably meant no more than that a permanent dwelling for Jehovah was what all pious men were hoping for. But from the days of Samuel to those of Ezra, there was never wanting one or even more holy men who were, on fit occasions, commissioned to bear a message from God to man; and as these generally belonged to the prophetic order, men too often now confound prophecy with prediction. So inveterate is this confusion that even in the Revised Version Amos is made to say, “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son,” whereas the Hebrew distinctly is, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son [that is, one trained in the prophetic schools], but I am a herdsman” (Amo 7:16). But though not a prophet by profession, yet Amos was discharging a prophet’s higher duty in testifying against wickedness and impiety, and was acting under a special Divine call. Still, he did not belong to the prophetic order, nor wear the garment of black camel’s hair, which was their professional dress. On the present occasion, Nathan, in approving, had spoken as a man, but now a Divine message comes to him. How we know not. but in verse 17 it is called a “vision;” and it is also said that it came “that night.”
2Sa 7:5
Shalt thou, etc.? The question implies an answer in the negative; but there is no disapproval of David’s purpose as such; but only the deferring of its full execution unto the days of his son. There is more than this. The idea which runs through the Divine message is that the dwelling of Jehovah in a tent was a fitting symbol of Israel’s unquiet possession of the laud. It was David’s mission to give them tranquillity and security in the region which they had conquered long ago, but wherein they had never hitherto been able to maintain their liberty unimpaired. Then, upon the accomplishment of David’s special duty, his son, Shelomo, i.e. the peaceful, was to build the solid temple, as the proof that Jehovah had now taken permanent possession of the land. We find also a further thought, namely, that the building of the temple signified “the making for David of a house.” In its full significance this means that the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David were now chosen by God as the ancestors of the Messiah.
2Sa 7:6
I have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle; literally, I have walked continually; that is, I have ever been a wanderer, first, in the wilderness, and subsequently at Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, and Gibeon. Instead of a “tabernacle,” the Hebrew has a “dwelling.” This may refer to the houses of Abinadab and Obed-Edom, but the words more probably signify “a tent that was my dwelling.”
2Sa 7:7
In all the places wherein I have walked; Hebrew, in all wherein I continued walking; that is, in all my walking, in all the whole time wherein I have been a wanderer. Instead of tribes, the Chronicler (1Ch 17:6) reads “judges,” the words in the Hebrew being almost identical. “Judges” is, of course, the more easy and natural reading, but “tribes” gives a fuller sense, and is supported by all the versions. For in the troubled anarchy which lasted until Saul’s reign, first one tribe and then another was called to the front, and had a temporary ascendancy; but neither did Jehovah give it any command to provide a settled place for his worship, nor did any one of the judges conceive the thought of making his tribe permanently the chief, by providing a fixed abode for the ark and for God’s worship within its borders. To feed my people Israel. The shepherd, in biblical language, is the ruler, and to feed is to govern, yet in a kindly way, going in front as the shepherd before his flock, to bear the brunt of danger, to clear the road, and to guide into the safe pastures. So tribe after tribe had been called to bear the brunt of war, and, after winning deliverance, it became its duty to guide anti lead the people. In 1Ki 8:16, 1Ki 8:18, 1Ki 8:25, and still more remarkably in 1Ch 22:8, 1Ch 22:9, we find large additions made to the account here given. It follows that we have in this place only a brief summary of the message brought by Nathan, but one containing all the chief points.
2Sa 7:8
I took thee from the sheepcote. There is in Nathan’s message a marked advance upon the words of all previous prophecies. Hitherto God’s promises had been general, and no tribe, and much less any special person, had been chosen as the progenitor of the Messiah. The nearest approach to the selection of a tribe had been the prediction of Judah’s supremacy until Shiloh came (Gen 49:10); but it was not even there expressly declared that Shiloh should be of Judah’s race. But now David is clearly chosen. Jehovah takes him from the sheepcote; Hebrew, “the meadow” (see Psa 78:70). It was in the meadows, the Naioth, round Ramah, that Samuel had gathered the young men of Israel to study their ancient records, and raise their country to a sense of its high calling. In those meadows David had been formed for his high vocation; but he had returned from them to Bethlehem, to feed his father’s sheep. And now, “from following the ewes that gave suck,” Jehovah takes him to be “his servant,” a word of high dignity, applied to but few persons in the Old Testament. It signifies the prime minister, or vicegerent of Jehovah, as the theocratic king, and is the special title of Moses among God’s people, and, among the heathen, of Nebuchadnezzar, as one summoned to do a great work for God. But it is in the last twenty-seven chapters of Isaiah that the title reaches its full grandeur. For there, first of all, Israel is called Jehovah’s servant, because it was Israel’s office to be the witness for the oneness of God amidst the debasing polytheism of all the nations round. And then, finally, the servant is Messiah, as being the personal Representative of God upon earth. The title is now given to David as the type of Christ’s kingly office, and also as the sweet singer, who added a new service to the worship of God, and made it more spiritual, and more like the service of angels round God’s throne.
2Sa 7:9
I have made thee a great name. The widespread conquests of David, and his great empire, were not for the sake of mere earthly dominion. It was, first of all, a type of Messiah’s reign, to whom God has premised the heathen for his inheritance, and that his gospel shall be carried to the ends of the earth. But, secondly, if Messiah was to be “David’s Son,” it was necessary that that king should hold a special place in the hearts of all Israelites. In the fables and tales of the Arabs, it is Solomon who holds the foremost place. Just as our forefathers showed the native qualities of the race by making Arthur’s court the abode of prowess and chivalrous bravery; so the Arabs made Solomon’s court the representative of that dazzling splendor and magnificence which they so admired; and invested him with superhuman knowledge and magical power, such as made janns and ifreets the humble slaves of his will. In the Old Testament no king is “Jehovah’s servant” but David; no king is ever connected with Messiah but David. The religious fervent of the people may gather round a Hezekiah or a Josiah, and prophets may encourage them in their work; but no prophet sees in either of them the ancestor of Christ. It is, however, in the Psalms that we learn the full meaning of Nathan’s words. Here a veil is partly drawn over them. But it would be a wilful closing of the eyes to read this message and not bear in mind the clear light with which every word is illumined by the inspired outpouring of David’s own heart. He thoroughly understood the fulness and blessedness of God’s revelation, and has taught us that it all looked onward to Christ.
2Sa 7:10, 2Sa 7:11
Moreover I will appoint will plant. For “moreover,” the Hebrew has “and.” The tenses also continue the same: “And I have appointed and have planted.” It is all part of the same act. As regards the second verb, the past tense alone makes sense. Jehovah was not about to plant Israel in a place of their own, hut had just done so completely. For David’s kingdom had given them security, and with it the power of doing for God that duty which was Israel’s special office in the world. Had the anarchy of the times of the judges continued, and the energies of the nation been spent in a hard struggle for existence, that rapid advance in literature which followed upon the institution of Samuel’s schools, and which filled David’s court with poets and chroniclers, never could have existed, and prophecy would have been impossible. The age of Hezekiah was apparently the culminating period of Hebrew civilization, after which came the depressing influences of the Assyrian invasions, and then long exile, followed by a second weary struggle for existence. If writing was at first a mystery and an art known only to priests, it became throughout the monarchy the possession especially of the prophets, who were Israel’s learned men. At the head of their roll stands the matchless Isaiah, and to render it possible for his genius to display itself, not only Samuel’s schools, but the security of David’s era of conquest, and the long peace and magnificence of Solomon’s reign, were all necessary. When “God had given David rest from his enemies round about,” he had thereby finally appointed a place for Israel and had planted them there. There is, perhaps, some difficulty in the verb forms at the end of verse 11, but none in the meaning. The reign of David marks an era in the national life. Under him Israel obtained secure possession of the place appointed for it; and now, having no longer to waste its energies in perpetual fighting, the national life grows upwards, and attains to culture, to thought, and civilization. Canaan is now their own, and instead of being mere warriors, they develop national institutions and a national character. What could men do that belongs to a higher and nobler life who were in daily fear of being swept away by Canaanites and Midianites, by Philistines and Ammonites? This miserable period is described as “beforetime,” and as “since the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel.” And here a colon should be placed; and the Hebrew will then proceed, “But now I have caused thee to rest from thine enemies, the anarchy and its attendant weakness is over; “and Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house.” Rest has been given; the establishment of David’s family as the Messianic lineage is to follow (see on this promise, 1Sa 2:35).
2Sa 7:12
Thy seed which shall proceed. As the son is to be established in the kingdom and to build the house, he must be Solomon, who plainly, therefore, was not as yet born (see note on 2Sa 7:1).
2Sa 7:13
I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. The temple which Solomon was to build was the symbol of the new development of Israel, and naturally these words suggest a meaning not unworthy of so great an advance in the accomplishment of the nation’s mission. Had we, indeed, only this passage, we might be content to take it in a popular sense, as signifying that, whereas Saul’s throne (and subsequently that of the many usurpers in Samaria) had but a brief existence, Solomon’s descendants should hold for many centuries undisputed possession of the kingdom of Jerusalem. But in Psa 89:29 we read, “His (David’s) seed will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.” And again in Psa 89:36, Psa 89:37 a continuance is assured to it as lasting as that of the sun and moon. We can scarcely, therefore, be wrong in the conviction that these promises pointed onwards to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom, and that the great importance attached to the building of the temple finds its explanation in its relation to him. This full establishment after so long a delay of the Mosaic typical ritual, the addition to it of psalmody, giving it a spiritual side, and making the worship that of the heart, the bestowal of empire, and the rapid development of the people under David and Solomon, were all steps in that wonderful series of special providences which made the Jews fit to be the progeniters of the Messiah, which surrounded him during his ministry with companions capable of understanding and recording his teaching, and provided for him, after his death, missionaries, not merely with zeal enough, but with intellectual gifts sufficient to enable them to persuade both Greece and Rome to listen to tidings so wonderful and mysterious as that God for our salvation had become man. Keil also well points out that the temple was a symbol of Christ’s incarnation; for it meant the dwelling of God on earth. “I have surely,” says Solomon, “built thee a house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in forever” (1Ki 8:13). The same thought was in St. John’s mind when he said, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt as in a tabernacle among us” (Joh 1:14). For the verb used by him, literally “tabernacled,” is a comparison between Christ’s life on earth, and the dwelling of God in “the tent of meeting.” But there is more than this. Christ himself calls his body “the temple” (Joh 2:19, Joh 2:21). At the Resurrection he raised up again the temple of his body which the Jews had destroyed, and at the Ascension it was removed from the earth, to be reserved in heaven until his second advent. His reign now is spiritual, and his temple is not a building made with hands, but is the heart of the renewed believer (1Co 6:19). And this indwelling of Christ in the heart will continue unto the end of the present dispensation. For Christ’s indwelling is that also of the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16); and the gift of the Spirit continues unto the end of the world. “The Father shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (Joh 14:16).
2Sa 7:14
I will be his Father, and he shall be my son. Between father and son there is not only love, but oneness. Whatsoever the father hath, that belongs also to the son by natural right. But this sonship is magnified in the Psalms beyond the measure of Solomon or any natural limits. The Son there is “the Firstborn,” which Solomon was not, “higher than the kings of the earth” (Psa 89:27); and he must have “the nations for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession” (Psa 2:8). Psalms like the second and seventy-second belong, not to Solomon personally, but to him as the type of the prince of Peace; and they help to show us what is the true meaning and fulfilment of the words here. The rod of men; that is, such punishment as men fitly receive for their faults. David’s natural posterity was to be exempt neither from human depravity, nor from punishment, nor from the changes and chances of mortal life. With them, as with men generally, there would be a tangled skein, of virtue and sin, of folly and wisdom, of terrible fall and penitent recovery. But there was to be no blotting out of David’s lineage. Great earthly houses, in the long course of events, one after another become extinct, and even the tabernacle of David was to fall (Amo 9:11), but not forever. God would “raise up its ruins’ in Christ, and “build it as in the days of old.” So in Isa 9:1 there is the same thought of the complete down-hewing of David’s earthly lineage, yet only to rise again to nobler life and vigour, in the Branch, or Sucker, that was to spring from the fallen trunk.
2Sa 7:15, 2Sa 7:16
Before thee. This does not refer to time, but means “in thy presence,” or “before thy face,” that is, “as thou hast thyself been witness.” There is a strong contrast between the fate of Saul’s house and this eternal endurance promised to that of David. The lineage of Saul might have made a new start in Jonathan, and even when he died at Gilboa, he left a son behind him. Still, no one ever locked upon Mephibosheth as having any title to the throne; and though Shimei (2Sa 16:5) may have conceived the hope that, if David were overthrown, the kingdom might return to Saul’s family, yet, as a matter of fact, among the many vicissitudes of the ten tribes, the attempt never was made to search for a descendant of Saul to be Israel’s king. Saul’s was a royalty for one generation; David’s throne was to be established forever. Not because David was sinless. His character is sullied by crimes of the darkest hue. But he never sank into a mere tyrant, such as Saul was towards David and towards the priests at Nob. Nor did David ever become an irreligious man (1Sa 22:18, 1Sa 22:19; 1Sa 28:15), though there is in him a strange and painful mixture of great good and great evil. The salt that preserves his character is his genuine sincerity and earnestness both towards God and man; and these qualities make him not unworthy of the high place he holds among God s people. Still, the premise was not because of David’s deserts, but because from him was to come the Christ, who is blessed. forevermore.
2Sa 7:17
Vision. This word does not imply that Nathan saw anything with the natural eye, but signifies that sort of prophecy which was vouchsafed to a “seer.” Thus the prophecies of Isaiah, of Nahum, and of Obadiah are called “visions.” Probably the word is taken from the fixed gaze, with which the seer looked into the far off world with unmoved eyes, yet seeing not with them, but with the spiritual sight within. It would thus be an intellectual process accompanied by a rigidity of the natural organs, caused partly by intensity of feeling, but chiefly by mental preoccupation, which left no faculty at liberty to discharge its ordinary function.
2Sa 7:18
David sat before the Lord. The word “sat” is usually explained by commentators as meaning “tarried.” The rabbins give the word its ordinary meaning, and say that it was the privilege of kings to pray in a sitting posture. But we cannot possibly believe that kings at this early stage had established a special etiquette for observance in prayer, and the difficulty is merely imaginary. Because the Jews prayed standing, and we moderns pray kneeling, we both assume that to pray sitting was an irreverent act. It was not so, nor are we to think of David as sitting at ease in a chair. He sat upon the ground, as was the Oriental custom, with his feet doubled under him, and his head bent forward; and in this posture meditated upon Jehovah’s message, and then poured out his thoughts. As it is expressly said that “he sat before Jehovah,” the place must have been the outer court of the tabernacle. Who am I, O Lord Jehovah! In the Authorized Version Jehovah is rendered “God,” because it has the vowels of the word Elohim; usually it is rendered “Lord,” because the Masserites attached to it the vowels of Adonai, “lord,” equivalent to Dominus. As Adonai here precedes Jehovah, the Massorites were driven from their usual practice, and were so superstitious as to suppose it more reverent to pronounce the name Elohim than that of Jehovah, to which the Jews attached magical powers. David’s words are not so much a prayer as a meditation, full of thanksgiving, and even of wonder at the greatness of God’s mercies to him. In it he first acknowledges his own unworthiness and the meanness of his father’s house compared with the high dignity which God is bestowing upon him. For not only has he raised him to the kingly office, but promised him the continuance of his house “for a great while to come.” Whether David understood as yet that he was now placed in the same position as Abraham of old, in that “in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed,” is uncertain, and depends upon the interpretation put upon the following words. This only we may affirm, that whet he says in this place of his house remaining until a distant future falls far short of the meaning of the passages quoted above from the Psalms.
2Sa 7:19
And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Hebrew, and this is the law of man, O Lord Jehovah. In the parallel passage (1Ch 17:17) the Hebrew has, “And thou hast regarded me according to the law of a man of high degree.” The rendering of the Authorized Version here, which, by making the clause interrogative, implies a negative, gives absolutely no sense; but some commentators render, “And this is the manner of men, O Lord Jehovah,” understanding thereby that God was acting towards David in a human manner, that is, as an earthly friend and benefactor would do. But though the Revised Version favours this rendering, the Hebrew word torah never has this meaning, and, unless, the attempt be made to amend the text, for which the versions give no help, we must take torah in its usual sense, and understand that this continuance of David’s house into the distant future has now become a human law, that is, a divinely constituted ordinance, which must now take its place among the laws which govern human affairs. The words are undoubtedly difficult, and we feel that David was speaking in an ejaculatory manner, in sentences but half expressed, breaking forth from him bit by bit, under the pressure of deep excitement within. We notice too that, while there is no direct reference to the Messiah in David’s words, yet that the Psalms indicate that he did connect the duration of his house with the Messiah’s advent; and this ejaculation may have sprung forth, if not from a fully formed conviction, yet from the feeling that the permanence of his house was for the purpose of a higher kingdom than that of Jerusalem; and so the promise was a “law of man” and the promulgation of a decree which affected the whole human race. This may be the meaning of the Vulgate, which renders “a law of Adam,” that is, one embracing within its scope all Adam’s race,
2Sa 7:20
Thou, Lord. God, knowest thy servant. The Hebrew throughout has Lord Jehovah, except in 2Sa 7:22, 2Sa 7:25, where it has “Jehovah God,” the title of Deity used in Gen 2:1-25. The repeated use Of this covenant and personal name of God is very emphatic; and the appeal to Jehovah’s knowledge of his heart reminds us of similar outpourings of David’s consciousness of his sincere devotion to his Maker, as for instance in Psa 17:3.
2Sa 7:21
For thy word’s sake; In 1Ch 17:19 we read, “For thy servant’s sake.” The phrase seemed, perhaps, to the Chronicler difficult, but it does not mean “because of thy previous promise,” for no such promise had been given, but “because thou hast now said it.” Nor does it imply pre-existing merit in David, but that God had now chosen to declare his will, and what was according to his own heart. It thus makes God’s own good will and pleasure the cause of the great honours bestowed upon David. Instead of these great things, the Hebrew has this great thing; that is, the lasting continuance of David’s family.
2Sa 7:22
Wherefore thou art great. God’s goodness is to David a proof of his greatness, and he sees it displayed, not only in his dealings with himself, but also in the past history of the Jewish nation. There is in this a depth of evangelic piety. An unconverted heart would see the greatness of God in the majesty of creation, or in severe dealings with the impenitent. David saw it in acts of mercy and kindness. We look upon Elijah as the very type of sternness, yet he too recognized the presence of God in “the still small voice” of gentleness and love (1Ki 19:13).
2Sa 7:23
And what one nation, etc.? The translation should be, And who is like thy people, like Israel, the one nation upon earth which God went to redeem for himself to be his people, and to make for him a name, etc.? Israel both was and remains to this day a nation unique in its history, both in those early dealings of God with it, and also in its later history and its marvellous preservation unto this day. It is remarkable that in this place the word for “God,” Elohim, is followed by a verb plural, the almost invariable rule in Hebrew being that, though Elohim is itself plural, it takes a verb singular whenever it refers to the true God. In the corresponding passage (1Ch 17:21) the verb is in the singular. No adequate reason has been given for this deviation, but probably the usage in these early times was not so strict as it became subsequently. It is the influence of writing, and of the eye becoming conversant with writing, that makes men correct in their use of language and in the spelling of words. In the Syriac Church, God the Word and God the Holy Ghost were at first spoken of in the feminine gender, because “Word” and “Spirit” are both feminine nouns; but grammar soon gave way to soundness of thought and feeling. So probably in colloquial language Elohim was often used with a verb plural, but correct thinking forbade and overruled grammar. We may regard this, then, as one of the few passages in which the colloquial usage has escaped correction, and attach no further importance to it. For you. “You” is plural, and refers to the people. The Vulgate has “for them,” which is in accordance with the greater exactness of modern grammar. But sudden changes of person are very common in Hebrew, which follows the rules of thought rather than of written composition; and so David speaks of Israel as you, because they seemed to him to be present. We must note, however, that in the words that follow, for thy land, and thy people, the pronoun is singular, and refers to God. From the nations and their gods. Both the Authorized Version and the Revised Version, by inserting “from,” which is not in the Hebrew, take “nations” as in apposition with “Egypt;” but a moment’s consideration shows that this is untenable, as “nations” is plural. But the whole verse is so full of grammatical difficulties as to make it extremely probable that the text is corrupt, and that we ought to supply the verb “to drive out,” which is actually read in 1Ch 17:21, or even to substitute it in the place of “for thy land,” which is omitted in the parallel passage. The nations which God drove out had nothing to do with Egypt, but were the seven dominant tribes of Canaan; and the bestowal upon Israel of their territories was as essential a part of Jehovah’s dealings with his people as the Exodus itself. Thus the reading will be, To drive out before thy people, whom thou purchasedst for thee from Egypt, nations and their gods.
2Sa 7:24
For thou hast confirmed. The word means “thou hast firmly and securely established Israel to “be thy people.” This plainly refers to [he settlement in Canaan, now at last completed by David’s victories, and not to the deliverance from Egypt. In the words that follow David recognizes the spiritual importance, not only of the permanent continuance of his house, but also of the empire given unto him. For Israel is now to be a people forever: and thou, Jehovah, art become their God. It is very necessary to retain here the personal name, Jehovah, as it is in the Hebrew, and not dilute it down to the Lord of the Septuagint. For now, to David’s mind, the covenant seemed complete, and ratified forever. Israel is to have an everlasting existencea promise belonging to it in its full sense only spiritually. For as long as the world lasts, it is against the spiritual Israel that the gates of hell shall never prevail. And next, first as the theocratic people, and then as the Church, it is to hold a unique relation to Jehovah, who is to be its God. For Israel, that is, the Jewish and the Christian Church, worships, not the God of nature, Elohim, but Jehovah, the God of grace; and they learn his attributes, not from philosophy, nor by metaphysical inquiry, but from his own revealed will, in which he teaches us what he is, what we are, and how we are to become one with him.
2Sa 7:25, 2Sa 7:26
And now, O Lord God; Hebrew, Jehovah God. Similarly, in 2Sa 7:26 the Hebrew is “Let thy Name be magnified forever, saying, Jehovah Sabaoth is God over Israel.” The special relation of Jehovah to Israel is throughout kept constantly in view; for Jehovah is the Name of Deity in covenant with his people, and it is in the confirmation and permanence of the covenant that David sees the true value of the lasting continuance of his own house.
2Sa 7:27
Thou hast revealed to thy servant; Hebrew, thou hast uncovered the ear of thy servant. (see note on 1Sa 9:15). Hath thy servant found in his heart; Hebrew, hath found his heart. The word “heart” has a wide meaning in Hebrew, embracing both our intellectual and our moral powers. Here it simply means “courage,” as in, 1Sa 17:32. The Revised Version puts this in the margin: “Therefore hath thy servant been bold to pray this prayer.”
2Sa 7:28
And now, O Lord God, thou art that God. The pronoun rendered “that” is really a personal pronoun used as the copula, which the Authorized Version inserts in italics. As this grammatical usage, which is common to all the Semitic languages, was not understood at the time when our version was made, we find all the parts of the verb “to be” constantly printed in italics, as though absent, while really they are expressed in the Oriental way. This has the advantage, however, of reminding the reader that wherever the verb “to be” is printed in Roman characters it has a much stronger meaning than the mere union of subject and predicate. Thus in Gen 1:2 the first “was,” in Roman type, means “existed,” or possibly “became;” the second “was,” in italics, is simply the copula. Here the correct translation is, And now, O Lord Jehovah, thou art the God; i.e. the one real, true God.
2Sa 7:29
Let it please thee to bless; or, begin and bless. Literally, the verb signifies to make up the mind and set about the doing of the thing purposed. Thus David prays that the blessing may now at once begin to take effect. It is often rendered “please” in our version, because the verb is one used only of a determination resolved upon of the free will of the purposer. Its force is well seen in Job 6:9, where what Job prays for is that God would deliberate no longer, but decide the matter and set about destroying him. The Authorized Version was led, by the use of this verse “please,” to adopt the optative form. Really, it is the language of firm faith, and should be rendered, And now [there is no “therefore”] begin of thy own good will, and bless the house of thy servant.
HOMILETICS
2Sa 7:1-11
The facts are:
1. David, being settled in his kingdom and furnished with a permanent place of abode, is dissatisfied that the ark of the Lord should remain in a frail tent.
2. He sends for Nathan, and intimates his desire to build a fitting house for the Lord, and receives encouragement from the prophet.
3. During a vision of the night Nathan is directed to inform David that his desire cannot be realized; that all along it had been God’s will to move from place to place in a tent (2Sa 7:6); that it was never his purpose to have any other abode while Israel was unsettled (2Sa 7:7).
4. He is further to inform David that the dwelling in a tent, and his own call from the sheepcote (2Sa 7:8) to be a leader of Israel, were both parts of one design, and that the success vouchsafed to him (2Sa 7:9) was evidence of this.
5. Also, David is to know that, in pursuance of the same purpose, God gave his people a land of their own, and planted (these verbs to be taken as perfects, not as converted into futures) them in a permanent abode, free from the embarrassment of such powerful assailants as annoyed them in the time of the judges, and from which they now have rest.
6. The good desire of David, though not to be now realized, is acknowledged by the assurance that God has further purposed to establish his house in Israel.
Commendable but unseasonable zeal.
Every reader of the narrative at once feels how natural and beautiful it was in David to desire, for the symbol of God’s presence among his people, an abode somewhat commensurate with its glory and suggestive of permanence. It was in keeping with all the antecedents of his life, and there was manifested an exquisite spiritual sensibility in mentioning first of all so important a subject as a change in the abode of the ark to the prophet who represented the Divine source of guidance as distinguished from civil authority. What are the elements which render such zeal commendable and at the same time unseasonable?
I. THERE IS A PERSONAL ABSORPTION IN THE INTERESTS OF GOD‘S KINGDOM AMONG MEN. God’s kingdom among men was the great fact to be emphasized and illustrated in the life of the chosen race, suggestive of a more developed kingdom in later times. This fact had absorbed the energies of Moses, but was somewhat obscured when the people, weary of the existing form of the theocracy, asked for and obtained king in Saul. From the first David had, in his own life, restored the idea of the Divine kingdom to the distinctness of Mosaic times, and counted himself to have no function in the world apart from seeking to realize it in the national experience. For it he lived and ruled; for it he prayed, and of it he sang. This was the fountainhead of all his zeal, and the key to the communication made to Nathan. Herein also is the secret of all acceptable Christian zeal. We are right in feeling and purpose only in so far as our entire life is one with Christ’s. Human life rises to its highest level only when it causes all its strength to flow in with the great stream of spiritual force which one day is to cover the earth. It is not patronage of institutions, study or criticism of Christian forms of thought and action, friendly feeling towards workers in mission fields, but personal identification with the interests of Christ’s kingdom as the most vital and precious of all interests. This is a practical illustration of the phrase, “We have the mind of Christ.”
II. THERE IS A WHOLESOME FEAR LEST PRIVATE AND SECULAR PROSPERITY SHOULD GENERATE SELFISHNESS. David was blessed with great prosperity in home and in state. In clearer, more reflective moods, he saw that this was connected with the furtherance of the great purpose of God in the world; but amidst the hurry of life and inevitable weaknesses of the moral nature, it was liable to produce a feeling of selfish content with his own condition. The dangers of prosperity are proverbial. His words to Nathan, contrasting his own permanent dwelling with the slender covering of the ark, revealed the thoughts and feelings of a man sensible of a grave spiritual danger, and anxious not to fall into it. It is sometimes, in the course of doing God’s work, or what may be called secular work in a Christly spirit, that Providence grants men secular prosperity. Then comes the testing time of the religious life. Many fall under the spell, and undue absorption in temporal personal comfort robs the kingdom of Christ of much thought and energy it otherwise would have received. The pleasures of the “house of cedar” shut out the condition of the spiritual kingdom. But where zeal is sound, watchfulness is maintained, and spiritual growth keeps pace with worldly prosperity, there will be cherished a wholesome dread lest the blessings which come from God should in any measure wean the heart from him and the supreme interests of his kingdom.
III. THERE IS A PERCEPTION OF THE TEMPORARY CHARACTER OF EXISTING RELIGIOUS APPLIANCES. Spiritual instinct led David to feel that the tent was not suited as the abode in perpetuity of the eternal, unchangeable God. There was an incongruity between the nature of the occupant and the frailty and transitoriness of the dwelling place. Apart, then, from the contrast with his own “cedar house,” he saw that the arrangement which had received Divine sanction through many generations was not to be considered as perfect and unalterable. This was confirmed by the faith he cherished that the presence of God among his people was in pursuance of the great historic promise made to Abraham (Gen 22:17, Gen 22:18), and preparatory to some further unfolding of the plan which embraced within its scope all the nations of the earth. So far his zeal in seeking a permanent abode for the ark was enlightened. And this is a characteristic of all true zeal. It does not merely proceed from impulse and strong feeling; it has respect to the nature of the kingdom of Christ and the variability of its outward appliances according to the stages of its development. The visible forms and arrangements adapted to one state of society may need revision and change more or less radical to render the deposit of truth more effective in its influence on a different state of society. A mere love of change is not identical with commendable zeal; a bare feeling that simple variation in outward forms will strengthen the power of religion is no sure guide; but a distinction between the permanent truth centring in Christ, and the transitoriness of the setting of that truth, will lead to a desire, when occasion offers, to make such modifications in the circumstantials of religion as may best accord with the nature of the truth on the one side and the development of human society on the either.
IV. THE IMPERFECTION OF THE ZEAL MAY LIE IN THE ERROR AS TO SEASONABLENESS. In this case all seemed right and sound, in accordance with the purest love and devotion, both to David and to Nathan. Subsequent light from God himself showed that here feeling was right and thought also up to a given point, but that the zeal was inappropriate by reason of a defective knowledge of the specific purposes of God. There were reasons in the Divine mind why David, at this juncture, should not build a house for the Lord. Probably his work of consolidation was not sufficiently advanced, and either then or later on he was reminded that a man of peace was alone suited for such work (1Ch 22:8; 1Ch 28:3). The defectiveness of the judgment even of good men is cause of much mistake in altering the institutions and visible agencies of the Church. There are times when neither David nor Nathan may depend on their present feelings and knowledge, but more light must be sought from the Head of the Church. However sound the principle that forms and circumstantials do not possess the permanence belonging to the central truth they cover, still a busy zeal eager to introduce something new as more suited to a later development, even though shown by the most sincere of men, must be regarded with distrust unless Providence, by some means as good to us as was Nathan’s vision to David, makes it quite clear that the time has come when the old should give place to the new. Holy desire, even when conjoined with knowledge of a limited experience, may not be fitly realized because God’s time is not quite come.
GENERAL LESSONS.
1. Where there is sincere piety there will be jealousy lest the cause of God should not receive its due consideration.
2. It will be a mark of prosperous piety amidst prosperous circumstances when men deliberately study how they may more worthily serve God and give him the honour due to his Name.
3. We should always anticipate that, as time advances, there will be fresh opportunities for manifesting our devotion, even though our specific methods be not wisest.
4. It is a noble ambition to seek to render the house of God as perfect as human means can make it, and in this often we see contrasts in character (2Sa 7:1-3; cf. Hag 1:2, Hag 1:5). A good man’s life’s work attains completion in so far as he combines, with advancing secular prosperity, regard for the prosperity of religion.
The historic development of God’s purpose concerning man.
In 2Sa 7:4-11 we have an exposition of the grounds on which God declined to accept David’s proposal to build a house for him. The motive was good, and there was a certain perception of propriety in the design, but as its unseasonableness resulted from imperfect knowledge of the Divine will, that will is here made known.
I. GOD HAS A PURPOSE CONCERNING MAN. This is the basis of the declaration to David. It may, indeed, be said that there is a Divine purpose in the existence of every atom and form of force, since each is what it is by the will of God, and is related to all the rest of the universe in a definite way, so as to issue in a progressive order. Every change is thus the working out in the material world of a purpose of the eternal mind. But while this is true of man also considered as an organized creature in the world, it is further true of him that there is a purpose in the eternal mind of which he is the object, and to work out which all other things are means and agents. God has something to effect for man as well as by man. The New Testament informs us that it is spiritual in its nature, and abounding with good to man and glory to God..
II. GOD‘S PURPOSE CONCERNING MAN IS INCORPORATED WITH HUMAN AFFAIRS. It is pointed out to David that the history of his ancestors in Egypt and under the judges, and also his own personal history, have been the vehicle through which this purpose has been gradually working. God’s thoughts for man assume concrete forms. They enter as the golden thread into the rough web of human life. Human wills work in their own free way, but another will works with them, and uses them in their free course for the manifestation of itself. Abraham’s domestic life, Israel’s sojourn in Egypt and the desert, the struggle for existence during the period of the judges, and the raising up and fall of Saul, and the exploits of David, were occasions and forms by which that redemptive purpose revealed itself which later on in Judaea, in Pilate’s hall and in the ages of Christendom, became more distinct and yet more one with human interests.
III. IN THE OUTWORKING OF THE PURPOSE TEMPORARY INSTITUTIONS ARE CREATED. The ark and the tabernacle were the creation of the Divine purpose working along the line of human history. They were the product of two thingsthe purpose and the incidents of Israel’s existence. David was right in viewing the tabernacle as essentially temporary; but he is reminded (2Sa 7:6) that it expressed the Divine will for the time because of the human element through which that will was working onwards. A succession of temporary expedients is traceable from the first to the second Adam. One by one they disappeared before the approach of the true Light. Many of the modern expedients of the Church will prove their temporary character in so far as Christ’s holy will works its way into the heart of the world, and men, possessing this life, become in the best sense a law to themselves (1Co 13:8-10).
IV. THE DIRECT CONTROL OF GOD SECURES TRANSITION FROM STAGE TO STAGE. The words to David were, “I brought up the children of Israel;” “I have walked in a tent;” “I commanded to feed;” “I took thee from the sheepcote;” “I have appointed a place.” Thus men were free, and history was formed by the free action of man; but, still, in pursuance of the Divine purpose, an unseen hand so fashioned the sum of human free action that captivity in Egypt yielded to a settled home, and a good shepherd appeared to care for the flock in that settled home. It was this recognition of the actual control of God so as to shape the items of human history and secure a succession of transitions towards a definite goal that distinguished the teaching of the prophets. It is this which gave such assurance to apostles (Rom 8:22, Rom 8:28, Rom 8:31). The contending forces of each age are subject to him who by his mighty working can subdue all things unto himself (Php 3:21).
V. THE VALUE OF MEANS IN THE WORKING OUT OF THE PURPOSE IS RELATIVE. David’s pious dissatisfaction with the tabernacle as an abode for the ark was met by the assurance (2Sa 7:6, 2Sa 7:7) that God was not dissatisfied, but had shown his approval of his servants who were identified with its maintenance. The tabernacle may have been inadequate to the later stage, but it was perfect in its adaptation to the early stage of God’s method of working. He never complained of disrespect to his Name; he even honoured his servants who served him with such humble means. This applies to the methods by which, in different ages, revelations came to menagencies for diffusing and preserving the truth, the condition of the Churches by which his will is still done and the individual efforts of Christians to bring on the final triumph of Christ. Those who will not approve of action and appliances and methods till they meet with what is absolutely perfect, do not know history, or else, knowing it, are unwilling to accept its lessons. In an imperfect world where perfect holiness has to be attained through means inferior, and out of perfect relation to the end in view, we have to estimate each method and agency by its fitness to raise us to a stage above the present, and in which it may be dispensed with for something that will be a stepping stone to a still higher point.
VI. THE WHOLE OF THE SUCCESSIVE STAGES TEND TO THE PERMANENT DWELLING OF GOD WITH MAN; David was fight in his ambition and faith. To have God permanently among Israel was the perfection of holy desire. All hitherto had pointed in that direction; and though in the visible sense in which David desired it his wishes were not to be granted, yet he was pointed on to the reality of a “house” (2Sa 7:11), which we know involved the raising up of Immanuel. This is the goal of all Old Testament revelations and ancient forms of instruction and discipline. And now that God has been visibly manifest in the flesh, the process is going on by which spiritually the dwelling of God with man in permanent union is to be realized (2Co 3:7-11; cf. Eph 2:18-22).
GENERAL LESSONS.
1. Life should be conducted on the principle that God is with man and working with and for him.
2. The comparison of events illustrated by the Bible teaching will enable us to trace out the line of God’s Working.
3. Although occasions may arise, as during periods of Israel’s history, when the signs of God’s working are obscured (Isa 45:15), our faith should rest on the general revelation.
4. However unable we may be sometimes to see the unity of God’s working, Providence will throw light upon it, and by some explicit “I have walked,” “I took thee,” our confidence will be confirmed.
5. All our desires and efforts and methods should, in their nature, have reference to the great issueGod’s habitation of the Church through the Spirit.
Consolation in disappointment.
Although 2Sa 7:11, 2Sa 7:12 of Psa 132:1-18, make it clear that the psalm was written after the date of Nathan’s visit to David, it is highly probable that the sentiments expressed in Psa 132:3-5 of that psalm were cherished before the king unbosomed himself to the prophet. In the fallibility characteristic of prophets when not authorized to speak by God, Nathan piously encouraged his king in his cherished wishes, and it is certain that that night David went to rest believing that now, with the concurrence of so good a man, the great ambition of his heart would soon be realized. The authorized revelation of the prophet on the following day must have brought with it a disappointment corresponding in bitterness to the previous elevation of feeling. But the gentle, kindly way in which it is allowed to fall is a beautiful instance of God’s tenderness toward his people.
I. GOD RECOGNIZES US AS HIS OWN. There was balm in the words, “tell my servant David.” In the beginning of his career David knew that he was called of God, but many a year had passed, and many a sore spiritual conflict with varied success had been endured. It was then refreshing to his spirit to be thus distinctly acknowledged to be the servant of the Most Highone honoured in heaven and identified with the carrying out of God’s will on earth. To be owned of God, to have the witness of his Spirit with ours that we are his, to know on good evidence that our life is moving along the lines of his purpose,what more satisfying and comforting when some cherished desire is denied? Paul’s thorn in the flesh and consequent disappointment of holy ambition was even welcome when the Lord sent a message assuring that he was his “servant”to do some work in the world, though not in the form desired. It is much in life if, amidst many failures of character and frustration of cherished desires, a man is permitted to know that God is not ashamed of him, and still honours him with a place among the great body of coworkers with himself.
II. PROVIDENCE GRADUALLY MAKES CLEAR, IN PART AT LEAST, THE WISDOM OF THE DISAPPOINTMENT. The first note of Nathan’s message brought sorrow and even anguish of spirit. Fond hopes of joyous activity in a blessed cause were crushed. The dream of holy hours vanished. Loving toil was rejected. The heart sank. But by degrees, as the message unfolded and the course of Providence in reference to the tabernacle and settlement of Israel were unfolded, and probably reference made to wars yet impending (Psa 132:6-10; cf. 2Sa 8:1-8; 1Ki 5:3, 1Ki 5:4; 1Ki 8:19), the reasons of the Divine conduct became manifest, and the troubled heart could rest in an unerring wisdom alone. A similar course was taken with the apostles when their Lord soothed their disappointment at his expected departure by partially expounding the reason of his conduct (Joh 14:1-4). Sometimes Christian workers who have, through sickness, failing opportunities, temporal disasters, and defective holiness of life, been denied the privilege of accomplishing all that was in their heart for Christ, have had to dwell in dense darkness for a while; but gradually events have occurred and light from God’s Word has come which have shown how just and even kind it was that, under all the circumstances of the ease, the disappointment came. The day will come when the bitter experiences of life will be so seen in their varied relations to ourselves and others as to give occasion for thankfulness.
III. THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT GOD WILL USE US IN OTHER WAYS. “My servant” meant to David that there was yet noble work to do for God. Human choice of the old form of work is not always best. In the great kingdom that is being established there is scope for many energies in manifold forms; and as the kingdom is one, every worker is honourable and every work essential. To keep the door of the sanctuary, to wash the feet of weary pilgrims, to give a cup of cold water, to feed the hungry, to place a mite in the treasury, and visit the widow and fatherless, are services honoured as truly as erecting a temple and as necessary to the perfection of the kingdom of God on earth. The Apostle Paul could not charm men by unfettered eloquence, but he could bless the universal Church by his example of loving acquiescence in the Lord’s will (2Co 12:8-10). Even the very ambitions that have not been gratified may be used up by God as means to inspire others with generous aims and lofty aspirations.
IV. GOD REVEALS TO THE SPIRIT A CROWNING BLESSING. It was a repayment of David’s loving devotion in his own kind when the prophet was instructed to reveal to him that God would “make him a house.” To an Oriental monarch, especially after the sad failure of Saul, there could not have been a more coveted distinction than being blessed with a posterity that should hold his place in the kingdom. The blessing in this case, we know, carried with it also a spiritual significance embodied in the expression applied to Christ, “the Son of David.” This cannot be regarded simply as a reward for the design to build a house for the Lordit was part of a great purpose from the beginning; but it was clearly brought in here as a matter revealed for the soothing of David’s spirit in a season of disappointment. In this way the future blessedness of the faithful is revealed in order that they may have abundant consolation. Good men do not live and labour for future rewards, but from love of Christ and passionate sympathy with the purposes of his heart; nevertheless, the pastor, missionary, and parent whose hopes sometimes seem blighted, rejoice to be able to think of an issue of their life which, in spite of all appearances, redounds to the glory of God. “Here am I, and the souls thou hast given me,” is to be true of multitudes. God will give a godly seed, “a house” better and more enduring than any we could build for him (Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6; Mat 19:29).
2Sa 7:12-29
The facts are:
1. The prophet declares to David
(1) that he shall have a seed who shall build a house for the Lord;
(2) that this successor shall be regarded as a son, and, while the subject of discipline, if needed, shall not be cast off as was Saul; and
(3) that the house and kingdom thus established shall endure forever.
2. David, in response to the message, acknowledges ,the condescension and bounty of God in what he had done and promised.
3. He confesses that all is of the free unmerited loving kindness of God, and regards this wonderful superhuman goodness as being an illustration of the existence of a love transcending all that is known to man.
4. He recognizes the blessedness of Israel in being under the care and guidance of One so supremely good, and in being honoured to be distinctively his people.
5. He prays that the good and glorious things said of his house and of Israel may come to pass, and so bring out into public view and forever the glory of God.
6. He concludes with a prayer, based on the faithfulness and goodness of God, that grace may be bestowed on the house of David, so that it may fulfil the purpose so graciously formed and now more explicitly revealed.
The testing period, and its rewards.
We have here brought out a contrast between Saul and David. Both were accepted of God (1Sa 9:15-17; 1Sa 16:7-12, 1Sa 16:13). A period of testing was assigned to each of them, and Saul failed in his (1Sa 13:13, 1Sa 13:14), while David succeeded (2Sa 7:8-12, 2Sa 7:15). The whole facts show that for each of them, in his official capacity, there was a probation or testing time, which was not coextensive with the duration of life, but sufficient to prove fitness for being the instrument for the furtherance of the Divine purpose of redemption through the Messiah. David was found fit for Divine use, and hence, in the prime of his days, he was assured of the completion of his life’s work and of issues most glorious.
I. THE EARLY STAGES OF A CAREER DETERMINE ITS ISSUE. From his call and anointing up to his desire to build a house for the Lord, David had been taking the first steps of his public life; on the whole, he had been wise, devout, loyal to God, zealous for the Divine kingdom among men. The great work of his entire life was thereby virtually ensured. All future successes were now germinal. Saul’s future was blasted because the early testing years were unimproved; David’s future was made sure because his trial had proved his sterling qualities. The years of early manhood carry in them the future of the man. A Christian “found faithful” enters on a wider ministry (1Ti 1:12). The Church that has kept true in trial is safe in view of future perils (Rev 3:10-12). The proper use of five talents carries with it the promise of use of ten talents. According to the development of Christian character in the early stages of religious life will be its power and victories unto the very end. The beginnings of things are the ends of things in miniature. Character is a prophecy. Ultimate successes lie hidden in first adjustments.
II. THE BLESSED ISSUES OF A PROBATION ARE IN THE ORDER OF NATURE. The bestowment of the honour of being founder of a great line of kings on David was an act of Divine favour, marking approval of his fidelity during the testing time of life; but it was not a mere artificial, arbitrary arrangement. It was the announcement of the fact that God had so ordered things that he, by faithfulness, thus far had acquired the qualities which a holy God could and would use up in bringing to pass his great purposes. Saul was proved naturally unfit to inaugurate a permanent line; David was proved naturally suited for that end. This runs through all things. A sapling that has, in spite of storms, passed well through the ordeals of early life contains within itself the vital qualities which will develop into a perfect tree. It is by force of the virtues and acquirements of the testing time Of early manhood that subsequent achievements are won. The spiritual characteristics of the man “counted worthy” of a ministry explain the triumph of his life’s work; for, though the blessing of God is essential, yet it is the order of nature in the religious sphere that the blessing comes where those characteristics find exercise. The future blessedness of the saints is the outgrowth of the individual character acquired during the earthly period of trial. Continuity, order, and, in proper sense of the term, nature, characterize the succession of events in individual and Church experience from first to last.
III. THE ASSURANCE OF FINAL SUCCESS HELPS A TRUE MAN TO ITS REALIZATION. The promise of a “house” and a permanent “kingdom” would not excite vanity and presumption’ in David, because he was a true man of God. There is an adaptation in the assurance given to the tested character of the man. It was to David as the warm sun and gentle dew to the good seed hidden in good ground. A true heart responds to God’s love and bounteous gifts by increased devotion. Thus the assurance has a natural tendency in a true heart to fulfil itself. Wherever other tendencies appear, it is evidence that the heart is not right, anti that the assurance is not intended for the individual. The free grace of God and abounding assurances that he will keep his people from falling are never abused except by those who are not children of God (Rom 6:14, Rom 6:15; 2Co 5:14, 2Co 5:15).
The blending of the temporal and the eternal.
The prophecy in 2Sa 7:12-16 is not as be regarded as a sudden and isolated revelation of the purpose of God, which burst upon the mind of one who had no previous conceptions of a great purpose being wrought out in the line of human history. All along David was aware of his being used for more than ordinary issues in relation to the great promise made to Abraham. The Aurora Borealis seems, to ignorant men, a disconnected unaccountable phenomenon, but others know it to be a natural occurrence in a beautiful order of things correlated to all else in the material world. In like manner, we now know that this prophecy is part of an order of revelation, coming in at just the right time, and interpretable on principles well ascertained. The temporal and eternal are blended
I. IN THE MATERIAL ORDER. The results of research into the constitution and order of material things show that the visible, changeable forms of matter coexist with a permanent something which works in and through them. They vary; it abides. They prepare the way for others of kindred nature and form; it uses up the old and the new and marks out its eternal course by means of them. Men call it force. Possibly, probably, there is a persistent something answering to that namethe correlative of our exertion of will powerbut it, at all events, is only the mode in which the Divine purpose works itself out into visible forms and changes. The temporal and eternal are ever blended.
II. IN THE CONSTITUTION OF MAN. The changeful form, the visible appearance, is ever associated with the permanent invisible spirit; the one exists for the other, and is used by the other for expressing its thoughts and purposes. “Mortal and immortal” may be written of man. He comes forth and passes away: he abideth forever. Paradox is true, because the perishable and imperishable coexist and work one through the other.
III. IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. Our Saviour was frail, subject to death; and yet the strong, unchangeable, deathless Son of God. The temporal and eternal were most mysteriously united in him, and the visible and perishable were the vehicle through which the unseen and eternal worked out our redemption. There is language by which men, if they will, can prove his simple humanity, and other language by which they can prove his true Divinity. It is the ignoring of this blending of the temporal and eternal which accounts for certain heresies and perversities of thought.
IV. IN THE PROGRESS OF REVELATION. The revelation which God is pleased to give of his will concerning our redemption is intended for the entire race, and adapted in matter and form to the progressive character of the race. It was not given once for all in concise abstract form; nor was its matter and form given to suit the later ages of the world only; it ran along the line of history from the very first, and was suited as time went on to men of diverse ideas and conditions. But from first to last the Divine imperishable truth was blended with the temporal history of men. The natural development of families and nations was the vehicle through or along which, as occasion required, the one unchangeable purpose gradually marked itself out into the clear light that shone in the face of Christ.
V. IN THE PROPHETIC REFERENCES TO THE MESSIAH. The duality of temporal and eternal thus seen to run through all things, becomes, therefore, a priori natural in any predictions concerning him whose throne is from everlasting to everlasting. That in 2Sa 7:12-16 we have reference to a mortal Solomon, who should build a perishable temple, sit on a visible throne, and hand down to a terminable though long succession of kings an earthly kingdom, is the interpretation required by subsequent facts. That the “seed” refers also to Christ the “Son of David,” the house to a spiritual temple, the “throne” and “kingdom” to the absolutely everlasting dominion of Christ over the redeemed people of God, is the sense put on this and kindred passages by the New Testament (Psa 72:17; Psa 89:35-37; cf. Luk 1:31-33, Luk 1:68-79; Heb 1:5-13). That the two references should be couched in one form of expression is natural when we consider
(1) that the temporal and eternal are blended, as just seen, in one form of nature, in one human being, in the one Christ Jesus, and in the one historic revelation;
(2) that this harmonizes with the twofold sense of the prediction made to Abraham (Gen 21:12; Gen 22:17-19; cf. Rom 9:7-9; Act 3:25; Gal 3:26), and with the twofold meaning of our Lord’s words in reference to “the end” (Mat 24:9-14, Mat 24:29-44). The human relationship, the human throne, the possible human frailty, and the human relative permanence, are the lower earthly vehicle by which the Divine and absolutely enduring are set forth and inaugurated.
GENERAL LESSONS.
1. God secures to all his truly faithful ones the realization of their highest and holiest ambitions, as surely as he secured to David the realization of his desire for a seed, and the completion of his life’s work in the establishment of his throne; for he makes life here to issue in the glory, of the kingdom of Christ.
2. It behoves us to remember that there is an eternal element interwoven with common life, and to subordinate everything temporal to its action.
3. The fact that chosen instruments are used in working out eternal purposes does not exempt them from the frailties of their nature and the corrections necessary to their preservation for the service of God (2Sa 7:14).
4. The chastisement due to the literal son of David for sins of his own foreshadows dimly the spiritual fact that the great Son of David took upon himself the iniquities of us all, and experienced the “chastisement of our peace”
5. The strong and repeated assurances of the universality and permanence of Christ’s reign should inspire us with calm confidence and untiring zeal.
6. Human fidelity in God’s service is a condition of the progressive bringing into clearer view and nearer realization the glorious end for which all things consist.
The educational influence of God’s great love.
In 2Sa 7:18-29 we have described, in broken sentences, the effect on the spirit of David of the marvellous loving kindness of God in having guaranteed unto him such a glorious completion of life’s work, and the unspeakable honour of being associated in name and work with the Redeemer of the world. The real nature of a man is tested in seasons of great prosperity as well as in adversity. David bears the strain. Never in the past history of the world had God spoken so distinctly and emphatically to any of his people of the personal honour he would confer. In the effect of this on David we may see an illustration of the general educational influence of God’s love on his people.
I. IT INDUCES INEXPRESSIBLE WONDER. When David had heard the strange words he at once went and “sat” before the Lord! The first impulse was to get near to the visible symbol of the Divine presence, and simply sit still in amazement. That silence held his tongue for a while seems indicated in the embarrassment (2Sa 7:20). What could a devout man do but muse and wonder at the largeness of the grace? There was a marvel in what God had done in the past (2Sa 7:18), in what was to be in the future, and in the ordination or law, , in respect of the man, or otherwise in the superhuman bearing towards one so unworthy (cf. Isa 4:1-6 :8). This is the general effect of a recognition of God’s love to us, whether seen in the unspeakable gift of Christ, in the greatness of his long suffering, in the tenderness of his pity, in the provision for our temporal and eternal good, in the use he makes of us in his service, or in the blessed inheritance promised in the future. There is a devotion of feeling which consists in a permanent silent wonder that God should have dealt so with us. This tones our spirit into quiet gentleness, and we can in some measure understand why seraphim and cherubim should be absorbed in wonder at his ways.
II. IT INDUCES DEEP HUMILITY. It was not because of any good in himself that all these things were done to David, but because God was pleased out of his own heart so to deal with him (2Sa 7:21). Nothing tends more to develop humility than a survey of the wonderful love of God. The contrast of our deserts with his grace bows the spirit down, not to abjectness and loss of heart, but to the tender feeling of self-depreciation and self-abnegation which ever becomes a sinful creature in the presence of the Eternal. Great grace bestowed is an educator in what most befits one who was lost but is now found (Psa 115:1; Rom 3:27; 1Co 15:10; 1Jn 3:1).
III. IT FEEDS THE SPIRIT OF ADORATION. The word “wherefore” (2Sa 7:22) seems to complete the silent reasoning which must have gone on in the mind of David for many a year. The general care of man (Psa 8:1-9.), the heavens (Psa 19:1-14.), and the terrible works of God among the nations (Psa 48:4-7, Psa 48:10, Psa 48:11), had ever furnished occasion for adoration; but all this is surpassed by the great love wherewith he has now loved his servant, and in this lies the moral greatness which most of all wins the adoring love of the soul. It is a well-known psychological truth that the feelings are not under the direct control of the will, and especially not obedient to a bare command.]Nor are they developed in noblest form by mere externals. It is when the actual love of God, as seen in deeds done for us and blessings freely showered on us, is manifest to the eye of the soul, that true worship arises. The greatness of love draws forth the homage of the redeemed (Rev 1:5, Rev 1:6; Rev 5:9, Rev 5:10).
IV. IT STRENGTHENS INTEREST IN OTHERS. Some who do not know what personal piety is imagine that it consists in selfish delight in one’s own favoured conditiona continuous self-congratulation that we are snatched as brands from the burning. David’s deep interest in others, as seen in 2Sa 7:23, 2Sa 7:24, establishes the reverse. The love we share in is a love embracing others, and it awakens and nourishes a joy in them and their happy lot. It is an unspeakable delight to a true Christian that a multitude that no man can number are the people of God, “redeemed” by the wondrous grace which amazes while it blesses himself.
V. IT LEADS TO EVER–INCREASING CONSECRATION. Such is the meaning of David in 2Sa 7:24-27. He surrenders his heart and life afresh to the one great purpose which has been graciously revealed. It is not mere acquiescence that so it should be, but intense desire, self-identification afresh with the work and ways of God. He wants to be used in the accomplishment of the great design. This was the secret of the Apostle Paul’s ever-deepening consecration. The love of God to him and others was a constant subject of thought, and hence he was daily “constrained” to live for him who had died to make him what he was (2Co 5:14-16). The love of God contemplated and felt renders every yoke welcome and easy.
VI. IT DRAWS OUT A SPIRIT OF TRUSTFUL DEPENDENCE. To be the instrument of this working in the line of the great purpose required distinguished qualities, and a revelation of it (2Sa 7:27) very naturally made David sensible of the insufficiency of himself and successors, and called forth the prayer for a blessing on his house (2Sa 7:28, 2Sa 7:29). The blessing of God is necessary to man’s successful working out of the Divine will; and the heart that appreciates the honour of being so employed will earnestly plead the promises in seeking the grace required.
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.
1. It is one of the sweetest joys of life granted by God when, in his providence, he gives intimation to parents that their immediate posterity are likely to take up the religious work they love, and carry it on towards the completion of God’s will on earth (2Sa 7:12).
2. What parents need is that God would “set up,” in positions of righteousness and true honour, their offspring, and “establish” whatever work or interest they may have in hand (2Sa 7:12).
3. To “build a house” for God is an unspeakable privilege (2Sa 7:13). It may be done variously:
(1) by rearing up a personal character of our own on the One Foundation (1Pe 2:6), so that it may be a fit habitation of God through the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19);
(2) by teaching the cardinal truths of the gospel among men, so that on the One Foundation (1Co 3:9-11) there may be reared a Christian Church, as is still often done by missionaries in heathen lands;
(3) by devoting money to the erection of a sanctuary where needed (Luk 7:5). A more noble use of wealth can scarcely be conceived. 4, God’s purposes are unfolded and wrought out in human history with full prevision of the imperfections and sins of his people, and with providential provision for their correction (2Sa 7:14). Not one of the distinguished men who prepared the way for Christ was perfect. The Antitype alone is free from sin. It was in the occupying of a throne, not in the details of private conduct, that Solomon the son of David prefigured the true Son of David.
5. There are fundamental errors and failures in the lives of some men which disqualify them utterly from sharing in the highest and noblest work. Saul’s obstinacy, self-will, and inability to rise to the conception of the purpose and scope of the theocracy, rendered it unfit that he should found the line by which the Christ should come (2Sa 7:15). Solomon’s imperfections were those of another character, springing more from unwatchfulness against certain snares of his position. These imperfect workers suffer loss and shame, but the substantial part of their work abides (1Co 3:12-15).
6. It is a great consolation to a Christian that God knows him (2Sa 7:20). He knows our unexpressed thoughts and feelings, our depth of love and gratitude, our sorrow over sin, our most secret motives, and the path we take. Our ease of mind in remembrance of this is one of the marks of true sonship and service.
7. A review of the gradual revelation of God’s purposes will surely induce a profound conviction of his greatness and glory (2Sa 7:22). Men who study only the physical aspects of nature lose much. The moral universe is the grandest arena on which the power and blessedness of the Eternal shines forth.
8. It was ancient Israel’s being chosen and used as the people of God (2Sa 7:23) which conferred on them the most enduring distinction. As a fact, Israel has done more than either Egypt, Greece, or Rome for the true elevation of mankind; for Israel was the means of bringing into universal operation the mighty renovating principles of the kingdom of God, which alone can secure the permanence of civilization, and also educate the higher nature of man for time and eternity. “Blessed is that people whose God is the Lord!”
9. The whole question of the final triumph of Christ rests on the word of God, “Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it” (2Sa 7:29). Modern speculations are beside the mark. The first question covers all Have we historically the declaration of God? Then, if he has said a thing, it must be so. Difficulties are relative to man’s ignorance and weakness, and have no place with the Eternal. Faith in God is a rational exercise of the human mind; it is not blind superstition.
HOMILIES BY B. DALE
2Sa 7:1, 2Sa 7:2
(1Ch 17:1). (THE KING‘S PALACE IN ZION.)
David’s purpose to build a house for the Lord.
(References: 1Ki 5:3; 1Ki 6:12; 1Ki 8:17-19; 1Ch 22:7-10; 1Ch 28:2-7; 1Ch 29:1-3; 2Ch 6:7-9.) The king’s palace of cedar on Mount Zion had been completed. In the adjacent tabernacle or dwelling place of Jehovah (2Sa 7:6) the ark had found rest, and a regular order of public worship had been instituted. Surrounding enemies had been subdued, and there was at least a temporary cessation from war. Jerusalem was the civil, military, and ecclesiastical centre of the kingdom. And now another step in advance was taken. Whilst contemplating the lowly abode of the ark of the Lord in comparison with his own palace, the thought arose in David s mind of building a splendid and durable temple for the Name of the Lord God of Israel (1Ki 8:17), a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God (1Ch 28:2), “exceeding magnifical of fame and of glory throughout all countries” (1Ch 22:5); and “when the king sat in his house” he intimated his wish (for it scarcely amounted to a distinct and definite resolution) to Nathan the prophet, doubtless in order to obtain his advice concerning its propriety and accomplishment. What followed was of the highest importance in relation to the permanence of his dynasty, the prosperity of his people, the worship of God, and the development of Messianic purposes. “The word of the Prophet Nathan and the thanksgiving of David mark the culmination of David’s history” (Baumgarten). This chapter affords a glimpse into his innermost heart, and reveals the devotional feelings, patriotic desires, and lofty aspirations and hopes that dwelt therein. In him we here see an example of
I. DEVOUT OCCUPATION IN THE RETIREMENT OF HOME. Such retirement, necessary for all, is not always spent wisely and well; but often in sensuous indulgence, frivolous amusement, self-adulation (Dan 4:29, Dan 4:30), envious discontent (1Ki 21:4), or meditating secular and selfish schemes (Luk 11:17, Luk 11:18). The godly man not only “returns to bless his household,” but also:
1. Meditates on the best things: the Name of the Lord, his greatness and goodness, his works, his ways, his Word, his worship, and the welfare of men. He considers “the days of old,” and “communes with his own heart” (Psa 77:5, Psa 77:6) of his benefits, obligations, condition, and prospects (Psa 55:17; Mat 6:5; Joh 1:48).
2. Talks of these things in a right manner.
3. Cultivates social intercourse with good men,” the excellent, in whom is all his delight” (Psa 16:3; Psa 119:63). He prefers their society to any other, befriends them, and makes them his friends (Luk 16:9). Nor is there any greater treasure on earth than a faithful friend, such as David had in Nathan. The manner in which men spend their leisure hours is a sure indication of their real character.
II. ARDENT GRATITUDE TO GOD FOR SUCCESS in his undertakings, labours, conflicts (2Sa 7:1), and whatever rest and prosperity he enjoys.
1. These he ascribes, not to his own skill or power (Deu 7:17), but to the Divine hand; and, in considering what God “hath done for his soul” (Psa 66:16):
2. He is deeply affected by his exceeding kindness, so condescending, undeserved, and inexpressible (2Sa 7:8, 2Sa 7:9, 2Sa 7:20)! While he muses the fire burns (Psa 39:3).
3. And he is constrained to testify his thankfulness in word and deed. “Those who stretch themselves upon beds of ivory (Amo 6:4-6), and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, though they had David’s music had not David’s spirit” (Matthew Henry). “Though the Prophet David was guilty of many of the most deadly sins, yet he was said to be a man after God’s own heart, because he abounded more with thankfulness than any other that is mentioned in Holy Scripture” (Isaac Walton).
III. TENDER CONCERN FOR THE DIVINE HONOUR. “See now I dwell in a house of cedar,” etc. The devout and grateful heart fuels:
1. That with the honour of God the house of God is intimately connected. No material fabric, however stately, can now possess the same significance or relative importance as the tabernacle or temple (1Sa 1:3, 1Sa 1:9). But wherever God’s children meet for Divine worship and spiritual fellowship (thus constituting the true temple and Church), the place is “hallowed ground.” Standing amidst other dwellings, the house of God is a constant witness for him; and, by its sacred associations, religious exercises, and the holy influences therein received and thence diffused, it greatly conduces to his glory, as well as to the good of men.
2. That it ought to correspond with its declared purpose, and the circumstances and abilities of those by whom it is erected and attended. All “temples made with hands” fall infinitely beneath the dignity of the Eternal (1Ki 8:27; Act 17:24); yet it is becoming that “strength and beauty should be in his sanctuary,” that men should offer their best in his service (2Sa 24:24), and that, while they dwell in “celled houses,” his house should not “lie waste” (Hag 1:4).
3. That it is a duty and a privilege to employ the gifts bestowed by God for the improvement of his house and the promotion of his honour. When he has done much for us we should do much for him. “Four great means for administering the religion of Christ have been divinely appointed: the Book of God, the day of God, the worship of God, and the house of God. This last is for the sake of the former three. Without it they cannot be upheld. In the house of God the truth of God is proclaimed, the day of God is hallowed, and the worship of God is solemnized. All good gathers into and around God’s house. ‘I will make,’ saith he, ‘the places round about my hill a blessing.’ There gather pious families. There arise schools for neglected children. There benevolent activities prevail. There spring up fountains of missionary liberality. And from humble sanctuaries in England, gospel light streams forth to distant regions of the earththe wilds of Southern Africa, or the populous hives of Chinese idolatry” (Algernon Wells).
IV. HIGH ESTIMATION OF FRIENDLY COUNSEL. Unlike some successful and powerful men, who take counsel of their own hearts and despise the advice of others, David valued, sought, and received the advice of Nathan as the counsel of God himself. “The first great office of a friend is
(1) to try our thoughts by the measure of his judgment, and to taste the wholesomeness of our designs and purposes by the feelings of his heart. As this office of a good friend is to guard us against the imperfections of our own nature, and protect the world from the effects and ourselves from the responsibility of our folly, the next office of a friend is
(2) to protect us from the selfish and wilful and malicious part of our nature. A third great office of friendship is
(3) to awaken us and lift us up, and set us on nobler deeds. The fourth good office of a friend is
(4) to rally us when we are defeated or overtaken with adversity. And so much is the world alive to this office as to have chosen it out as the true test; it being one of our best proverbs that ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed'” (E. Irving).D.
2Sa 7:3
The Prophet Nathan.
(References: 2Sa 12:1, 2Sa 12:25; 1Ki 1:10, 1Ki 1:22; 1Ki 4:5; 1Ch 17:1; 1Ch 29:29; 2Ch 9:29; 2Ch 29:25; Zec 12:12.) This is the first mention of his name. He may have been trained by Samuel at Naioth, and become acquainted with David there; was now the confidential friend and spiritual adviser of the king; subsequently reproved him for his sin; gave him counsel concerning the accession of Solomon; aided him in the reorganization of public worship; and wrote annals of his reign. It was his vocation to interpret and announce the Divine mind to others (see 1Sa 4:1). “The calling of a prophet was that of a preacher or pastor with reference to the congregation as a whole and its individual members; but was distinct from our modern ideas with reference to the calling as thus explained in his drawing directly from Divine revelation. The prophets have been rightly called ‘the conscience of the Israelitish state.’ They held intercourse with God by means of prayer. They questioned God (Hab 2:1), and he answered; but they did not receive Divine disclosures until they had first occupied an attitude of waiting and praying” (Delitzsch; Oehler, ‘Theology of the Old Testament;’ Riehm).
1. All men, and especially those who are in authority, have need of wise and faithful counsel. The king himself is only a man; his position is apt to blind his judgment and corrupt his heart; whilst his responsibilities and the consequences of his actions are very great.
2. Even the wisest of counsellors are liable to err in judgment. (Job 32:9.) “All that is in thine heart go, do.” But herein Nathan spoke “out of his own mind, and not by Divine revelation” (J.H. Michaelis). The prophet, like the king, was only a man (Act 10:26), imperfect and fallible, and often mistaken, when giving counsel according to his natural judgment and first impressions, without seeking and obtaining the counsel of God. It is not said that he spoke by “the word of the Lord,” as he did afterwards (2Sa 7:4). “Ofttimes our thoughts, although springing from motives of real religion, are not God’s thoughts; and the lesson here conveyed is most importantnot taking our own impressions, however earnestly and piously derived, as necessarily in accordance with the will of God, but testing them by his revealed Word” (Edersheim).
3. The errors of human judgment are rectified by Divine communications. Such communications have been actually made; and they are unspeakably precious. The prophet clearly distinguished them from his own thoughts, and had an inward assurance and overpowering conviction that he was the organ of God. It is the privilege of all Christians to be “taught of God,” and “led by the Spirit;” but unless their convictions and impulses accord with the revealed Word, they must be rejected.
4. The Word of Divine revelation admits of no questioning or contradiction; but should be received “with meekness,” uttered with simplicity and fidelity (Deu 12:32), and obeyed humbly, cheerfully, and fully. The prophet hesitated not to acknowledge his mistake, nor the king to lay aside his purpose in obedience to the will of the Lord (2Sa 7:17, 2Sa 7:18).D.
2Sa 7:3
The Lord is with thee.
This brief and significant language has often been addressed to good men. And what can be more encouraging!
1. It describes an invaluable privilege. “Jehovah,” the Eternal, the Unchangeable, the Faithful, the Covenant God of Israel, “is with thee;” not simply in his special presence, but also in his effectual grace, approving, directing, protecting, qualifying, helping, prospering thee. “I am with thee” (Gen 26:24; Exo 20:24).
2. It expresses a personal assurance. “With thee.” Such assurance is given by the word of the prophet, the covenant of God, the argument of experience (2Sa 7:9; 1Sa 18:1-30 :32-37), and the conviction of the heart in the way of faith and, obedience.
3. It furnishes a powerful incitement to thanksgiving, prayer, conflict, labour, perseverance, hope (Hag 2:4; 1Co 15:58). “Lo, I am with you always.” The spiritual presence and fellowship of Christ are the secret of all spiritual strength and success.D.
2Sa 7:4-11
(1Ch 17:3-10). (ZION.)
A forbidden purpose.
“Shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in?” On reflection, the prophet, perhaps, felt some misgiving as to the wisdom of the counsel he had given to the king; and (in prayer) the same night (before any steps could be taken to carry it into effect) he received a Divine communication which he faithfully announced. The chief significance of this communication lies in the promise it contained with respect to “the house of David.” But it was primarily and directly a prohibition of the king’s resolve. “Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house to dwell in” (1Ch 17:4). The purpose of a good man is often “broken off” (Job 17:11; Job 29:18); not always, however, because of the clearer knowledge of the mind of God vouchsafed to him, but more commonly because of the difficulty and opposition he meets with in seeking its accomplishment, and his inability to overcome them. Of the purpose of David (as illustrative of that of others) observe that —
I. ALTHOUGH FORBIDDEN IT WAS NOT ALTOGETHER DISAPPROVED. “Thou didst well that it was in thine heart” (1Ki 8:18); spoken of:
1. The spirit, in which his purpose was formedgrateful devotion and sincere desire of honourmg God and benefiting men. This is always the chief thing “in the sight of God, who searches the heart.”
2. And the object toward which it was directed. It was not in itself displeasing to God, but received his sanction (Deu 12:10, Deu 12:11; Deu 12:13). Yet:
3. How seldom is a human purpose, though in the main good, entirely unmingled with human imperfection! The language in which the purpose of David was forbidden seems to indicate that “his generous impulse was outrunning God’s commandment, and that his ardour to serve was in some danger of forgetting his entire dependence on God, and of fancying that God would be the better for him” (A. Maclaren).
II. IT WAS NOT FORBIDDEN WITHOUT SUFFICIENT REASON (2Sa 7:7, 2Sa 7:8), viz.:
1. The dealings of God with his people in past time; showing that it was his pleasure that his dwelling place should be adapted to their unsettled condition; and that “a house of cedar” was not indispensable to his presence and blessing. He was satisfied to share their wanderings.
2. The absence of a Divine direction to build a permanent house. “It was not because of any negligence on the part of the former leaders of the people that they had not thought of erecting a temple” (Keil). Until the “word” should be spoken, no one might enter upon such an undertaking.
3. The unsuitableness of the present timethe still disturbed and warlike state of the kingdom (2Sa 7:11). “Inasmuch as these wars were necessary and inevitable, they were practical proofs that David’s kingdom and government were not yet established; and therefore that the time for the building of the temple had not yet come, and the rest of peace was not yet secured.”
4. The incongruity of his career with the nature and design of the building. An abode of peace should be erected by a man of peace. “Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars; thou shalt not build a house to my Name,” etc, (1Ch 22:8; 1Ch 28:3; 1Ki 5:3). “From whence could so sublime a precept descend, amidst a people constituted as the Jews were, unless from the Father of love and mercy?’ (Milman). “War, however necessary it may be in certain circumstances for the kingdom of God, is only something accidental, the result of human corruption. The true nature of the kingdom of God is peace” (Hengstenberg). Still other reasons appear in what was promised to David (2Sa 7:11, 2Sa 7:12), without which the accomplishment of what he purposed in his heart was impossible.
III. IT WAS FORBIDDEN IN THE MOST GRACIOUS MANNER, (2Sa 7:8-11.) For God:
1. Assured him of the regard in which he was held by him. “David is here called God’s servant, who is King of kingsthe fairest flower in any king’s crown, and highest title he can claim” (Guild).
2. Reminded him of the great things which he had already done for him; and which were an earnest of “still greater things than these” (Psa 78:70-72).
3. Informed him of the safety and stability, the peace and prosperity, which (in continuance of his former mercies) he was about to grant to his people under his rule.
4. Promised to him rest from all his enemies, and an enduring dynasty (2Sa 1:1, 2Sa 1:2), “Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will make thee a house” (Psa 132:11). What an abundant compensation was thus afforded for any disappointment that might be at first experienced! “Our own plans, though well intended, are often fit for nothing but to be laid aside to make way for the Lord’s purposes respecting us, of which perhaps we had no conception” (Scott).
IV. IT WAS FORBIDDEN ONLY THAT IT MIGHT BE MORE EFFECTUALLY FULFILLED. (2Sa 7:12, 2Sa 7:13.) “‘Thou shalt not build a house for me’ (2Sa 7:5-7); but I, who have from the beginning till now glorified myself in thee and my people (2Sa 7:8-11), will build a house for thee (2Sa 7:11); and then thy son shall erect a house for me” (Thenius).
1. The purpose of man depends for its fulfilment upon the purpose of God.
2. The purpose which one man is unable to accomplish is often wrought out by another, who comes after him, under more favourable circumstances.
3. Although the former is not permitted to see the execution of his purpose, he may contribute greatly towards it, and does not go unrewarded.
4. Many a seeming failure is a real and glorious success; and “heaven is made for those who fail in this world.”D.
2Sa 7:9
(JERUSALEM.)
A great name.
Among the great things which God did for David, he gave him a great name, like that of others, statesmen, warriors, kings, who, on account of their abilities, successes, power, and influence, were renowned “in the earth.” “The fame of David went out into all lands” (1Ch 14:17). “Glory consists in the honourable and widespread reputation of numerous and important services rendered to one’s friends, his country, or the whole human race” (Cicero). It is:
1. A desired possession. The love of human esteem, praise, and honour is natural, universal, beneficial, though often perverted to unworthy ends, and not subordinated to the voice of conscience and of God. “That characteristic of man which is at once the most unworthy and the most exalted is his desire of glory. It is the last passion that becomes extinct in the heart of man. There is such a charm in glory that, whatever we connect with it, even death itself, we love it still” (Pascal). “Desire of glory is the last garment that even wise men lay aside” (O. Felltham).
2. A Divine gift. “And in thine hand it is to make great” (1Ch 29:12). Although it necessitates, in most instances, strenuous human endeavour, it is never attained apart from or in opposition to the working of Divine providence; which in this, as in other things, is frequently mysterious, but always wise and just and good. How many strive after it in vain!
“Some sink outright;
O’er them, and o’er their names, the billows close
Tomorrow knows not they were ever born.
Others a short memorial leave behind,
Like a flag floating when the bark’s engulf’d
It floats a moment, and is seen no more:
One Caesar lives, a thousand are forgot.”
(Young, ‘Night Thoughts,’ 8.)
3. A weighty responsibility. As it is given by God, so it should be ascribed to him and used for him, according to his will, not for selfish but beneficent ends (2Sa 5:12). Even when righteously gained, it is not always righteously maintained. Some of “the great men that are on the earth” have, by its abuse, fallen from their nest among the stars (Oba 1:4), like “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isa 14:12).
4. An unsatisfying portion. In the midst of its enjoyment the soul craves something higher, and can find rest only in the approbation and fellowship of God (Psa 4:6; Psa 73:25; Psa 119:57). It cannot impart inward peace; it endures but for a season, and then passes away. “Where are those rulers of the earth gone, with their guards, armies, and carriages, of whose departure the earth stands a witness unto the present day?” (‘The Hitopadesa’).
“The noise
Of worldly fame is but a blast of wind,
That blows from diverse points, and shifts its name
Shifting the point it blows from.
Shalt thou more
Live in the mouths of mankind, if thy flesh
Part shrivel’d from thee, than if thou hadst died
Before the coral and the pap were left;
Or ere some thousand years have past? and that
Is, to eternity compared, a space
Briefer than is the twinkling of an eye
To the heaven’s slowest orb.”
(Dante, ‘Purg.’)
Remarks.
(1) A great name is not always a good name.
(2) A good name may be possessed, though a great name may be unattainable.
(3) To some men (like David) it is given to possess both.
(4) True greatness consists in Christ-like goodness (Mat 20:25-28), and true glory in “the honour which cometh from God only” (Joh 5:44).D.
2Sa 7:12
(JERUSALEM.)
The prospect of death.
The view of earthly glory is apt to suggest, by contrast, the thought of its transitory duration, and no one can look forward to the days to come without having “the shadow of death” presented before his mind. Of its unavoidable approach, the message which David received, telling of his present prosperity and future prospects, reminded him. It is:
1. An event of inevitable occurrence. “What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death?” (Psa 89:48). “The small and great are there” (Job 3:19). “The path of glory leads but to the grave.”
“Death comes with irrespective feet,
And beats upon the door
That shuts the palace of the great,
The cabin of the poor.”
(Horace.)
2. An end of allotted time. “When thy days be fulfilled.” There is “an appointed time to man upon earth” (Job 7:1; Job 14:5; Psa 31:15), in which to pass his probation, form his character, and perform his work. Unknown to him, it is determined by God, and, however brief, it is sufficient for that purpose. Happy is he who therein “serves his own generation by the will of God” (Act 13:36).
3. An exit from earthly cares, labours, conflicts, and sorrows. “Thou shalt sleep,” and be at rest (Job 3:17; Joh 11:11; 1Th 4:14); not necessarily in absolute unconsciousness and inactivity. Death is a “decease” (2Pe 1:15), departure, exodus of the spirit from “this tabernacle” to an eternal home (2Co 5:1, 2Co 5:8).
4. An entrance into heavenly fellowship. “With thy fathers;” in the possession of conscious, personal, immortal life, of a common heritage in God, and happy communion with each other (2Sa 12:23; Psa 16:11; Psa 17:15). David’s hope of this, indeed, was dim, in comparison with the Christian hope, as the morning twilight compared with the perfect day (2Ti 1:10; Mat 8:11).
5. An enlargement of beneficent influence. “I will set up thy seed after thee,” etc. He lives in his children; his words; his works; the manifold influences which he exerted on others, and which continue operating after his decease, and contribute to the building up of the temple and kingdom of God. His departure is even expedient and necessary in order to the activities of others;. and, instead of becoming extinct, his power for good is thereby extended and exalted. His name “liveth forevermore” (Ecclesiasticus 44:14).
6. An object of profitable contemplation. By meditating on it, especially in its moral and spiritual aspects, he learns to moderate earthly attachments, sanctify earthly relationships, to be humble in prosperity, patient in trial, and diligent in duty. “Thou must shortly die! O man, set thy house in order. There is a house of thy conscience, a house of thy body, a house of thy family, a house of eternity. All these must be set in order” (Christopher Sutton, ‘Disce Mori’). Learn to die. Learn to live. Learn to pray.D.
2Sa 7:12-16
(1Ch 17:11-15). (JERUSALEM.)
The promise of an outlasting kingdom.
“And thy house and thy kingdom shall be permanent;
Thy throne shall be established forever.”
(2Sa 7:16.)
1. The position of David was a very exalted one. He was the chosen earthly head of the theocracy, or kingdom of God; and on him rested the hope of its glorious consummation. He was the Lord’s messiah”the mediator through whom Jehovah dispensed help, safety, and blessing” (Riehm).
2. But was the hope of Israel to be completely realized in him? And were his dynasty and kingdom to be permanent, or to pass away, like others?
3. To these questions the promise now given furnished an adequate answer. David would be succeeded in the theocratic throne by his posterity, and his dynasty and kingdom would endure forever.
4. This promise, the great charter of the house of David, was “the foundation of all Messianic prophecies and hopes in the prophets concerning the completion of the kingdom of God, its revelations of grace and its blessings of salvation” (Erdmann). It was
I. AN EXPRESSION OF ABOUNDING GRACE. The free, condescending, unspeakable favour of God toward David, this it was which so deeply affected him (2Sa 7:19-21). The good pleasure of the Lord had been shown in “the word of the Lord by Samuel,” in David’s exaltation to the throne after long suffering and trial (2Sa 7:8), and in his subsequent prosperity (2Sa 7:9); and it was further manifested in this great promise of continued grace to his house, “for a great while to come;” whereby his noblest aspirations would be fulfilled (2Sa 23:5), and through him and for his sake blessings would abound unto many. In like manner “the exceeding riches of his grace” are apparent in all the promises pertaining to eternal life and salvation, and the whole history of the progress of the kingdom of God from its commencement to its consummation. “The progress of God’s kingdom, or of true religion, should be the progress of David’s line, This point constituted the Messianic element in the prophecy. It limited the hopes of the world’s redemption to David’s line, as Jacob’s prophecy had long ago limited it to the tribe of Judah” (P. Thomson).
II. AN ASSURANCE OF EXTRAORDINARY GOOD. To the view of David the future was, by means of the promise, lighted up with glory. He beheld:
1. The existence of the royal house, of which he was the founder, made sure by the Divine oath. “Jehovah telleth thee that Jehovah will build thee a house” (2Sa 7:11; Psa 132:11; Psa 89:3, Psa 89:4). This was the general substance of the promise. “The royal office was elevated to the position of being the controlling and centralizing point of all the theocratic main elements of the national life.”
2. The elevation of his posterity, and especially of one of his sons, to the royal dignity. “I will set up thy seed after thee” (2Sa 7:12; 1Ch 17:11). “Behold, a son shall be born to thee Solomon,” etc. (1Ch 22:9; 38:10; 1Ki 5:5; 1Ki 8:19).
3. The establishment of the kingdom in security, peace, and happiness, all enemies being subdued; “and I will establish his kingdom;” which was necessary to the fulfilment of David’s purpose.
4. The erection of the temple and the dwelling of the Divine King in the midst of his people. “He shall build a house for my Name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2Sa 7:13). “The building of the house here goes hand in hand with the eternity of the kingdom. The essence of the temple consists in its being a symbolan outward representation of the kingdom of God under Israel. The real import of our passage, then, is that henceforth the kingdom of David and the kingdom of God should be closely and inseparably linked together” (Hengstenberg, ‘Christology’). “The idea of a number of descendants following one another (a line of kings) is evidently contained in the promise” (Keil); and in this sense David must have understood it. “The collective he (2Sa 7:13, 2Sa 7:14) includes in itself (like Gen 3:15) the Son of David in the highest sense and the Founder of the true temple of God, which is his Church.”
5. The relation of Father and son subsisting between God. and the theocratic king. “I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a son.” Such was the relationship between Jehovah and Israel (Exo 4:22; Deu 14:1; Deu 32:6; 1Ch 29:10; Isa 64:8; Jer 31:9; Hos 11:1), and it would be made specially manifest in the head and representative of the chosen people. A son
(1) derives his being from his father, bears a close resemblance to him, stands near him, represents him, and shares his possessions;
(2) is an object of his tender affection, under his protecting care, and subject to his merciful discipline; and
(3) is bound to reciprocate his affection, to honour him, and obey. his commandments. The fatherly love of God is here more particularly presented to view; and “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Heb 12:6). “If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him,” etc. (2Sa 7:14).
6. The unchanging mercy of God, founded on this relation. “But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul,” etc. (2Sa 7:15). If, indeed, the individual king should forsake the Lord, he would be “cast off forever” (1Ch 28:9). “The contrast is that between the punishment of sin in individuals and the favour that remains permanently with the family, whereby the promise becomes an unconditional one” (‘Christology’). The kingdom of God is a kingdom of righteousness.
7. The eternal duration of his dynasty and kingdom once more assured, with all the advantages of a government faithfully exercised according to the will of God. This was “the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure;” and these were the “sure mercies of David” (Isa 55:3). “This revelation was an epoch making one for his inner life. It brought an entirely new element into his consciousness, which, as his psalms show, moved him powerfully. He received the promise of the perpetual ascendency of his tribe, of the establishment of his kingdom amid the changing of all earthly things” (‘History of the Kingdom of God under the Old Testament’). “This promise, like that made to Abraham, has a twofold aspect. One points to David’s natural posterity and temporal kingdom; the other to the Messiah and the kingdom of Jehovah, which respected the former only as types and pledges of the latter.”
III. A FOUNDATION OF IMPERISHABLE HOPE. The promise was one of an eternal monarchy rather than directly of an eternal Monarch, “the King Messiah;” but it could only be completely fulfilled in such a Person, “since the eternity of a purely human kingdom is inconceivable;” and it became the basis of a hope of “his power and coming,” which, notwithstanding repeated failure and disappointment, was to be renewed with undying strength. David was himself the centre of the Messianic idea and hope. “He regarded himself as the messiah of God; although, through his experience and words, he was only a means for representing the future One before his coming” (Delitzsch, ‘Messianic Prophecies’). And, amidst the glorious prospect which the promise presented before him, he perceived (all the more clearly because of his own conscious infirmities) the ideal theocratic monarch; “a kingly image, in which all that the present manifests is far surpassed, and the kingship of David and Solomon seen in typical perfection”. The promise “refers neither only to Solomon nor only to Christ; nor has it a twofold application; but it is a covenant promise, which, extending along the whole line (of David’s posterity), culminates in the Son of David, and in all its fulness applies only to him” (Edersheim). “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,” etc. (Isa 9:6; Luk 1:1-80 :82, 33; Act 2:25-36).
Observe that:
1. Men’s views of the glory of the future age are naturally and necessarily formed according to the facts and ideas with which they are already familiar.
2. The Word of God, in promise and prophecy (being the gradual unfolding of his eternal purpose), had a larger signification than was understood by those to whom it at first came (1Pe 1:11). “Divine prophecies are of the nature of their Author, with whom a thousand years are but as one day; and therefore are not fulfilled punctually at once, but have a springing and germinant accomplishment throughout many ages, though the height or fulness of them may refer to one age” (Bacon, ‘Advancement of Learning’).
3. The promises of God are faithful and true; his covenant is a sure foundation of hope amidst human failures and earthly changes (Psa 89:1-37; 2Co 1:20; Heb 6:18).
4. The hope of humanity is in “the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star!” (Rev 22:16).D.
2Sa 7:16
Glimpses of the King Messiah.
Looked at in the light of the development of the Divine purpose, rather than of the conscious knowledge of the time,
(1) the royal office of David and Solomon (in its typical significance), and
(2) the promises and prophecies uttered more or less directly in connection therewith, especially as recorded in the last words of David (2Sa 23:1-39.) and in the Psalms, clearly pointed to the coming of an extraordinary, theocratic, Divine King. They indicate that he would be:
1. The Anointed of Jehovah. His Servant, chosen and beloved (verse 8; Psa 5:3; Act 4:27; Act 10:28). Psa 89:1-52; ‘The faithfulness of the Lord.’
“Once thou spakest in vision to thy beloved, and saidst:
I have laid help upon a mighty one,
I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
I have found David my servant,
With my holy oil have I anointed him.”
(Psa 89:19, Psa 89:20.)
2. The Son of David “according to the flesh” (Psa 89:12; Act 2:29-31; Act 13:22-23).
“Jehovah hath sworn unto David
In truth that which he will not recall:
Of the fruit of thy body
Do I appoint a possessor of thy throne.”
(Psa 132:11.)
3. The Son of God. (Psa 89:14; Psa 16:10; Luke L 35; Act 4:25-27; Rom 1:4.) Psa 2:1-12; ‘The triumph of the Lord’s Anointed.’
“Jehovah saith unto me: Thou art my Son:
I have this day begotten thee.”
(Psa 2:7.)
“He shall cry unto me: My Father art thou,
My God, and the Rock of my salvation!
Also I will make him my Firstborn,
Highest of the kings of the earth.”
(Psa 89:26, Psa 89:27.)
“In the Old Testament the relation between father and son denotes the deepest. intimacy of love; and love is perfected in unity of nature, in the communication to the son of all that the father hath. ‘The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand’ (Joh 3:35). Sonship, therefore, includes the government of the world” (Keil).
4. The King of righteousness and peace; Prophet and Priest; the Conqueror of all opposing powers (through conflict and suffering); the Saviour and Benefactor of those who trust in him; the supreme Lord (verse 13; Psa 22:1-31.; Psa 40:6 1 Mat 22:45; Heb 1:8).
“The oracle of Jehovah unto my Lord:
Sit thou at my right hand
Until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”
(Psa 105:1)
“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
(Psa 45:6.)
5. The Builder of the temple. (Verse 13; Zec 6:12,Zec 6:13; Joh 1:14; Joh 2:19; Joh 14:23; 1Co 6:19; Eph 1:20-23; Eph 2:20-22; 1Pe 2:5; Rev 21:1-3.)
“Thou hast received gifts among men,
Yea, even the rebellious, that the Lord Jehovah might dwell among them.”
(Psa 68:18.)
6. The Possessor of universal dominion. (1Sa 2:10; 2Sa 22:44; Psa 22:27.)
“He shall have dominion from sea to sea,
And from the river to the ends of the earth.”
(Psa 72:8.)
7. The King who should reign forever. (Verse 16; Psa 61:6, Psa 61:7; Psa 89:36, Psa 89:37.)
“His Name shall endure forever;
His Name shall be continued as long as the sun.”
(Psa 72:17.)
“An allegory may serve to illustrate the way in which the Old Testament proclamation of salvation unfolds itself. The Old Testament in relation to the day of the New Testament is night. In this night there rise in opposite directions two stars of promise. The one describes its fall from above downwards; it is the promise of Jehovah who is about to come [Psa 96:13; Psa 98:9]. The other describes its path from below upwards; it is the hope which rests on the seed of David, the prophecy of the Son of David, Which at the outset assumes a thoroughly human and merely earthly character. These two stars meet at last, they blend together in one star; the night vanishes, and it is day. This one star is Jesus Christ, Jehovah and the Son of David in one Person; the King of Israel and at the same time the Redeemer of the world; in one word, the God-Man” (Delitzsch, in Psa 72:1-20.).D.
2Sa 7:18-24
(1Ch 17:16-22). (THE TABERNACLE ON ZION.)
Thanksgiving and praise.
The duty of rendering thanksgiving and praise to God is seldom disputed, though its performance is often neglected. It is beneficial to the offerer himself, as well as to others. The conduct and language of David, on receiving the Divine communication here recorded, famish an admirable example of the spirit in which “the sacrifice of thanksgiving” should be presented.
I. DEEP HUMILITY before the presence of God. “Then went King David in” from his palace of cedar to the lowly tent (the palace of the Divine King of Israel), “and sat” on the ground in a lowly posture, according to Eastern custom (expressive of his lowly state of mind), “before Jehovah,” the symbol of whose presence stood veiled before him. “And (after devout thought on the communication)he said, Who am I, O Lord God?” etc. (2Sa 7:18). Although in comparison with other men he “might have whereof to glory,” yet in the conscious presence of God he had a profound sense of his weakness, insignificance, dependence, and unworthiness (Gen 32:10; Job 42:5, Job 42:6; Isa 57:15; Eph 3:8; 1Pe 5:5, 1Pe 5:6). The proud heart is never a thankful heart. The poorer we are in our own estimation the more disposed we are to “praise the Lord for his goodness.” Humility is the first step of a ladder whose top reaches heaven (Mat 5:3).
II. CALM REFLECTION on his benefits. “And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God,” etc. “And this [which thou hast graciously promised concerning my house] is the law [established order or decree] of [or pertaining to a mortal] man, O Lord God!” (2Sa 7:19). “Is this the law of one who is a mere man created from the dust as I am, that I should be elevated to such a glorious altitude as this?” (Wordsworth). “Thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree” (1Ch 17:17). An expression of humble astonishment. The more he pondered it in his heart, the more he was humbled, surprised, and filled with thankfulness. We have not less cause for gratitude (Psa 8:4, Psa 8:5; 1Co 2:9, 1Co 2:10). “Forget not all his benefits,” past, present, or to come. We are apt to forget them, and therefore should contemplate them frequently, enumerate them one by one, and endeavour to estimate their exceeding worth. Meditation is like a lens, by which the rays of the sun are collected into a focus and produce so intense a heat that coals of fire are kindled by it (Psa 39:3; Psa 48:9; Psa 77:11, Psa 77:12; Luk 2:19).
III. INTENSE CONVICTION of his claims. “And what can David say more unto thee? for thou knowest thy servant, O Lord God!” (2Sa 7:20). The great things which had been promised, the obligations under which they laid him, and his conviction and impression thereof, were all indescribable. Words failed him; and he could only appeal to Omniscience to witness the sincerity and depth of his grateful feeling (Joh 21:17). Every additional benefit conferred upon us increases the claims of our Divine Benefactor on our love and devotion. His mercies are “new every morning” (Lam 3:23); and the debt we owe is ever accumulating.
“How can I repay to Jehovah
All his benefits toward me?”
(Psa 116:12.)
IV. FERVENT GRATITUDE for his grace. “For thy Word’s sake;” in fulfilment of thy purpose and promise formerly expressed, “and according to thine own heart,” of thy spontaneous, sovereign, unmerited favour, “hast thou done all these great things to make thy servant know them,” for his consolation and encouragement (2Sa 7:21). It is the disinterested love and abounding grace of God, displayed in his gifts, that more than anything else touches the heart and constrains it to fervent gratitude. “To my eye the workings of a heart oppressed and overflowing with gratitude are painted stronger in this prayer than I ever observed them in any other instance. It is easy to see that his heart was wholly possessed with a subject which he did not know how to quit, because he did not know how to do justice to the inestimable blessings poured down upon himself and promised to his posterity; much less to the infinite bounty of his Benefactor” (Delany).
V. LOWLY ADORATION of his perfections. “Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God,” etc. (2Sa 7:22). The greatness of Jehovah, the incomparable One, the only God, was manifested in his dealings with his servant, as in the whole history of Israel, “according to all that we have heard with our ears.” David had the most exalted views of his character as the All-wise and All-powerful, the Condescending, Faithful, Gracious, Merciful, and Just (1Sa 2:2; Psa 113:6); and he delighted in the contemplation and praise of his infinite excellence. God himself is greater than anything he has done or promised to do; but by means of his doings and revelations we are enabled to know him and draw nigh to him in worship and adoration, wherein the soul finds its noblest activity, rest, and joy.
VI. GENEROUS SYMPATHY with his people. “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people,” etc. (2Sa 7:23, 2Sa 7:24)? An incomparable people!
1. Redeemed by mighty acts.
2. Designed for a special purposeto be his possession or property, and to “show forth his praise.”
3. Established in covenant relationship forever (2Sa 7:16; Rev 21:3, Rev 21:7). David “glorified God” in them; and in doing so he showed his love for them, his sympathy and identity with them (2Sa 5:12). His thanksgiving and praise were large hearted and disinterested. The selfish heart (like the proud heart) is never a thankful heart. The more we esteem others the more numerous the occasions we find for gratitude to God, and the more we abound therein,
VII. ENTIRE CONSECRATION to his service and glory. He avowed himself the servant of God (2Sa 7:21), freely and gladly surrendered his will to him, sought what he promised, and desired that his Name might be “magnified forever” (2Sa 7:26). This is the essence of the sacrifice of praise. “Father, glorify thy Name” (Joh 12:28; Php 1:20).
“As of their will, the angels unto thee
Tender meet sacrifice, circling thy throne
With loud hosannas; so of theirs be done
By saintly men on earth.”
(Dante, ‘Purg.,’ 11.)
D.
2Sa 7:25-29
(1Ch 17:23-27). (ZION.)
Promise and prayer.
“Do as thou hast said” (2Sa 7:25).
1. God has spoken to men. “His greatness is unsearchable” (2Sa 7:22; Psa 145:3); nevertheless, he has surely spoken to them in his Word (2Sa 7:4; Heb 1:1).
2. He has spoken in the way of promise (2Sa 7:28). A large portion of Divine revelation consists of promises, “exceeding great and precious” (2Pe 1:4), pertaining to the life that now is, and that which is to come.
3. And as God has spoken to men in the way of promise, so they should speak to him in the way of prayer (1Sa 1:9; 1Sa 8:6; 1Sa 14:16, 1Sa 14:36).
“A breath that fleets beyond this iron world,
And touches him who made it.”
(Tennyson.)
I. PROMISE SUPERSEDES NOT THE NECESSITY OF PRAYER; inasmuch as the latter is commonly the expressed or implied condition of its fulfilment. As a bank note must be presented that we may obtain the gold which it represents, so the Divine promise must be sought in prayer that we may receive the good of which it gives assurance. A child does not refrain from asking his father for what he wants because it has been promised, but rather asks him all the more. David prayed for what he had been promised. “I will yet for this be inquired of,” etc. (Eze 36:37). “Ask, and it shall be given you” (Mat 7:7; Psa 50:15; Zec 10:1). “The prayer that prevails is a reflected promise.”
II. PROMISE CONFIRMS THE DUTY OF PRAYER; by indicating the will of God concerning us. To neglect the condition of receiving the blessing, or to refuse to comply with it, is to despise the blessing itself. Why such a condition?
1. To give to God the honour which is his due.
2. To teach a spirit of dependence.
3. To promote personal and direct intercourse with God.
4. To call into exercise the noblest principles of our nature.
5. To incite cooperation towards the attainment of what is promised.
6. To make its bestowment more beneficial to the recipient.
Some things may be beneficial in connection with prayer that would not be so without it.
III. PROMISE AUTHORIZES THE PRIVILEGE OF PRAYER. What greater privilege can there be than that of “making known our requests unto God”? But who, without his promise, could venture to believe that these requests would be heard; especially when made for the “great things” contained in it? Even now, how doubtful and timid are we in claiming the privilege! The promise gives encouragement and confidence; and should, therefore, be pondered in the heart, as it was by David; who was thereby emboldened (Authorized Version, “found in his heart “) “to pray this prayer” (2Sa 7:27). “Thy words are truth” (2Sa 7:28). “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, O Lord, will I seek” (Psa 27:8; Psa 119:49; Gen 32:12).
IV. PROMISE TEACHES THE MATTER OF PRAYER. “We know not what we should pray for as we ought,” and are apt, in this respect, to “ask amiss.” But the promises constitute an invaluable, directory of prayer,” teaching us:
1. The things for which we ought to ask, both temporal and spiritual.
2. Their relative importance.
3. Their application to others as well as to ourselves (2Sa 7:25, 2Sa 7:29).
4. Their chief design (2Sa 7:26).
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,” etc. (Joh 15:7; Rev 22:20). “Pause over each promise, and let your faith in it blossom into a prayer for it. This will be the true, responsive reading of the sacred Scriptures, wherein there shall be not simply the answering of voice to voice as among men, but the responding of your heart to God. Happy are they in whose souls there is thus a continual recurring ‘Amen’ to the benedictions of the Lord” (W.M. Taylor).
V. PROMISE INCITES THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER.
1. A reverent regard for God.
2. A lowly estimate of ourselves.
3. Fervent desire for the blessing of God.
4. Childlike confidence in his Word.
5. Unreserved submission to his will.
6. Patience and perseverance.
“Wait on the Lord,” etc. (Psa 27:14; Luk 11:1-13; Luk 18:1). “Prayer is nothing else but the language of faith, love, and hope: of faith, a believing of God’s being and bounty, that he is willing and able to succour us; of love, which directeth us to the prime Fountain of all the good we have and would have, and to the end and glory of God, and regulateth all our choices by it, and to those means which conduce to the enjoying of God; and of hope, which is a desirous expectation of the promised blessing” (T. Manton, ‘Works,’ 18.72).
VI. PROMISE ENSURES THE ANSWER OF PRAYER; not always in the immediate and conscious experience of the petitioner, but always at the proper time (Dan 10:12), the delay being needful and beneficial; not always in the literal terms of the promise, but often in a more spiritual and glorious manner; and never wholly withheld (1Jn 5:14, 1Jn 5:15). “He is faithful that promised” (Heb 10:23). “The promises of God are the free expressions of his goodness and beneficence; but then their meaning has in it something of that Divine attribute. Nothing that he says can be in the mere narrow proportions of man. The words are necessarily those used by man, but the meaning is that of God; and we may be confident that what will be given in fulfilment of them will be according to the magnitude of the Divine goodness; as far, at least, as the faculties of the recipients will admit, and these can be enlarged. The Divine goodness being transcendently above all other goodness, the gifts of it will be according to its own manner, and not limited to the human import of the words, as if merely preserving the bare truth of the words. So that he will surprise his servants, as they find the earthly terms of his promises translated as it were into celestial language, when they arrive in his presence and have those promises acknowledged” (John Foster, ‘Literary Remains’).D.
2Sa 7:27
(ZION.)
A prayer found in the heart.
When a prayer such as David’s is found in the heart, it is:
1. Found in the right place. If only on the tongue it is not really found at all Its proper abode is the heart; yet it is not always found there, even when renewed, as the heart must be for its dwelling.
2. Possessed of priceless worth; in contrast with other things that are often found in the heart (Mat 15:19). A rare flower among weeds, a fountain in the desert, a treasure in poverty, a friend in need! “I have no earthly friend,” said one; “but I have a praying heart.”
3. Derived from a Divine source. It is not indigenous. Its orion is in “the Father of lights,” from whom comes “every good gift and every perfect boon;” its production is due to the teaching of his Word and the operation of his Spirit (Zec 12:10).
4. Destined for a proper use. Not to be neglected, repressed, or restrained (Job 15:4); but appreciated, guarded, cherished, freely and fully “poured out” at the feet of the Giver, that he may be glorified.D.
HOMILIES BY G. WOOD
2Sa 7:1, 2Sa 7:2
David’s desire to build a temple.
After the conquest of Jebus by David and his appointment of the spot to be the capital of the united kingdom of which he was now the ruler, it soon became his earnest purpose to bring thither the long-neglected ark of the covenant, that the city might be the sacred as well as the civil metropolis. This purpose was at length fulfilled. The ark was settled on Zion in a tent prepared for it, and a daily service established in connection with it. But the king was not long satisfied with what he had done. Larger and more generous thoughts took possession of his mind, and stirred within him eager desire.
I. WHAT WAS THE KING‘S DESIRE? To erect a solid, permanent building, of suitable magnificencea templein which the ark should be placed, and where the services of worship should be constantly maintained. Most likely he contemplated what was afterwards effected, the reunion on one spot of the ark and the altars; and the presentation of the daily and other sacrifices and offerings at their proper place before the symbol of the Divine presencethe revival, in fact, of the Mosaic ritual under circumstances and with accompaniments adapted to the existing condition of the nation. The purpose was good and tended to good. It was time that the irregularity and negligence which had prevailed should come to an end, and the requirements of the Law should be obeyed. It was fitting that the unity of the people should be fully symbolized, expressed, and promoted by such a united worship as the Law enjoined. It was also suitable to the more settled state which, under David, the people had reached, that a solid fixed building should supersede the tent which was adapted to the time of wandering and unsettlement; and, as the nation’s resources had increased, it was right that the building to be reared should be proportionately costly.
II. HOW IT ORIGINATED.
1. A time of peace favoured it. (2Sa 7:1.) Giving the king leisure for thought as to how he could further promote the nation’s welfare; awakening gratitude; affording means and opportunity. Times of war are greatly unfavourable to such enterprises, forcing minds and hearts into other channels, and swallowing up the resources which might otherwise be expended on them.
2. The solidity, beauty, and comforts of David’s own house suggested it. “I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.” David had known for years what it was to have no settled abode, but to wander about the land, taking refuge in woods and caves; and afterwards he was much away from home, engaged in wars. Lately he had built himself a handsome palace, and now for a time he was able to sit quietly in it and meditate; and as he did so, it one day struck him that his abode was superior to that of the ark of God, and the desire was kindled to put an end to the incongruity. Not every one would have been thus moved. How differently the rich man of whom our Lord speaks in Luk 12:16, et seq; “thought within himself”! And how many prosperous people there are, professing to have given themselves to God, who, as they increase in wealth and enjoy comfort and luxury, never turn a thought towards God’s house or cause, or inquire what they can do for them! They reflect much, it may be, on the question how best to invest their increasing gains; but it never seems to occur to them that the most suitable and profitable investment might be in the cause of religion or charity. A more fervent piety would suggest such thoughts. Gratitude for the abundance bestowed on them; the contrast presented (see Hag 1:4) between their residences and their churches, between what they spend on their establishments and, what they spend in the promotion of the kingdom of God; the witness which their mansions and surroundings bear to the ample means with which God has endowed thrumthe large trust he has committed to them;all would be fruitful of thoughts and emotions to which they are now strangers, and of a style of giving which they have never allowed themselves. It was David’s piety more than the surrounding circumstances that originated his generous purpose.
III. HOW IT WAS TESTED. As to its propriety and probable acceptance with God. He consulted his friend and adviser, Nathan the prophet: The more important the steps we contemplate, the more needful is it, before we are openly and irrevocably committed to them, that we should ascertain how they appear to others, especially to the wisest and best whom we know. Feeling is not a sufficient guide, not even pious feeling; and our own judgment may not be of the soundest. Another may put the matter in a new light, which shall convince ourselves that, however good our motives, our purpose is not wise or not practicable. We cannot directly consult a prophet, but we may find good and enlightened and trustworthy men who will be glad to aid us to a fight conclusion. And what joy it gives to Christian ministers to be consulted by such as come saying, “God has prospered me, I have done well for myself and my family, and I should like to do something proportionate for my God and Saviour: advise me as to how I may best fulfil my desire”! Such applicants are few and far between; such a style of thought and purpose is rare. But it ought not to be. It is a sin and shame that God’s work should be hindered for want of money in a thriving community which can spend freely in all other directions.
IV. HOW IT WAS REGARDED BY NATHAN. He approved and encouraged the desire, assuring David of the Divine approval add cooperation (Luk 12:3). He spoke on the impulse of the moment, with the feeling natural to a pious Israelite and prophet, thankful that his king should cherish such a design. He did well, but had he paused and proposed to “sleep upon” the matter, he would have done better, as appeared next day. We should ever be ready to encourage others in good thoughts and purposes, yet in important matters it is well to take time to consider before we advise as to definite proposals.
V. HOW IT WAS REGARDED BY GOD. The proposal was approved, commended, rewarded, andrejected. The refusal was softened by the terms in which it was conveyed, and the representations and promises by which it was accompanied (Luk 12:4-17; 2Ch 6:8); declaring that it was well that it was in his heart to build a house for God’s Name, although it was a matter of indifference to the Most High what sort of dwelling places men provided for him; reminding David of what he had done for him; assuring him that he would continue to favour the nation, that he would build a house for him as he had sought to build one for himself, and that his son should fulfil the father’s desire, and the throne should continue in his family forever. This was the greatest promise David had received, greater than he himself could then understand, for it looked forward to the everlasting kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. But though his knowledge of its purport was imperfect, his pain at the rejection of his proposal was more than soothed; his heart was filled with adoring gratitude and joy.
VI. HOW ITS SINCERITY WAS PROVED. If he might not do all he desired, he would do all he might and could. He, therefore, prepared plans for the building, accumulated materials for its erection, and urged the work on his son Solomon and the chief men of the nation. An example for us if, setting our hearts on some particular work for God, our purpose is frustrated. Let the diverted energies be employed all the more in such services as are within our reach. A contrast to the conduct of many who, disappointed in reference to some cherished desire (e.g. to become clergymen or missionaries), allow their zeal to decline to the common level, if it do not pass away altogether.
In conclusion:
1. Christian piety will kindle earnest desires to do the greatest possible work for God. Such desires should be cherished in subordination to the Divine will. For though approved of God, they may be denied (Pro 10:24 notwithstanding). If denied, we should be content, assured of the perfect wisdom and goodness of the purpose of God which has frustrated ours, and that for us and others he has some better thing in store than we had thought of. Though denied, our desire may be fulfilled (as David’s by Solomon). Whether denied or gratified, goal desires (such as are really good, and not mere idle wishes) are always valuable, for what they indicate in ourselves, for the Divine approval they elicit, for their influence on ourselves, and their influence on others (as David’s on his successor and on the chiefs of the nation).
2. The desire to build or aid in building a house for the worship of God is good.
3. We may all assist in the erection and adornment of a nobler temple than that which David sought to build. “The house of God is the Church of the living God” (1Ti 3:15), and all who labour for the conversion and spiritual improvement of men are helping in the glorious work of building and adorning this spiritual house. Let all Christian workers realize the dignity and glory of their work. Let us all ask ourselves whether we have any heart for it, are doing anything towards it; whether we are capable of doing anything in it that shall be acceptable to God, having first given our own selves to him, and received his Spirit.G.W.
2Sa 7:12-16
David’s everlasting kingdom.
These words relate, first, to Solomon; then to successive generations of David’s posterity; and, finally, to the Christ. They promise that David’s son should be God’s son, and should build the house for God which David had desired to build. They promise also that the rule over Israel should continue in the line of David’s posterity, and that his house and kingdom should be established forever. They were partly fulfilled in the long continuance of the reign of David’s descendants. They receive their most ample and splendid fulfilment in the eternal kingdom of the greatest Son of David, our Lord and Savioura fulfilment beyond all that David could ask or think.
I. THE GREAT KING.
1. Is David’s son. He is much more than this; but he is this. A man is at the head of God’s kingdom!
2. Is God’s Son. (2Sa 7:14; comp. Heb 1:5 and Rom 1:3, Rom 1:4.) Both as to his human and his Divine natures, Jesus Christ is the Son of God as none other”the only begotten Son of God.” This shows his greatness, and accounts for his triumphs. The Eternal and Almighty Father recognizes and proclaims him as his Son; declares by the miracles accompanying the personal mission of Jesus, by his Word, Spirit, providence, through the ages, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.”
3. And this illustrious person is King. King over God’s people, his true Israel; King of men; “King of kings, Lord of lords;” King of angels, King over all things in heaven and earth. The kingdom of David has expanded till it extends over the universe.
II. THE PERPETUITY OF HIS REIGN. It shall be literally eternal. “He shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). It is surely more than a coincidence that a system of dominion over men, originating in a Man who had sprung from the reduced family of David, and was accepted by many of his fellow Jews as the Son of David, the Messiah foretold by the prophetsa system proclaimed at the first as the kingdom of Godshould have taken root in the world, have spread so widely and lasted so long; that it should have proved to be the system in and through which especially the best influences of Heaven operate, and the divinest principles rule the hearts and lives of those who receive it; and that it should today be more extensively prevalent than ever, and that amongst the most enlightened and powerful nations (to whose enlightenment and power it has largely contributed), and giving promise of becoming the ruling power everywhere. It is a veritable kingdom, uniting all who belong to it as one “holy nation” which acknowledges Jesus of Nazareth as its King, and submits to his rule. It has continued nearly nineteen centuries, and gives no sign of decay. In all this the Christian recognizes the fulfilment of the promise made to David and repeated so frequently afterwards by the prophets; and through his faith in that promise he anticipates the everlasting duration of the reign of Christ, the eternity of the King, and the eternity of his reign. We are sure that he must reign forever; and our assurance rests on:
1. The promises of God. The “God who cannot lie,” and who has power to fulfil all his Word, and subdue all that opposes.
2. The nature of the kingdom. “A kingdom which cannot be moved” (Heb 12:28). It is spiritual, and cannot be put down by the material forces which destroy other reigns. It is the reign of Divine truth, righteousness, and love; and we cannot doubt but that these will triumph and be perpetuated.
3. The nature of the King. “The First, and the Last, and the Living One,” who, though he “was dead,” is “alive forevermore” (Rev 1:17, Rev 1:18, Revised Version). This King literally “lives forever.” He is Divine as well as human. His reign is the reign of the Almighty God, which cannot be destroyed.
4. Past experience. The kingdom of Jesus Christ has survived in spite of all opposition. All possible hostile powers have done their utmost, and have failed. Christianity has outlived many kingdoms, which to human appearance promised to survive it. It has been assailed by brute force in a variety of forms, and by the forces of intellectual subtlety, of Political power, and of spiritual error, and it has conquered. It has seemed to be seriously endangered by the folly and wickedness of its professed friends, but still it survives and flourishes. In a word, the prince of this world has used all arts and energies at his command to crush the power of Christ, but in vain. “He that sitteth in the heavens laughs” at all that opposes his Son, saying, “Yet have I set my King on my holy hill of Zion” (Psa 2:4, Psa 2:6). And in the everlasting future this kingdom will continue. A great change is, indeed, predicted in 1Co 15:24. But as the kingdom of the Son is the kingdom of the Father, so the kingdom of the Father will still be that of the Son. Let, then, all the loyal subjects of Christ cast away fear for his kingdom, whatever forms opposition to it may take, and however formidable they may appear. And let all be concerned to be his loyal subjects.
III. THE GREAT WORK HE WOULD EFFECT. “He shall build a house for my Name” (1Co 15:13). The words may be taken as applicable not only to the temple which Solomon built, but to the nobler structure which our Lord is rearing, of which he is the chief Cornerstone (1Pe 2:4-6)”the temple of the living God” (2Co 6:16), built of “living stones” quickened and consecrated by the Holy Spirit”the habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:20-22). From age to age the work of erecting this spiritual temple goes on in the conversion of men to Christ, and their addition to his Church; and, when completed, the building will be for the everlasting honour of the Builder. May we all have a place in it!G.W.
2Sa 7:18
Meditation before the Lord.
David, with a heart filled with wonder and gratitude by the message from heaven communicated to him by Nathan, “went in and sat before the Lord,” and poured forth his thoughts and feelings in the words which follow. He probably went into the tent in which he had placed the ark, and there meditated and prayed. But the phrase, “before the Lord,” is very frequently employed with out any reference to the ark, the tabernacle, or the temple. God is everywhere, and every where we may place ourselves as in his special presence, and with acceptance and profit offer him our thoughts and worship; and we do well often to imitate David in this respect.
I. THE CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE, AND INDEED ESSENTIAL, TO RIGHT THOUGHT AND WORSHIP WHICH ARE FOUND IN THE FELT PRESENCE OF GOD.
1. The exclusion of the world and its influences. “Before the Lord,” the world, with its gains, pleasures, opinions, applause, or disapproval, vanishes from view, or appears as nothing; and thus we are delivered from its blinding and perverting influence.
2. Intense consciousness of God. He is for the time our All. His character, works, relation to us, dealings with us, claims upon us, judgment respecting us, stand forth glorious and impressive.
3. Intense consciousness of ourselves, our real nature, relationships, responsibilities to God and man. In the light of the Divine presence these things appear quite otherwise than when we regard only the material and the human.
4. Greater susceptibility to Divine influences, and receptivity of Divine gifts. Our hearts are prepared to receive more of the Holy Spirit; and we do receive more.
II. THE SPIRITUAL PROFIT THUS SECURED.
1. Fuller and truer knowledge. “In thy light shall we see light” (Psa 36:9), which includes knowledge and much besides. “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end” (Psa 73:17). In the presence of God we obtain deeper insight into his nature and character, understand better his plans and methods. Our thoughts of him are enlarged and quickened. And in knowing him we come to know ourselves; his greatness reveals our littleness; his holiness, our sinfulness; and his fatherly love and redeeming grace, the true worth and dignity of our souls. Coming to him, as the disciples to Christ, to tell him what we have been doing and teaching, the poverty and imperfections of our lives become manifest to us. In his presence, too, we learn the relative values of holiness and sin, time and eternity, this world and the next.
2. Richer and deeper emotions and affections. Penitence and humility, gratitude and love, confidence and hope, peace and joy, are all nourished best in the presence of God. Coming to him to confess our sins and failures, we shall, as we look into his face, be inspired with new and more hopeful resolve. Bringing our cares and fears to him, as Hezekiah the letter of Sennacherib (Isa 37:14), we shall be relieved of them, and gain new courage and patience.
3. Ever better worship. Which will naturally spring from an enriched and spiritual life. Worship which is not offered “before the Lord” is not worship at all; and the more his presence is felt the worthier will our worship be.
4. Ever growing power to live according to our convictions and resolutions. “Before the Lord,” his children grow brave and strong to do and endure. His eye felt to be upon them, they act nobly; his love realized by them, their hearts are filled with a love mighty to serve him and their brethren, and to conquer the evil powers. Finally: The measure of our disposition to go before God for converse with him, instruction, stimulus, consolation, etc; is the measure of our actual piety. We lose much of the highest happiness and profit through negligence in this respect. All that occupies our minds and moves our hearts becomes sanctified and elevated as we go aside and bring it “before the Lord.” On the other hand, the greatest attention to religious observances which are not, through faith and love, done in the presence of God, is worthless, dishonouring to God, and useless, yea, worse than useless, to the worshipper.G.W.
2Sa 7:18, 2Sa 7:19
Effects of God’s goodness on the heart.
(Suitable for a birthday or the new year.) David, having retired into the presence of God, pours out before him the feelings of his heart, in view of what God had done for him, and what he had just promised to do.
I. THE MERCIES CONTEMPLATED.
1. Past leading. “Thou hast brought me hitherto.” How much this included in David’s case! How much in the case of every one of us! Each should recall in God’s presence the particulars of his own life. Life itself, reason, health, preservation, supply of wants, home surroundings and comforts, the love of parents, etc; education, advancement in life, deliverances from perils and sicknesses, honours, the advantages of living in a country civilized, free, Christian; the Word and ordinances of God, connection with his Church and ministers, and all that has flowed therefromthe life of God in the soul, pardon, peace, hope, the Spirit of adoption, love to God and men, access to God, the communion of saints, growth in grace, victory over temptations, opportunity and will to do good, success in Christian labours, support in troubles and benefit from them. Also the blessings of one’s “house”wife, children, good children especially, and their happiness. It is an endless task to remember and recount all the mercies of God; but the attempt is always salutary.
2. Promises as to the future. “This was yet a small thing in thy sight, but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come.” Astonished and grateful as David was in view of his past experience of God’s goodness, the promises he had now received respecting the perpetuation of his kingdom into the distant future still more affected him We also have “given unto us exceeding great and precious promises,” stretching onward into the eternal future. The kindness of God in the past is but “a small thing.” Even his spiritual gifts, great as they are, and the necessary preparation for the eternal, are but a slight foretaste and pledge of the exaltation, perfection, glory, and bliss which be will bestow upon his children in increasing abundance forever and ever.
II. THEIR GIVER. The contemplation of our history and prospects will bare a beneficial or injurious effect as we do or do not recognize God as the Giver of all. Some men regard themselves as the architects of their own fortunes, and are correspondingly filled with self-satisfaction. David ascribed all to God; and we ought to be like him in this. For if we have done much for ourselves, the power, opportunity, and will to do so came from him; if friends have greatly aided us, these also were God’s gifts. In spiritual things it is especially obvious that “by the grace of God” we are what we are.
III. THEIR RECEIVER. “Who am I,” etc.? The thought of David’s insignificance and that of his family rendered the Divine goodness to him more conspicuous and impressive. So we shall more duly estimate the goodness of God to us, if we think rightly of ourselves; and a due impression of the greatness of his goodness will lead us to a just estimate of ourselves. At every step of our review of the past and anticipation of the future shall we be reminded of the many exhibitions of our own unworthiness. “Who am I?”a frail and insignificant creature, a sinner, a great and persistent sinner; at best, a very imperfect Christian; proved to be such by innumerable instancesthat I should be so favoured now, and should have such hopes of everlasting blessing set before me?
IV. THE EMOTIONS AWAKENED BY THEM.
1. Astonishment. At the Divine goodness, sovereign, free, unbounded, condescending. At the return made, which would appear incredible were it not for the sure testimony of memory and consciousness.
2. Gratitude and love. Expressed in praise and self-consecration (Rom 12:1).
3. Humility. The mercies of God revealing the more our unworthiness. The perception of his hand in our lives making our own part in the good they have contained seem insignificant. “Not unto us,” etc. (Psa 115:1). “Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?” (1Co 4:7).
4. Benevolence. His loving kindness producing loving kindness in our hearts, as we contemplate it; and prompting to a return of benefits, which, as they cannot be conferred on God himself, we bestow on his representatives. “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love” (Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2, Revised Version). “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1Jn 4:11).G.W.
2Sa 7:20
Unutterable thoughts and feelings known to God.
God’s knowledge of the heart, which is a terror to evil men who think upon it, is often a joy to his servants. “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee” (Joh 21:17). So David, with his heart too full for adequate utterance, finds satisfaction in the thought that God knew what his thoughts and feelings were.
I. THE FELT INADEQUACY OF LANGUAGE TO EXPRESS THE DEEPEST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF THE GODLY SOUL. In our ordinary condition we feel not this difficulty. Our expressions are more likely to go beyond our thoughts and feelings, especially when we use forms of devotion prepared by others. But when the soul is deeply stirred, as David’s at this time, we struggle in vain to express fully what is within. It is thus with
1. Our sense of the value of God’s gifts. Christ, God’s “unspeakable Gift” (2Co 9:15). Salvation. Everlasting life. Gifts of God associated with these which are from time to time bestowedspecial help in temptation, comfort in trouble, guidance in perplexities as to truth or duty, etc.
2. Our sense of the love which bestows them. We can only say, “How great is thy goodness!” “How excellent is thy loving kindness!” “God so loved the world;” “The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Psa 31:19; Psa 36:7; Joh 3:16; Eph 3:19). Or, as David (2Sa 7:22), “Thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like unto thee.”
3. The emotions excited by them. Our gratitude, affection, penitence, humility, confidence, joy (“unspeakable,” 1Pe 1:8), longing for fuller experience of them (“groanings which cannot be uttered,” Rom 8:26), anticipations of their perfect enjoyment (2Co 5:2-4). In our times of intense devotion we feel how utterly impossible it is fully to express what is in our hearts.
II. THE SATISFACTION WHICH ARISES FROM GOD‘S PERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF US. “What can David say more unto thee?” I cannot express what I feel; and I need not labour to do so, “For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant.” It is the same thought which St. Paul expresses, when, speaking of the unutterable groanings with which the Holy Spirit intercedes in the Christian soul, he says, “He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit” (Rom 8:27). God knows much more about us than our words express; is not dependent for his knowledge of us on our own account of ourselves. As we cannot by any words conceal from him the evil which is in us, so our deficiencies of expression will not hinder his discernment of the good. Even earthly parents see the meaning which their children try to express in stammering words and broken sentences; how much more does the heavenly Father, who is not at all dependent for his knowledge of us on our words, see beyond the poor utterances of his children, into their hearts! This is
(1) a comfort under the consciousness of imperfect and unworthy utterance in our addresses to God; and
(2) a reason for not labouring too much to express ourselves fully and worthily.
But it is not a reason for either
(1) declining to speak to God at all,David did not actually sink into silence because he felt that he could not adequately express himself, and that God knew him (see what follows); or
(2) accustoming ourselves to careless expression before him.
Since
(1) the endeavour to speak aright aids right thought and feeling, these grow in the endeavour to utter them;
(2) in family and social worship our language aids or hinders others; and
(3) we should ever offer to God our best, poor as we may feel it to be. And we may indefinitely improve both in thought and expression by the careful employment of the helps presented in Holy Scripture and uninspired devotional books. Christian poets, too, may much assist us to find suitable, though it may be still inadequate, utterance for our deepest thoughts and emotions.
Finally:
1. David’s emotions on this occasion are at once an example and a reproach to us. For the gifts and promises of God to us, if not greater than those to him, are greater than his understanding of them could be. They stand out to us in the light which streams from Jesus Christ, unfolding into all the precious revelations and assurances of the gospel, and all the happy experiences which the Holy Spirit produces. Yet how seldom are we so affected as to feel language too poor for the expression of the wonder, love, and gratitude which we feel!
2. How sad to be utterly insensible to the goodness of God and the greatness of his gifts to us!G.W.
2Sa 7:21
God’s works and God’s heart and words.
David looks on those great things which God had promised him as if already accomplished, so great confidence had he in the power and faithfulness of the Promiser; and, conscious that they were due to no worthiness or power of his own, he acknowledges that all originated in the heart of God and were simply in fulfilment of his word, by which they had become known to himself. For the will and the work and the word he praises God.
I. GOD DOES GREAT THINGS ON BEHALF OF HIS PEOPLE. The works of creation are great and according to his own heart, originating in himself, and on a scale proportionate to his own greatness. So with the works of his providence. But we will apply the words to redemption. The works included in this are indeed great. They are on a scale of grandeur worthy of God.
1. The methods employed are great. The Incarnationthe union of God and man in one Person. The display of the glory of God in the earthly life of Christ, and at his death, resurrection, and ascension. His exaltation to be “Lord of all.” The descent and operations of the Holy Spirit.
2. The work effected on behalf of man is great. The atonement especially, and all involved in it. The conquest over sin and Satan and death. The opening of the way to God and heaven.
3. The work wrought in and towards men is great.
(1) In respect to each believer. Illumination, regeneration, pardon, peace, holiness, perfection, glory everlasting, together with the special guidance and government of God’s providence tending to and issuing in these great results.
(2) In respect to the multitude redeemed and saved.
(3) In respect to the final deliverance and exaltation with the Church of the whole creation (Rom 8:19-22; Eph 1:10).
II. GOD DOES THESE GREAT THINGS “ACCORDING TO HIS OWN HEART.”
1. They spring from his heart. They are done spontaneously, of his own free grace and will “his own good pleasure.” Not at the prompting of others, for none other could have conceived them. Not under a sense of obligation, for we had no claim upon him, except that our sin and misery appealed to his compassion. They originated in the Divine mind, sprang from the Divine love.
2. They befit his heart. They bear the stamp of the Divine nature; are worthy of his infinite wisdom, righteousness, benevolence, and power; are the grandest display of them. “It became him,” etc. (Heb 2:10).
“All thy ways
Are worthy of thyselfDivine;
But the bright glories of thy grace
Beyond thine other wonders shine.”
III. GOD DOES THESE GREAT THINGS IN FULFILMENT OF HIS OWN WORD. “For thy Word’s sake.”
1. He announces them by his Word. “To make thy servant know them.” The things which God has done and will do he makes known. It is thus they become available to each and all to whom the Word is communicated. For the knowledge is the chief part of the means by which salvation is wrought. “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom 1:16; see also Rom 10:13, Rom 10:14; 1Co 1:17, 1Co 1:18, 1Co 1:23; Jas 1:18; 1Pe 1:22, 1Pe 1:23). Thus also we are assured of the completion of the work of redemption. For by the promises our God lays himself under obligation to perfect the salvation of all believerses It is, therefore, a great privilege to know these great things which God works.
2. He accomplishes them according to his Word. He cannot do otherwise. He “cannot lie” (Tit 1:2). “He abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself” (2Ti 2:13). Moreover, “what he hath promised, he is able also to perform” (Rom 4:21). Now that he has given his Word, “for his Word’s sake” if there were no other reason, he will do “all these great things.”
Then:
1. Let us, like David, adore and praise our God for his wondrous works, and for making them known to us. How glorious he appears in these works! Let us ascribe glory to him.
2. Let believers rest assured of the complete accomplishment of the work of their own redemption. They have the Word and the heart of God, and his actual works for them and in them, to give them assurance.
3. Let us fear, lest we should fail, through negligence and unbelief, to appropriate the redemption so wondrously wrought for us, notwithstanding our knowledge of it. (See Heb 2:1-4.)G.W.
2Sa 7:22
God surpassingly great and ever the same.
“Wherefore,” because thou doest these great things, extending on through the ages, and because thou canst and dost foresee and predict them, “thou art” manifestly “great” thyself, surpassing all others; the very God our fathers worshipped and have told us of. David’s knowledge of God becomes to a greater degree personal insight and conviction through the new revelation with which he is favoured. It is well when living conviction as to God is wrought through experience of his kindness rather than his severity.
I. THE SURPASSING GREATNESS OF GOD.
1. God is great.
(1) In his nature. Infinite in all his perfections. Great, not only in power and knowledge, but in righteousness and love. “His greatness is unsearchable” (Psa 145:3).
(2) In his operations. In these his greatness is exercised and displayed. In his works of creation, preservation, redemption, and government, we see how great he is. David saw it in his dealings towards himself and his posterity. In the nature of his plans and purposes; in his ability to rule a free world through successive ages, so as to effect their accomplishment; and in the power to predict and promise the result with certainty, God appears unspeakably great. Thus prophecy as well as creative energy manifests the greatness of God, both in the Divine plan itselfa grand scheme of justice and love stretching from the beginning to the end of time, and on throughout eternityand in the revelation of it to man.
2. God is great beyond all others. “There is none like unto thee, neither is there any God beside thee.” He has no equal, none that approaches him in majesty.
(1) No creature. All are at an infinite distance beneath him. He has made some creatures to resemble him in a measure in their intelligence, goodness, and position over other creatures; but their resemblance is like that of the image of the sun in a dewdrop to the sun itself. Whatever his creatures may be, they and their capacities are derived and dependent; he is underived and independent (“from everlasting”); their powers are very limited, his unbounded; none of them can create or give life; he is the “Fountain of life” (Psa 36:9); they are mutable, he immutable; they mortal, he “only hath immortality” (1Ti 6:16).
(2) No god. David would think of the divinities worshipped by the peoples around; we may think of all the objects of worship in idolatrous nations, ancient and modern. Regarding them as they exist in the minds of men, producing certain effects upon them, how utterly unlike our God! We feel it almost profane to compare them with him. But in reality they are nonentities, “vanities,” as they are so frequently called in Holy Scripture. There is no God beside our God.
II. HIS IDENTITY WITH THE GOD MADE KNOWN TO US FROM FORMER TIMES. “According to all that we have heard with our ears” (comp. Psa 78:3, Psa 78:4). David recognizes that the God who was so wondrously and graciously revealing himself to him was the same God whom he had been taught to revere and trust on account of the great things he had done for Israel in former days. The form of manifestation was different; the things done were different; but there were the same Divine perfections apparent, the same care for the people whom he had chosen. It was a joy to the king to discern that Jehovah, the God of the fathers, was communicating with him; and that what he was doing and promising corresponded with what he had heard of him. The revelation which God has given of himself in Christ differs in many respects from the old revelations; the operations of God under the new covenant differ from those under the old. But as we come into living communion with God in Christ, and become ourselves the subjects of his grace; as also we learn the great things which God has done and is doing under the gospel, and the promises he makes to those who receive it;we too shall rejoice to discern that our God is the same as was worshipped by the faithful of old, and all through the agesJehovah, the living God, still righteous and merciful and almighty; still doing wonders of power and grace; and doing them on a vastly wider scale, no longer chiefly in Israel, but amongst all nations. One God unites all generations, is to unite all peoples. The God of our fathers is our God, and our experience of him corresponds with theirs. Thus the records of his revelations and proceedings in all the past become available for instruction, and the encouragement of faith and hope, in the present and the future.
From the whole subject let us learn:
1. To rejoice in and praise God. It is matter for just thankfulness that we have a God so great and glorious to worship and confide in, One who lives and works evermore, and is throughout all ages the same God.
2. To expect great things from One so great, for ourselves and the whole Church. He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power which worketh in us” (Eph 3:20); and which has ever wrought among and on behalf of his people “according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
3. To realize conscious communion with the saints of all ages. And so with all saints in earth and heaven.
4. To abjure tile folly, sin, and peril of declining the friendship of this great Being, and living in enmity with him.G.W.
2Sa 7:23, 2Sa 7:24
The blessedness of God’s people.
The thought of the greatness of God, in contrast with other objects of worship, naturally leads to that of the happiness of the people to whom he has revealed himself, and on whose behalf he has shown his greatness by his works. Israel was thus blessed above all other nations; Christians inherit the same blessedness with large increase. The people of God are distinguished above all others by
I. THEIR REDEMPTION. (2Sa 7:23.)
1. The nature of it. Israel was redeemed from bondage in Egypt, and afterwards from the Canaanite “nations and their gods.” A wonderful and happy deliverance. Christians are the subjects of a higher redemption. They are delivered from sin, from a bondage more cruel and degrading than that of Egypt;, They are redeemed “from all iniquity” (Tit 2:14), “from this present evil world” (Gal 1:4); “from their vain manner of life handed down from their fathers” (1Pe 1:18, Revised Version). They are redeemed from the consequences of sin. They have “redemption, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14); they are redeemed “from the curse of the Law” (Gal 3:13); from the power of the devil, and so from the power and the dread of death (Heb 2:14, Heb 2:15); they await “the redemption of their body” (Rom 8:23); they are delivered “from the wrath to come” (1Th 1:10). Such are some of the statements of Scripture respecting the “redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24).
2. The manner of it. The deliverance from Egypt was effected by marvels of Divine power. God “went” forth to their rescue, doing “great things and terrible,” in which the people themselves had and could have no part. In the destruction of the Canaanitish peoples they did take part, but their deliverances were by the power of God as really as their redemption from Egypt. For the spiritual and eternal redemption God has interposed in ways yet more marvellous. By wonders of love and righteousness and power combined, he delivers men from sin and death and hell. “He sent his Son to be the Propitiation for our sins” (1Jn 4:10). “We have redemption through his blood” (Eph 1:7); and so the saints on earth and those in heaven unite in praise of him who, by his blood, washed them from their sins, and redeemed them to God (Rev 1:5; Rev 5:9). Mere power could not effect this redemption.
(1) God must, in redeeming men, “declare his righteousness.; that he might be just,” as well as “the Justifier” (Rom 3:26); and this is effected by the death of Jesus, “the Just for the unjust” (1Pe 3:18).
(2) Men are to be delivered from sin by moral suasion; and this also is effected by the manifestation at once of the evil of sin, and the greatness of the Divine love, in the sacrifice of Christ. Thus the great redemptive act is the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus. But this is rendered effectual in the experience of men by
(3) the power of the Holy Spirit, revealing to the heart the gospel of redemption, which then becomes “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom 1:16). To have thus realized redemption is the greatest blessedness and honour, and those who have this experience are the true “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16).
3. The glory which this Redemption brings to the Redeemer. “God went to redeem,.; and to make him a Name.” This aspect of the deliverance of Israel is not unfrequently presented in Holy Writ (see Exo 9:16; Isa 63:12, Isa 63:14). Similarly, the Christian redemption is said to be “to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Eph 1:6, Eph 1:12; Eph 2:7; 2Co 4:15). It is not that, like some ambitious human hero, he cares for a great name for his own sake; but by his Name he is known, and men are drawn to him and saved (see Joh 17:26). In like manner, our Lord is said to have acquired through his humiliation and obedience unto death “a Name which is above every name,” even “the Name of Jesus,” and this also” to the glory of God the Father” (Php 2:9-11).
II. THE RELATION ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THEM AND GOD. (2Sa 7:24.) This also distinguishes them above all others. They are constituted the people of God; he becomes their God. It is for this purpose they are redeemed. This representation of the relation between God and his people appears first in a promise made to Abraham (Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8), is repeated in promises given through Moses (Exo 6:7, etc.), is adopted by David here, reappears in the prophets (e.g. Jer 31:33), is applied in the New Testament to Christians (2Co 6:16, etc.), and is finally used in a description of the perfect blessedness of the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:3). It comprehends all that the most enlightened and holy can desire.
1. They are constituted the people of God. Thus to Israel it is said by Moses, “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deu 14:2; see also Deu 26:18). St. Peter employs similar language to describe the position of Christians (1Pe 2:9); and St. Paul says (Tit 2:14) that our Lord “gave himself for us, that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people [‘a people for his own possession,’ Revised Version].” The representation includes:
(1) Ownership. They are his by right of creation and of purchase. “I gave Egypt for thy ransom” (Isa 43:3); “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price” (1Co 6:19, 1Co 6:20).
(2) Appropriation. God takes possession of the people who are his; in the case of Christians, by his Spirit.
(3) Self-consecration.
(4) Homage, including trust, love, worship (while other peoples worship other gods, the people of God worship him), and obedience.
(5) Glorification. They “show forth his praise” (Isa 43:21; 1Pe 2:9). They promote his kingdom.
2. He is their God. All that men expect from their God he is to his people, and far more. He is theirs by covenant and promise. He gives himself to them. He exercises authority over them. They enjoy his love, his presence, the employment of his power to teach and guide, to purify, to comfort, to chastise, to protect, to employ, to perfect, to honour, to save.
3. The relation is eternal. “Forever.” This is true in a sense of the relation between Israel and God. Although no longer a nation, they still are used to witness for him as no other people; and by their inspired men, and especially by him who is of them “according to the flesh,” they have become the chief religious teachers and benefactors of mankind. And the day is coming when they will accept their Messiah, and, “with the fulness of the Gentiles,” form one people of God. The real, spiritual Israel of all ages and lands are God’s, and he is theirs forever and ever.
Then:
1. Happy are the people thus favoured by the Most High! He confers on them greater honour and blessing than on any others. This is true of Israel; of any nation who have the Word and ordinances of God amongst them; of the visible Church of Christ; and emphatically of the true spiritual Church. The distinction and glory become more marked as the reality of what is included in the title, “people of God” increases. To have a Divine revelation is a great privilege; but greater to receive and be renewed by it, and thus be heirs of all its promises.
2. Be concerned to be one of the true people of God, who have Jehovah for their God forever.
3. Take heed to live in a manner becoming your relation to him whom you acknowledge as your God. (See Lev 19:1-37; passim.) The people of a God of holiness and love should be distinguished by these qualities. Only thus can they prove themselves to be his. Only such people are his in any lastingly happy sense. Would that it were possible to point to every Christian Church, and challenge the world to produce any communities equal to them in all that is pure, righteous, and benevolent!G.W.
2Sa 7:25
God’s promises and our prayers.
“Do as thou hast said.” The words are used by David of the promises given to him respecting himself and his house. They are applicable to all the promises.
I. THEY FURNISH A GUIDE TO OUR PRAYERS. What God has said shows us what we should ask. His promises indicate:
1. The kind of blessings which we should most earnestly seek. The promises of Godthose given us in Christ especiallyassure us of temporal good so far as is needful; but relate chiefly to spiritual and eternal blessings. The “good things” of Mat 7:11 are interpreted for us by Luk 11:13 to be mainly “the Holy Spirit,” which comprehends all good for our spirits, all the best things for time and eternity. While, therefore, we may pray for things temporal with moderated and submissive desire, we should most earnestly and constantly pray for things spiritual. In praying according to what God “has said,” we are guided by infinite wisdom and love; we are asking “according to his will” (1Jn 5:14). To permit ourselves to be prompted in prayer by our own worldly, carnal inclinations, is to turn our worship into sin, and to ask for evil instead of good.
2. The degree of these blessings which we should seek. The promises of God encourage us to open our mouths wide for him to fill (Psa 81:10). They are without limit in extent and duration of blessing. Let us not limit ourselves in our desires, nor limit in our thoughts the bounty or power of God (Psa 78:41). What he “has said” includes all we can need, but no more than we need for our highest blessedness; let us not be content with less. Let us study the promises, stretch our minds to grasp them, and then turn them into prayer; and, certain that our thoughts have not attained to the full extent of their meaning, let us yield ourselves to the influences of the Holy Spirit, that he may intercede within and “for us with groanings which cannot be uttered,” but which “he that searcheth the hearts” can interpret and respond to (Rom 8:26, Rom 8:27).
II. THEY FURNISH AN ALL–POWERFUL PLEA IN OUR PRAYERS. “Do as thou hast said” is an appeal to the faithfulness and kindness of him to whom we pray. “Thou canst not break thy word (‘Thy words be true,’ Luk 11:28); thou art too kind to trifle with those who confide in it. For thy Name’s sake, therefore, fulfil thy promises.”
III. THEY ASSURE US OF A FAVOURABLE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS. When our prayers are according to the Divine promises, we should be absolutely certain of their success. For:
1. God is able to do as he has said.
2. He is most willing. His promises spring from his love to us, and express what he is most desirous of conferring upon us, and which only our indifference, unwillingness, unbelief, and consequent unfitness prevent our receiving.
3. His word binds him. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or bath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num 23:19).
4. He has given confirmations of his promises and pledges for their fulfilment, especially in the gift of his Son (2Co 1:20; Rom 8:32). Therefore “let us ask in faith, nothing doubting” (Jas 1:6, Revised Version). Were it not for what he has said, we might reasonably hesitate to ask for such great things as we are taught to pray for; but, having his word, there is no room for hesitation (Luk 11:27). However conscious of sinfulness and unworthiness, we may and should “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb 4:16; also Heb 10:19, Heb 10:22).
Let us, then:
1. Familiarize ourselves with the promises of God, that we may pray with understanding and largeness of heart, and with confidence, importunity, and perseverance.
2. Use the promises when we pray, whether for ourselves, our families, our country, the Church, or the world.
3. Abandon whatever would turn the words, “Do as thou hast said,” into a fearful imprecation. For think of what God has said as to what he will do with the impenitent, the unbelieving, the disobedient, the unforgiving, etc; even if they offer prayers to him (see e.g. Mat 6:12, Mat 6:14, Mat 6:15).G.W.
2Sa 7:26
God’s Name magnified in his people.
Any name of God is magnified when it is made to appear great in the eyes of his intelligent creatures, and they esteem and declare it great. This is done when he himself adds to the significance of the name by yet more glorious works or revelations; and when they come to larger conceptions of its significance, and consequently use the name with greater fulness of meaning. Thus as “the sons of God” watched the various stages of creation, the name of “Creator” would acquire greater significance and glory. The name “Jehovah of hosts” would become more glorious as the hosts themselves in the heavens and on earth grew more numerous. But David here assumes that additional glory to this great name of God might and would arise from his relation to Israel; that to say, “Jehovah of hosts is the God over Israel,” would be to add lustre to the name. And rightly, for his Name has been magnified by what he did amongst and for that people, by the revelations of himself which he gave them, and by the results in their national history, in the character and deeds of many of them, and in the history of the world. He made through them such manifestations of his greatness and goodness, righteousness and mercy, as befitted himself; and for which vast multitudes have magnified and do magnify him in their thoughts and thanksgivings. Until the Christ came, no name of God was more illustrious than this, “Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel.” In fact, the coming of Christ and all that has grown out of it was included in that name. Hence another name of God greater still, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and “the God and Father of Christ’s people.” Yea, the whole Name of God, his whole character, all the terms and declarations by which he is made known, is magnified by what he has said and done in Christ. The great threefold name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is as never before declared and glorified in the work of salvation.
I. HOW GOD‘S NAME IS MAGNIFIED IN AND BY HIS PEOPLE. This is effected by:
1. The work wrought for them.
“‘Twas great to speak a world from nought;
‘Twas greater to redeem.”
2. The revelations made to them. In the Person, teaching, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus; and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit through the evangelists and apostles. In these God is manifested more fully and clearly than by all his works besides. Never before did his Name appear so great and glorious.
3. The work wrought in them. The regeneration and sanctification of souls is a more interesting and illustrious display of Divine power than the creation of suns and stars, and reveals more of the Divine nature. The spiritual beauty and glory thus produced surpass all the beauty and glory of the natural world, and in them more of God appears. In “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22) God is magnified more than in all other products of his power.
4. The works done by them. The witness they bear for God by their worship and teaching, and sometimes their sufferings as confessors and martyrs; their godly and loving endeavours for the good of others; the courage and self-sacrifice, faith and patience, with which many of them labour for the spread of the gospel; and the good thus effected;all magnify, the Name of God, from whom all proceed, and to the fulfilment of whose gracious purposes all conduce. The changes wrought by the labours of Christiansthe whole influence and results of Christianity, notwithstanding all drawbacks (serious as these are), are of such a nature and magnitude as to exalt the Name of God more than anything else in the world.
5. The condition they at length attain. Their ultimate moral and spiritual perfection, their perfect happiness, their vast number. “He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2Th 1:10).
6. The praises which are given to him on their account. From themselves, from the angelic hosts; on earth, in heaven; forever. In these ways God appears great and ever greater because of his relation to Christ and the Church.
II. THE PRAYER OF GOOD MEN RESPECTING IT. “Let thy Name be magnified;” let it become greater and greater in the sight of the intelligent universe, and become more and more admired and praised, through what is done in and for and by thy people.
1. Such a prayer is natural to good men. Because they love God, because they have received so much from him, and because they desire the welfare of others, which is involved in the magnifying of the Name of God,
2. There is much to intensify such a prayer.
(1) The condition of the Church. In which there is so much that does not glorify the Name of God, so little comparatively that does. To say that the Lord of hosts is God of such a people does not tend to honour him so greatly as his zealous servants desire. The prayer from their hearts and lips will mean, “Let Christ’s people become so Christ-like as to make it manifest that their religion is from God, that they themselves are specially his, and that be is indeed a Being glorious in holiness and loving kindness.”
(2) The condition of the world. In which God is so little thought of, his Name so little esteemed; in which idols and all manner of vain and even wicked things are magnified more than God; in which men give to themselves and their fellow men the honour which should be his; and whose salvation and whole well being would be ensured by those changes which would magnify the Name of God.
(3) The slow progress of the kingdom of God. The apparent weakness of the Church in reference to her great work, and her real insufficiency for it, should lead all Christians to pray that God would so “arise” and “let his work appear” in the spread and establishment of his kingdom that his Name may be magnified in the earth as it has never yet been.
3. Let the prayer be accompanied by practice. Let each of us who pray, “Hallowed be thy Name,” so live as to aid in fulfilling our prayer; first, in our general character and conduct, and then by faithful endeavours to promote the honour of God amongst professing Christians and throughout the world. Also by hearty praise to God for all he has done in connection with Christ and Christianity to make his Name great and glorious.
Observe, finally, that the Name of God is magnified in the punishment of his enemies. Let us beware lest we be made in this manner to glorify him. Let us rather honour his Name as it appears in Jesus Christ by our faith and obedience; then he will honour it in our salvation.G.W.
2Sa 7:27
Prayer induced and encouraged by promise.
David gives the promise of God to him as a reason for praying that his house might be established forever. He intimates that otherwise he would not have found it in his heart to do so. In like manner, the promises of God to Christians incite and encourage them to pray for bestowments that they would not have otherwise ventured to ask for.
I. THE GREATNESS OF GOD‘S PROMISES. They set before us blessings so precious, vast, and enduring, that, apart from the declarations of God, we should never have dared to think of them as possible for us, or to pray for them. From the goodness and power of God in general we might have ventured to hope and pray for some blessings, hut not such as are now the common subjects of Christian prayer. Look in this view at some of the Divine promises, or declarations which are equivalent to promises.
1. As to the believer himself. Promises as to:
(1) Pardon of great and numerous sins, long practised. Repeated pardons.
(2) Renewal of nature and character. Deliverance from slavery to sins the most natural, the most habitual. “A new heart,” etc.
(3) Adoption into the family of God. The Spirit of adoption. Participation of the Divine nature. Free access to God. Fellowship with him.
(4) Victory over the mightiest enemies.
(5) “Grace sufficient” for all circumstances, and highest good from them.
(6) Fulness of spiritual life, of knowledge, holiness, strength, joy. “Filled unto the fulness of God;” “Filled with the Spirit” The indwelling in the heart of Christ, of God, by the Holy Spirit. Truly there are heights of godliness, goodness, and blessedness attainable in this life, to which most of us are strangers.
(7) Heaven. Seeing God face to face; being with Christ, being like him in body, soul, condition; reigning with him as kings; experiencing “fulness of joy, pleasures forevermore.” Let any one examine the statements of Holy Scripture on these subjects, and consider what they mean; and he must perceive that they set forth blessings which, apart from the assurances thus given, men could not have conceived of, much less imagined that they could ever be their own.
2. As to the future of the kingdom of God on earth. The attraction of all men to Christ; the universal spread of the knowledge, worship, and service of God; and consequently of peace, union, and brotherhood; obedience on earth to God’s will as it is obeyed in heaven. In opposition to such a prospect is the whole history and experience of the world, with the exception of a small fraction; the depravity of mankind, the power of error, superstition, idolatry, priestcraft, old habits of wickedness, etc. Such a vision could never have appeared to men; or, if it had occurred to an active imagination, could never have been regarded as a matter for serious prayer and endeavour, if God had not given it by his prophets and by his Son.
II. THE EFFECT WHICH THESE PROMISES SHOULD HAVE ON OUR PRAYERS. They should:
1. Impel us to pray. Not lead us to neglect prayer, as if the Divine purpose and promise superseded all need for prayer. “Thus saith the Lord God: I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them” (Eze 36:37). The blessings promised are for these who seek them.
2. Enrich and enlarge our prayers. The measure in which we receive is according to the measure in which we desire and ask (Luk 11:5-13; 2Ki 13:18, 2Ki 13:19).
3. Greatly encourage them. Leading us to pray with confidence and importunity. Petitions that would have been presumptuous without the promises are now sober and reasonable. We need not and ought not to be deterred either by:
(1) Our sinfulness and God’s holiness and threatenings.
(2) Our insignificance and God’s majesty.
(3) The greatness of the blessings promised, and our or incapacity to receive them; the difficulties in the way of the fulfilment of the
(4) the difficulties in the way of the fulfilment of the promises.
Sufficient that they are the promises of God, and he
(1) “Jehovah of hosts,” having all things under his control, unchanging and eternal and;
(2) “God of Israel,” our God, our covenant God, who has taken us to be his, and given himself to be ours in Christ Jesus. All that he has promised appears only to befit such a sublime relationship. (See further in homily on 2Sa 7:25.)G.W.
2Sa 7:28
Truth of God’s words.
“Thou art God, and thy words are truth” (Revised version). David may be thinking only of the promises of God, and expressing his own confidence in their fulfilment to himself and his family. But his assertion applies to all the words of God, declarations and threatenings as well as promises; and, as his language is general, his thought may be general also; and his faith in the truth of all the words of God might then be regarded as the ground of his faith in the promise made to himself. The words, “Thou art God,” give the reason of his confidence in the Divine words. “Because thou art God, we know that ‘thy words are truth,’ and only truth.”
I. THE GROUNDS OF OUR ASSURANCE OF THE TRUTH OF GOD‘S WORDS. “Thou art God.”
1. His nature and character.
(1) His universal knowledge. He cannot, like men, be mistaken, and honestly assert that for truth which is untrue.
(2) His essential truthfulness. Because he is God we are intuitively sure of this. As he cannot be mistaken, so he “cannot lie”
(3) His goodness. Which of itself would prevent him from misleading and deceiving his dependent creatures.
(4) His unbounded power. Men who are not untrue to their promises may be unable to fulfil them. Not so God.
(5) His unchangeableness. As well in faithfulness as in goodness and power. He can never become either unable or unwilling to fulfil his Word.
2. His doings. The actual fulfilment of his words.
(1) In the history of the world; especially the promises respecting the Christ, the blessings he would bestow, and the changes he would effect. The faithfulness of God to his Word, as shown in the previous history of Israel, would assure David of the fulfilment of the promises to himself.
(2) Within the range of our own observation and experience. The words of God as to the results of faith and unbelief, of holiness and sin, of prayerfulness and prayerlessness, are continually being accomplished. Our personal experience testifies to their truth, and we can witness their fulfilment in others.
II. THE WORDS RESPECTING WHICH WE HAVE THIS ASSURANCE. All declarations that can be traced to God, whether ascertained by unaided reason (as we say, though the living God through the eternal Word is ever working in the human reason) or by the inspired Book. God speaks in nature as well as in the Bible. Scientific truth, and moral truth known by the conscience, are from him as well as religious. But as Christians we have to do with the words of God in Holy Scripture, and especially with the “truth which is in Jesus.” As he declared in language almost identical with David’s, “Thy Word is truth” (Joh 17:17), so he said of himself, “I am the Truth” (Joh 14:6). And it is of unspeakable importance to be assured that he is and gives the revelation of God; that all that he is and says is the truth. And as he declares of the Old Testament that “the Scripture cannot be broken” (Joh 10:35), we have his warrant for full Confidence also in the more ancient revelation. God’s words as thus ascertained relate to:
1. Existences. God himself, his Son, his Spirit. Inhabitants of the invisible worldangels, Satan, demons. Mankindthe nature of man, purposes of his creation, the relations he sustains, his fallen condition, etc. For our knowledge of the invisible beings and things we depend on the Word of God, mainly the Scriptures; and the knowledge thus acquired is, we may be sure, truth.
2. Moral laws. Known partly by reason, partly by Scripture. However ascertained, we know them to be truth.
3. Spiritual truths and laws. The redeeming love and works of God and our Saviour; the way in which they become effectual for ourselves; the duties thence arising.
4. The results of our conduct in respect to these truths and laws. That is, the promises and the threatenings of God, as to both the present life and the eternal future.
Observe, that it is the words of God about these things which are the truth; not necessarily the assertions of menindividuals or Churchesrespecting them. It is for human teachers, not to require of their brethren unquestioning faith in their statements, but to lead them up to where they may hear the utterances of God himself. And this is to be done, not merely by proving their assertions by the letter of Scripture, but by cherishing themselves, and fostering in others, the spirit which enables communion with “the Father of spirits” (Heb 12:9). If God’s words be truth:
1. We should seek full knowledge of them.
2. We should exercise undoubting faith in them.
(1) The faith which realizes the invisible and eternal; apprehends and feels them to be as God says.
(2) The faith which is full confidence in the Divine promises and threatenings, assurance that our own future and that of others will be according to them. We have such a faith only when our belief sways and rules our hearts and lives.
3. We should imitate God as to our truthfulness and the actual truth of our words. Being true and sincere in our character and utterances, and taking care that what we truly say shall be truth.G.W.
2Sa 7:29
A good man’s prayer for his family.
David’s prayer has especial reference to the promise given him that his family should continue forever to rule Israel. We may take the prayer as suitable to be used by any godly father for his children and children’s children.
I. THE PRAYER. That God would bless the family. A Christian father offering this prayer would have regard to:
1. Temporal blessings. Prolonged life, good health of body and mind, success in worldly pursuits, competence. Asking for these as a blessing from God implies the desire that they should be granted only so far as they will be blessings; that they should come as the result of God’s blessing on upright means (not from fraud, injustice, or violence; see Pro 10:22); and that they should be accompanied with God’s blessing, so that they may not ensnare and injure the soul, but promote its prosperity and highest happiness. Thus regarded, such a prayer is not unbecoming the heart and lips of any good man.
2. Spiritual blessings. That the family may be worthy the name of a Christian household, all being truly the children of God, worshipping and serving him faithfully and to the end. A Christian parent will be more desirous that his house should be good than great”rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom” (Jas 2:5) rather than possessed of material wealth. For such blessings he need not restrain his desires, as they are good in and for themselves, good always and forever. The poorest may seek these for his children, who may enjoy them equally with the wealthiest: they are open to all.
3. Eternal blessings. That he and his may “continue forever before God” (comp. Gen 17:18), and “be blessed forever” numbered with the saints in the glory everlasting. The words translated, “let it please thee to bless,” may be more literally rendered “begin and bless”. As if David’s thoughts reverted from the distant future to the present; and he became acutely alive to the fact that, for the accomplishment of the promise in the future, it was necessary that Cod should be with him and his at once and all along. In the heart of a Christian the meaning may well be, “Let thy blessing come at once, without any delay, on my house, to correct what is wrong, to increase what is right, to produce those conditions which are most favourable to all good, as they most fully ensure thy constant favour.”
II. WHENCE IT ARISES.
1. Godliness. Sense of the value of God’s blessing; preference of it over all else; confidence in God’s fatherly love and sympathy with the love of earthly parents for their children; and faith in his promises.
2. Parental feeling. Love for his family; longing for their true and lasting happiness and well being.
3. Regard for his own happiness. Which is necessarily bound up with the goodness and happiness of his children.
Finally:
1. Such prayer, when real, will be accompanied by Christian instruction and training. (Eph 6:4.)
2. Let children thank God for praying parents. Let them keep before them the image of their fathers and mothers daily kneeling before God, and imploring his blessing on them. Let them, however, not trust to their prayers as sufficient to ensure their salvation; but pray for themselves. (See more on 2Sa 6:20.)G.W.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
2Sa 7:1. When the king sat in his house Dwelt in his house. Houb. i.e. enjoyed himself in peace and repose in the house which Hiram had built for him. Dr. Delaney supposes, it was during this peace that he composed the 92nd Psalm.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
II. The divine consecration of the Davidic kingdom by the promise of the imperishable kingly dominion of the Davidic house.
2Sa 7:1-29
1. Davids purpose to build the Lord a house, and the divine promise that the Lord will build him a house. 2Sa 7:1-16.
1And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord [Jehovah] had given him rest1 round about from all his enemies, 2That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but [and] the ark of God dwelleth within curtains [the curtain].2 3And Nathan said to the king, Go,3 do all that is in thine heart [All, etc., go do], for the Lord [Jehovah] is with thee. 4And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord [Jehovah] came unto Nathan,4 saying, 5Go and tell [say to] my servant, [ins. to] David, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah], 6Shalt5 thou build me a house for me to dwell in? Whereas [For] I have not dwelt in any [a] house since the time that I brought up6 the children of Israel 7out of Egypt even to this day, but have walked7 in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all the places8 wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes9 of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, 8Why build ye not me an house of cedar? Now, therefore, so [And now, thus] shalt thou say unto my servant, [ins. to] David, Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah] of hosts, I took10 thee from the sheepcote [pasture], from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel; 9And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight [from before thee], and have made thee a great11 name like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. 10Moreover [And] I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own [and they shall dwell in their own place], and move no more [and no more be disturbed], neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel,12 [.] and have caused [And I will cause] thee to rest from all thine enemies, also [and] the Lord [Jehovah] telleth thee that he [Jehovah]13 will make thee an house.
12And14 [om. and] when [When] thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels,15 and I will establish his kingdom. 13He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be 14my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men. 15But my mercy shall not depart16 away from 16him, as I took it from Saul whom I put away [ins. from] before thee. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be established [stable] forever before thee;17 thy throne shall be established forever.
2. Davids prayer as answer to this divine promise. 2Sa 7:17-29
17According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. 18Then went king David in [And king David went in] and sat before the Lord [Jehovah], and he said, Who am I, O Lord God [O lord Jehovah]18, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 19And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God [O lord Jehovah], but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? [And this is the law of man,19 O lord Jehovah]. 20And what can [shall] David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God [om. Lord God], knowest thy servant [ins. lord Jehovah]. 21For thy words20 sake, and according to thine own heart hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. 22Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God [Jehovah God]; for there is none like thee, neither is there any [and there is no] God beside thee, according to21 all that we 23have heard with our ears. And22 what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even [om. even] like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you [them] great things and terrible, for thy land [om. for thy land, ins. to drive out] before thy people, which thou redeemedst 24to thee from Egypt, from the [om. from the] nations and their gods? For [And] thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever, and thou, Lord [Jehovah], art become their God.
25And now, O Lord [Jehovah] God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house, establish it [om. it] forever, and do as thou hast said. 26And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord [Jehovah] of hosts is the [om. the] God over Israel; and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. 27For thou, O Lord [Jehovah] of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house; therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. 28And now, O Lord God, [lord Jehovah], thou art that [om. that] God, and thy words be true [are23 truth], 29and thou hast promised [spoken] this goodness unto thy servant; Therefore [And] now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant that it may continue forever before thee; for thou, O Lord God [lord Jehovah], hast spoken it, and with thy blessing let [shall] the house of thy servant be blessed forever.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Davids purpose to build the Lord a house, and the divine prohibition with the promise that the Lord will build him a house. 2Sa 7:1-16 (1 Chronicles 17).
2Sa 7:1-3. Davids resolution to build the Lord a house is approved by the prophet Nathan. Comp. 1Ch 17:1-2.
2Sa 7:1. And when the king dwelt in his house (comp. 2Sa 7:11). What follows occurred not only after David had built his royal palace, but also after he, having secured external quiet, had taken up his permanent abode therein. The starting-point of Davids words in 2Sa 7:2 (like that of the narrative) is the house in which he dwelt [Philippson: Abarbanel refers to Deu 12:9-10 sq.,24 supposing that David thought the condition there laid down to have now reached a fulfilment.Tr.]And the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies.According to these words the following narrative cannot be put chronologically immediately after the Philistine war related in 2 Samuel 5, which view the position of this section after 2 Samuel 6 might seem to favor. Decisive against this is the phrase: round about from all his enemies, and 2Sa 7:9 : I have cut off all thy enemies before thee. The temporary quiet that David gained by that double victory over the Philistines he used to bring the ark to Zion; but he soon found himself involved in new wars begun by Israels enemies round about, first by the Philistines, according to the narration in 2 Samuel 8. Not till he had crushed all Israels pressing enemies could he wish to carry out his determination to build a house for the Lord. On account of its factual connection with the account of the ark the history of this determination is attached to 2 Samuel 6, the narrative throughout, indeed, not appearing to be strictly chronological, but bearing the impress of a grouping of the several sections according to certain principal points of view. (In chs. 812 the external wars, in 1320 the internal difficulties, and in 21. sq. detached occurrences in Davids life are brought together without chronological sequence.) But it is not to be assumed that our narrative is to be put in the last part of Davids life (Then.), since, according to 2Sa 7:11, he had still other wars to carry on against the enemies of Israel, for which reason precisely, and because he had to be on his guard without, the peaceful work of temple building could not be executed (as Solomon also expressly affirms, 1Ki 5:17); and since the promise in 2Sa 7:12 refers to the seed, that will yet proceed from his body. The time of the words: when the Lord had given him rest (wanting in Chron.), is to be put after that of the wars in 2 Samuel 8, whereby David secured his throne against enemies round about, without being able thus to exclude further wars; his resolution to build a temple can be referred only to a temporary rest after his first victorious contests against all his enemies.[Comp. the language in 2Sa 22:1 and Jos 23:1.Tr.]
2Sa 7:2. David communicated this resolution to the prophet Nathan, who, according to this, stood in a confidential relation to him as counsellor, and this is confirmed not only by Nathans reproof after the sin with Bathsheba, but also by the fact (2Sa 12:25) that Solomons education was committed to him, and he with Davids approval anointed Solomon as successor to his father while the latter was still living (1Ki 1:34). [On Nathan see Erdmanns Introduction and the Bible-Dictionaries.Tr.]David states to Nathan as the ground of his resolution the contrast that he dwelt in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God stood within the curtains, that is, simply in a tent (2Sa 6:15). The word here used () means in Exo 26:2 sq. the inner cover composed of several curtains, that was spread over the board-structure of the tabernacle. The Plu. is used in Isa 54:2 as=tent, and in Son 1:5; Jer 4:20 as=tents. The within refers to the drapery formed by the curtains; Chron. has under curtains. Davids words express the pious, humble disposition in which his purpose was founded. The utterance of the purpose itself is not added to this statement of its ground, but is presupposed in Nathans approval [2Sa 7:3]. All that is in thy heart, that is, in this connection, what thou hast resolved on, comp. 1Sa 14:7; 2Ki 10:30. For the Lord is with thee, where the preceding do is based on the Lords leading, under which David, as theocratic king, stands. Nathan characterizes Davids purpose as one well-pleasing to the Lord. J. H. Michaelis: out of his own mind, not by divine revelation.
2Sa 7:4-16. The divine revelation to Nathan for David and his house.
a. 2Sa 7:4-7. Not David is to build the Lord a house.
2Sa 7:4. In that night, following the day on which David held the above conversation with Nathan, came the word of the Lord to Nathan. Nothing is said here of a divine revelation through a dream (comp. Num 12:6; 1Ki 3:5), or through a vision and the hearing of a voice (comp. 1Sa 3:5; 1Sa 3:10; 1Sa 3:15), but the word of the Lord is described as having come to Nathan by night; that is, it is related that he received a divine revelation in the form and through the medium of the word, he receiving its content with the inner ear of the Spirit as a divine decision respecting that which was stirring his heart. Comp. Isa 21:10. By the conversation held with David during the day Nathans soul with all its thoughts and feelings was concentrated on Davids great and holy purpose; this was the psychological basis for the divine inspiration that forms the content of the following revelation, and not in inner contradiction with, but in distinction from his answer to David, informs him that the purposed temple-building is to be executed according to the Lords will not by David, but by his seed.
2Sa 7:5. Nathan receives the divine revelation that he may officially impart it to David.Shouldest [or, shalt] thou build me a house to dwell in?The question has a negative significance=thou shouldest [shalt] not. Chron., interpreting the meaning, has: not thou. Certainly Nathans assent to Davids thought that a house ought to be built for the Lord is not thereby set aside; but it is true that the opinion that David himself is to be the builder is corrected into this other, that this resolution is to be first carried out by his seed. Hengstenbergs interpretation, therefore, that David is to build the house not personally, but in his seed [Christol., Eng. tr. I. 126], is forced and in contradiction both with his word and with Solomons interpretation (1Ki 8:15-21).
2Sa 7:6. The reason for the no. It is logically obvious that this reason must stand in some relation to the sense in which the shalt thou? is spoken. Not thou shalt build me a house, for: 1) I have not dwelt in a house from the day when I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt to this day. During this whole period, while the people had yet no secure, firm, unendangered dwelling-place, the symbol of the Lords presence and dwelling amid His people could also have no permanent abode. But I was a wanderer in tent and dwelling-place, that is, as the people was in constant movement and unquiet, so my abode was of necessity a movable tent, wandering from place to place; the allusion is to the necessary frequent change of place of the sanctuary, first in the wilderness, and then during the unquiet movements hither and thither in the land itself (Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, Gibeon). Comp. 1Ch 17:5 : and I was from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling. There is no sufficient ground for distinguishing tent and dwelling as tent-frame and tent-cover (Then.); rather the dwelling is to be taken with Keil as explicative: in a tent, which was my dwelling.[The word mishkan, rendered in Eng. A. V. tabernacle, sometimes means the whole structure built by Moses, as in Exo 35:11, where it includes the boards, the tent (ohel, the goatskin-curtain) and the covering (mikseh, the curtains of ram-skins and seal-skins). Elsewhere (as in Exo 40:18) it denotes the board-structure with the inner curtains of blue, purple and scarlet; and again it is used (Exo 26:6) apparently for the inner curtains alone. It seems clear that technically the ohel or tent signified the outer cloth of goat-skin, and the mikseh or covering the two protecting heavy cloths of ram-skin and seal skin, the mishkan proper denoting the rest of the structure; but it is not so probable that the technical distinction is introduced here; the interpretation of Keil seems better. Still, taking the somewhat different reading in Chron., we may suppose that each of the terms ohel and mishkan is put for the whole structure of which they formed a part, a variation of terms for the sake of filling out the conception, the former rather suggesting the wilderness, the latter the land of Canaan.Tr.]
2Sa 7:7. 2. To the statement that the Lord had hitherto had no fixed dwelling, but had dwelt only in a movable tent, is appended a second, that in all this time He had never given command to build Him a fixed abode.In all wherein I walked, that is, in my whole walk, during the whole time that I walked among all the children of Israel. These words are to be taken not with the preceding (2Sa 7:6), which form the adversative definition of the immediately preceding declaration, but with the following, and correspond in context with the statement of time in 2Sa 7:6 : from the day. . . to this day. The walking denotes the self-witness of the divine presence, might and help in the whole historical development of Israel up to this time. Spake I a word with any one of the tribes of Israel?Instead of tribes () Chron. has judges (), which is adopted by Ewald, Bertheau, Thenius, Bunsen, after 2Sa 7:11. But the judges are there mentioned in a totally different connection of thought; and if this were the original word, it would be impossible to explain the origination and general unquestioned acceptance of the difficult tribes. The reading of the text tribes is to be retained with Maurer, Bttcher, Keil, Hengstenberg. Maurer correctly remarks: those tribes are to be understood that before the time of David attained the supremacy, as Ephraim, Dan, Benjamin. Bttcher gives a complete list of the tribes that successively attained the headship through the Judges chosen from them. [Abarbanel (quoted by Philipps.) renders sceptres = judges, but this is not admissible. On the text see Text. and Gramm.Tr.] The feeding (a figure derived from the shepherd, who goes before the flock, leads it to pasture and protects it) denotes the guidance and defence of the whole people, to which one tribe was called, and which it accomplished through the judge that represented it. The Chronicler had only the line of judges in mind; his alteration is a collateral text that serves very well to explain the main text. Why build ye not me a house of cedar?25That is, a permanent and costly sanctuary, worthy of my glory. Comp. 1Ki 8:16, where Solomon, with reference to these words, cites as the Lords word: I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build me a house. Psa 78:67 is in like manner elucidatory of this passage; for there the choice of David as prince, and of Zion as the place of the sanctuary, is represented as if it were the choice of the tribe of Judah after the rejection of Ephraim. [Synopsis Criticorum: In this discourse of God some things are omitted that are afterwards represented as having been said here, as in 1Ki 8:16; 1Ki 8:18; 1Ki 8:25; 1Ch 22:8-9; 1Ch 28:6; it is Scriptural usage not always to report the whole of a discourse, but sometimes to give a brief summary.Tr.] Thus in 2Sa 7:6-7, looking at the whole past of the people, one side of the reason for the shalt thou? in 2Sa 7:5 is given: From the beginning of the history till now a permanent dwelling for the Lord, instead of the moving tent, had neither actually existed (because not possible under the circumstances), nor been divinely commanded. [There is no reproof to David in this.Tr.]
b. 2Sa 7:8-11. The other side of the reason lies in the history of the Lords dealings with David, which point to the fact that the Lord will build David a house before a house can be built to the Lord.
2Sa 7:8. The Lords first manifestation of favor to him was his elevation from the lowliness of the shepherd-life to the office and dignity of prince over Israel. From the sheepfold () see Psa 78:70. [Better: from the pasture. The word means habitation, which in reference to flock means, not where they spend the night (which is, as Thenius says, ), but where they feed (see Isa 65:10, where Eng. A. V. has improperly fold), and this suits the context of our passage.Tr.] To this was added the continuous revelation of His gracious presence: 2Sa 7:9.I was with thee in all thy going.These two facts, the elevation of David to be king and his constant attendance [by God] in all his walk, answer to the elevation of Israel to be his people, and the Lords walking with them (2Sa 7:6-7). The wars hitherto waged form the third stadium: I have cut off all thy enemies before thee.These wars, however, were the wars of the Lord, waged by Him as king of his people (1Sa 25:28). On this plane of the Lords exhibition of power in wars and victories over enemies rises the glory of the great name that the Lord has made for him in the sight of the nations round about (comp. Psa 132:17-18; 1Ch 14:17).
2Sa 7:10. These gradually advancing manifestations of the Lords favor to David look to the wellbeing of the people of Israel: 1) He thereby prepared a place for them [Erdmann renders: I prepared a place, etc.; see Text. and Gram.26Tr.]; that is, by subduing their enemies made room for a safe, unendangered expansion in the promised land; 2) Planted themthat is, on the soil thus cleansed and made safe He established a firm, deep-rooted national life; 3) They dwell in their [own] place, their life-power unfolds itself within the limits secured them by the Lord; 4) They shall no longer be affrighted by restless enemies. In these words the discourse turns to the future of the people. The sense is: after all these manifestations of favor in the past up to this time, the Lord will for the future assure His people a position and an existence, wherein they shall no more experience the affliction and oppression that they suffered from godless nations. The as beforetime refers to the beginning of the peoples history in Egypt. The words in 2Sa 7:11 from and as since to Israel belong with the beforetime as chronological datum, and depend on the as in 2Sa 7:10. And from the time when I ordained Judges over my people Israel.That is, not merely during the period of the Judges, but on from the time when the judges began to lead the people, since the Prep. from [Eng. A. V.: since] gives only the terminus a quo, and consequently the period of the continuous oppression of the people by surrounding nations in the time after the judges till now is not excluded. This glance at the history of Israels affliction and oppression from the beginning on answers to the glance at the Lords presence and walk with them during their long period of wandering. All this the Lord has done to the people through His servant David (comp. Psa 89:22-24). The usual connection of these words with the following: and from the time that. have I caused thee to rest (so still Hengst. ubi sup. [p. 130]) is untenablebecause: 1) we thus have the impossible statement that God gave David rest from the beginning of the period of the Judges on, and 2) the period of the Judges was any thing but a time of quiet. And I give thee rest from all thy enemies.The verb (Perf. with Waw consec.) is to be understood of the future, as is usual with this form when, as here, a future precedes. In the quiet progress of the discourse the Future here passes over into quiet description (Ges. 126, 6). It is also here to be considered that the Perf. refers to Future in asseverations and assurances. To take the verb in a Perfect sense [= I have given rest], the narrative concerning the past in 2Sa 7:9 being thereby resumed (De Wette, Thenius [Bible Commentary, Philippson]), is inadmissible, because the discourse has already in the preceding words turned to the future, and such a retrogressive repetition, considering the rapid advance elsewhere in all these words, would be intolerable. Davids present rest (2Sa 7:1) was only a temporary onefor the hostile nations were ever seeking opportunity to assault Israel. Although Davids wars and victories hitherto had so far firmly established Israel that the former times of terror and distress could not return, yet his reign was a constant war with the hostile nations around, in order to maintain the security that had been won, and to ward off the freshly inpressing enemies. To this continuing unquiet refers the first promise of the Lord to David: I will give thee rest from all thy enemies. The Chron. has (2Sa 7:10): and I subdue all thy enemies, and tell it thee, and a house will the Lord build thee.27 The second declaration is introduced by the words: the Lord announces to thee (not, has announced), causes to be announced. Thereby the promise itself: The Lord will build thee a house is raised to its supereminent importance above all the preceding words. In it culminates the gradually rising line of the Lords exhibitions of favor to David, and through him to the people. The house is the royal authority in Israel, which is assured and established for his family. According to these words (2Sa 7:5-11) there are two principal grounds for the Lords negative answer to Davids determination to build him a house: 1) as the Lord could have no fixed dwelling-place amid His people, so long as they were wandering out of Canaan, and in Canaan were constantly disquieted by enemies and driven hither and thither, so also Davids rule, in spite of victories over enemies, was still too much disquieted by external enemies that had to be fought, he being especially called thereby to secure to the people a settled permanent existence for the future. Hence now also the dwelling-place of the Lord amid His people can have no other form than that of the tent, the symbol of Israels wandering, which was to be ended and quieted first by Davids battles and victories. 2) David had indeed declared that he wished to perform something for the Lord in the building of a house, but this human plan should and could not reach fulfilment except and before the Lord had completed His manifestations of favor to David and carried out His plan, which looked to confirming the royal authority for his house and family forever, and thereby assuring the well-being of the people. What the Lord had hitherto done for David, and through him for Israel, was only the beginning of this confirmation of his kingdom; it was by its assured connection for all the future with Davids posterity that the firm foundation was first laid, on which could be carried out the work of temple-building as the sign of the immovably founded kingdom of peace and of the theocracy that was to exhibit itself in undisturbed quiet in Israel. The meaning of the divine prohibition, therefore, is this: Thou canst not build me a house, for I must first build thee a house, before the building of a house for me is possible. This second principal ground is connected immediately with the first; for the promise could not be fulfilled, unless by the establishment of external peace the condition for the confirmation of Davids house was given. The first ground is more precisely defined in 1Ch 22:7-13; 1Ch 28:3 sq. by the statement that David was not permitted to build the temple on account of his wars: because thou art a man of war and hast shed blood. With this agrees Solomons word to Hiram, 1Ki 5:3 : My father could not build a house to the name of the Lord for the wars that were about him.28
c. 2Sa 7:12-16. The wider expansion and exacter definition of the promise: I will build thee a house. 2Sa 7:12 starts from the end of Davids life; after his death the promise will be fulfilled. I will set up thy seed after thee.The set up () denotes not the awakening or bringing into existence, but the elevating the seed to royal rule and power. The seed is not the whole posterity, as is clear from the explanatory words in 1Ch 17:11 : thy seed that shall be of thy sons, nor merely a single individual, but a selection from the posterity, which will be appointed by Gods favor to succeed David on the throne. Which shall proceed (come) out of thy body.The seed here spoken of was still in the future when this promise was made to David. We are not, with Thenius, to change will proceed () to has proceeded (), as if Solomon were then already born. And I will establish his kingdom.On the setting up and elevation to the royal dignity follows its confirmation to Davids posterity, which has been called to be bearer of the theocratical royal office. This promise was fulfilled in the first place in Solomon, who also expresses his consciousness of this fact in 1Ki 8:20; comp. 1Ki 2:12.
2Sa 7:13. He, this thy seed, will build a house for my name.The name stands for God Himself, so far as He reveals Himself to His people as covenant-God and makes Himself known in His loftiness and holiness. To build a house for His name signifies therefore not simply in His honor, or as a place to call on Him, but to establish a fixed place, which should be the sign and pledge of His abode in Israel. To the shorter formula: To the (or, for the) name of the Lord (comp. 1Ki 8:17-20; 1Ki 8:48; 1Ki 3:2; 1Ki 5:17; 1Ch 22:7; 1Ch 22:19; 1Ch 28:3) answers the longer: that my name may be there, my name shall be there (1Ki 8:16; 1Ki 8:29; comp. 2Ch 6:5; 2Ki 23:27), or, that my name may dwell there (Deu 12:11; Deu 14:23; Deu 16:11; Deu 26:2; Neh 1:9), or, that I may put my name there (1Ki 9:3; 2Ki 21:7).And I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.The royal dominion will not only be one established in Davids house, but also one enduring forever, never to be severed from this house. It is not here the everlasting dominion of one king that is spoken of, but it is said: with the seed of David the kingdom shall remain forever (= everlastingly). The everlasting stay of the kingdom in the house of David is promised. Comp. 2Sa 7:25, where David so understands this divine promise. Comp. Psa 89:30; Psa 72:5; Psa 72:7; Psa 72:17.
2Sa 7:14. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.The relation of fatherhood and sonship will exist between the covenant-God of Israel and the seed of David. This denotes in the first place the relation of the most cordial mutual love, which attests its enduring character by fidelity, and demonstrates its existence towards the Lord by active obedience. But besides this ethical significance of the relation of Davids seed as son to God as its father (indicated by the Prep, to), we must, from the connection, note 1) the origin or descent of the son from the father; the seed of David, entrusted with everlasting kingly dignity, has as such his origin in the will of God, owes his kingdom to the divine choice and call, comp. Psa 2:7; Psa 89:27; Psa 28:2) In the designations father and son is indicated community of possession; the seed, as son, receives the dominion from the father as heir, and, as this dominion is an everlasting one, he will, as son and heir, reign forever in possession of the kingdom. The fathers kingdom is an unlimited one, embracing the whole world; so in the idea of sonship there lies, along with everlastingness, the idea of all-embracing world-dominion, on which the son lawfully enters. Comp. Psa 89:26-30; Psa 2:7-9. Whom, if he commits iniquitythat is, not hypothetically, in case he sin, but actually, when he sins (as cannot fail to happen); the seed, Davids posterity here spoken of is not exempted from the sin that clings to all menI will chasten with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children of men.29That is, with such punishments as men suffer for their sins. Davids seed will be free neither from sin nor from its human punishment. Grace is not to release David and the Davidic line from this universal human lot, is not to be for them a charter to sin (Hengst.). Comp. Baur: Gesch. d. altt. Weissag. [Hist. of O. T. Prophecy] I. 392 sq. Such chastisement will not be set aside by the cordial relation of Davids seed as son to the Lord as father, but will rather follow David: The father will punish the son for his sins. The elevation of the latter to such glory above all the children of men is not to be a reason for making him an exception in respect to punishableness, but in this regard he will be equalled with all men before Gods righteousness. Clericus, against the connection, explains the rod of men to mean: moderate punishments, such as parents usually inflict. Wholly wrong is the rendering: whom if any one offend, or, against whom if any one sin, comp. Pffeiffer, Dubia Vexata, V. 2, l. 84, p. 390; Russ, De promissione Davidica soli Messi vindicata, Jen., 1713. In Psa 89:31-33 we have the further elucidation: If his sons forsake my law and walk not in my judgments. I will visit them with the rod of their sin and with the stripes of their iniquity. Chron. omits this declaration in order to bring out the more strongly the following thought that the divine favor will, in spite of sin, remain with Davids seed (Hengst. ubi sup. [p. 135]).
2Sa 7:15. But my favor shall not depart from him.It is presupposed that in his sinning he remains faithful to the Lord, not departing from Him, and that the chastisement leads him to repentance (comp. 1Ch 28:9; Psa 132:12). This is clear from the following words: as I took it from Saul whom I put away before thee.Comp. 1Sa 15:23; 1Sa 15:26; 1Sa 15:28. Before thee, before thy face; Saul and his kingdom had to disappear before David, who, with his kingdom took their place, and with whose seed the kingdom will remain forever in spite of the sins that shall be found in the individuals of his posterity, his sons (Psa 89:31). The contrast is that between the punishment of sin in individuals and the favor that remains permanently with the family, whereby the divine promise becomes an unconditioned one (Hengst.).
2Sa 7:16. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be permanent, as the result of the permanent favor and grace assured to Davids seed (comp. Psa 89:29; Psa 89:38; Isa 55:3 [sure mercies of David, same word as is here rendered established in Eng. A. V.Tr.]), and as the lasting fulfilment of the promise in verse 2 Samuel 12 : I will raise up, lift up thy seed. The word before thee is arbitrarily changed by Sept. and Syr. into before me. Bttcher explains: in thy conception (comparing 2Sa 7:26; 2Sa 7:29; 1Ki 8:50), and adds: the reference is to the outlook of the living, not to a conscious participation still granted to the dead. O. v. Gerlach: David, as ancestor and beginner of the line of kings, is conceived of as he who passes all his successors before him in vision. Thy throne will be firm forever.This answers to the words in 2Sa 7:12 : and I will confirm his kingdom, as the continuous effect of this promise. In the forever (here twice given and resumed from 2Sa 7:13) in the promise of the everlasting kingdom connected with the house of David, the prophecy culminates. On the firm [, Eng. A. V.: established, different from the word so rendered in the former part of this verse, which = sure, faithful.Tr.], comp. Mic 4:1, and on the forever comp. Psa 72:17; Psa 89:37; Psa 45:7; Psa 110:4; Psa 132:11-12. Comp. Joh 12:34.
2. Davids prayer.
2Sa 7:17-29.
2Sa 7:17. Conclusion of the preceding section and introduction to the following. According to all these words and according to all this vision.The words, as the content of Gods revelation to Nathan, are distinguished from the vision as indication of its form and mode. To suppose a dream here (Thenius) because the revelation occurred at night (2Sa 7:4) is inadmissiblesince nothing is said of a dream; for the vision (=) is every where distinguished from the revelation by dream (Keil); and in Isa 29:7 the word dream is expressly added in order to indicate a vision that occurred in a dream. Our word signifies the view, vision, as the result of the looking or gazing of the prophets (who are called , gazers, seers) with the inner sense, whether in a waking state or in a dream. In the former case the vision may denote either collectively a number of divine revelations, taken as a whole (so Isa 1:1; Oba 1:1; Nah 1:1), or, a single revelation, as here (so Eze 7:26; Dan 8:1-2; Dan 8:15; Dan 8:17). But it is not the vision or view in itself that forms the essence and substance of the prophetic revelation, but rather the word or the words of the Lord, which as medium of the Spirit of God come to the prophetic spirit; the vision is the psychical form under which the revelation takes place. Davids answer to the Lord falls into three parts: Thanks for the exceeding abundant favor shown him and his house now in this revelation (2Sa 7:18-21), Praise to the Lord for the great things He has done for His people in the past (2Sa 7:22-24), and Prayer for the fulfilment of the promise in the future (2Sa 7:25-29).
a. 2Sa 7:18-21. Davids thanksgiving for the Lords gracious manifestation in the great promise now received.The words David went in before Jehovah indicate the powerful impression that Nathans communication made on Davids soul; the divine revelation received compels him to betake himself to the sanctuary into the presence of the Lord, where he remained ( tarried [Eng. A. V. sat]) sunk in contemplation and prayer. It cannot be inferred from Exo 17:12 that David is to be thought of here as sitting; for Moses there sat from weariness after long prayer. The verb ( usually sit) is often used in the general sense: remain, tarry. [Bib. Comm. correctly points out that, even if the verb be rendered sat, it is not necessary to suppose that David prayed sitting. He may have risen to pray after meditation. Yet sitting under such circumstances would be a respectful attitude, and elsewhere we have no proof in the Scriptures of a customary attitude in prayer; that Solomon (1Ki 8:22) and Ezra and the Levites (Neh 8:4; Neh 9:4) stood was due to the peculiar circumstances. It is not stated in what place David offered his prayer; it may have been in his own house or in some part of the tabernacle.30Tr.]The content of this thanksgiving-prayer is like a clear glass, wherein we see into the innermost depths of Davids heart. His soul, wholly taken up with the divine revelation and promise, expresses itself in the following utterances, which follow one another quickly in accordance with the internal excitement of feeling: 1) The humble confession of unworthiness in respect to all manifestations of favor hitherto made to him and his house Who am I, Lord Jehovah, and what is my house? The words answer exactly to Jacobs words in Gen 32:10 as the expression of the deepest humility and feeling of nothingness over against the greatness and glory of God. So in Psa 8:5; Psa 144:3 there is the contrast between the divine loftiness and human lowliness and nothingness. That thou hast brought me hitherto.David reviews all the past leadings of Gods grace, in respect to which, as manifestations of the divine favor and love, he so feels his unworthiness and nothingness, and at the same time indirectly declares that he has hitherto submitted himself to the Lords guidance. 2) David, with like humility, thanks the Lord for this present supereminent manifestation of His favor in the promise relating to the future of his house.
2Sa 7:19. He gives the liveliest expression to his humble and joyfully excited feeling of the greatness and glory of God in the repetition of the preceding address, Lord Jehovah (2Sa 7:18), and (comparing the abundant fullness of grace in this present revelation with the former exhibitions of grace, which culminate in it) in the first sentence of this verse (from the beginning to great while to come). From the far future [Eng. A. V.: for a great while to come], that is, of my house; the promise refers to favors in the far future for his house. The sense is: if, looking at former undeserved favors, I must bow low with the feeling of unworthiness, much more in view of the promises made out of free grace to my house for the far future. The last sentence of this verse ( ) is as enigmatic as the parallel passage, 1Ch 17:17 ( ). At the outset it must be assumed as certain that this word torah [Eng. A. V.: manner] never=manner, custom, mode of acting ( ,). Therefore the explanation (in itself very agreeable and easy): and this (hast thou spoken) after the manner of men, thou actest with me, that stand so infinitely below thee, in human manner,that is, in such friendly manner as men use with one another (Grotius, Gesenius, Winer, Maurer, Thenius, and De Wette: such is the manner of men) is as untenable as Luthers translation: this is the manner of a man who is God the Lord, which besides rests on the conception of this passage as directly Messianic (pointing to the incarnation of God in Christ), and incorrectly takes Lord Jehovah, which here as before and after is an address, as explanatory apposition to man. For the same reason the explanation of Clericus and others is to be rejected: in human fashionthat is, thou hast cared for me and my family as men do for their children and grandchildren, looking out for their future, especially as it assigns to Davids words the very trivial thought of caring for a family for the future. Ebrard (Herz. VI. 609) characterizes this expression, the law of man, of the Lord Jehovah, as a word of presageful bewilderment, and finds the explanation in 1Ch 17:17, where he renders: Thou hast looked on me like the form of man, who is God, Jehovah above; David, says Ebrard, saw that he himself was contemplated, but at the same time so that Jehovah appeared to him here as a man, who was also God and enthroned on high, recognizing the fact that the final point of the promised posterity was Jehovah Himself, but Jehovah as man and God.So already S. Schmidt, who (after Chron.) inserts as before torah, taking this last=condition, state (): O Jehovah God, Thou hast looked on me.Thou who, in the humble condition and infirm state of wretched, afflicted man, art in all things made like man. Apart from the incorrect, direct Messianic interpretation, all these and similar expositions take torah in a sense that it never has. It means regularly law. Hence Dathe and Schultz render: such is a law for menthat is, so should my enemies act when they think to hurl my descendants from the throne. So Bunsen: This (Thy promise) is an indication (law) for menthat is, Thou wilt make Thy will authoritative even among men. But this explanation requires too much to be supplied in order that the words may be understood. The same thing is true of the rendering of Hengstenbergwhich Keil adopts: The law of man, the law that is to regulate the conduct of men (comp. the expression Lev 6:2 (9), the law of the burnt-offering; 2Sa 14:2, the law of the leper; 2Sa 12:7, the law of the woman that has borne a child), is the law of love to ones neighbor, Lev 19:18; Mic 6:8; this, namely, the Lords conduct to him in his love and faithfulness, answers to the law by which men are to be governed in their conduct to one another; when God the Lord so graciously and lovingly condescends to act towards poor mortals according to this law that holds among men, it must fill us with adoring wonder. To this answers the parallel passage in Chron.: and thou sawest me (visitedst me, dealedst with me) after the law of man ( = ), that is, the law of love to ones neighbor, thou height (!) Jehovah God. Against this view is to be remarked 1) that it requires too much to be understood in connection with this and law, 2) that Gods acting according to the law of love (given by Himself) cannot be thus represented as in contrast with His greatness and glory, as if He stood above the conduct that men (according to this law) are to follow, and should therefore be worthy of the greater admiration if He condescended to such conduct.As torah originally signifies teaching, instruction, both divine (Job 22:22; Psa 19:8) and human (Pro 1:8; Pro 3:1; Pro 4:2; Pro 7:2; Pro 28:7; Pro 28:9), it is possible to render: and this is a (divine) instruction for (poor, abject) man, to whom Thou so condescendest, O Lord God, or, to paraphrase with Bunsen: Thou instructest me (makest disclosures to me) as one man another; so great is thy condescension. But this rendering, contrary to Davids tone of feeling throughout this whole section, lays all the stress on a formal thing, namely, the fact that God condescends to speak to him, to make disclosures to him, while it must be the content of the Lords words about the future of his house that moves him to humble thanksgiving and praise. Not the fact that the Lord condescends to him with His word of revelation (which He has often done before), but what He has now spoken to him is the cause of his humble thanksgiving.For the explanation of this obscure passage it is further to be considered that these words, uttered abruptly and in lapidary style, are from the connection evidently to be token 1) as the expression of a joyfully excited heart, and 2) as the exclamation of humble astonishment at the greatness and glory of the grace of God in the promise given to his house, in contrast with human lowliness, as is indicated by the word man over against the address Lord Jehovah. The content of the promise to Davids house for the future, to which David has just referred as the highest evidence of the divine favor, and to which the this must beyond doubt be referred, is the divine determination that the kingdom is to be one proper to his house and forever connected with it, and is thus to have an everlasting duration. This is the divine torah or prescription, which is to hold for a weak, insignificant man and his seed, for poor human creatures. In the exclamation this, David looks in astonishment and adoration at the glory and the everlastingness (imperishableness) that is promised his house. This kingdom is indeed the kingdom of God Himself, and since it is promised his house forever, divine dignity and divine possession is thus for the farthest future ascribed to this house by that word of the Lord; the Lord Jehovah, towards whom David already feels so humbled and lowly by reason of His former manifestations of love and favor, now condescends to attach His kingdom in Israel, His everlasting divine dominion forever to his house, to his posterity, that is, to insignificant children of men, by such a law, which is contained in that word of promise. Similarly O. v. Gerlach: This is an expression of wondering admiration of the gracious condescension of God. Such a law Thou establishest for a man and his house, namely, that Thou promisest it everlasting duration. Comp. Bunsen: Of so grand a promise hast Thou, O Eternal One, thought a mortal man worthy. [Eng. A. V., adopting the interrogative form with negative force, apparently takes the meaning of this sentence to be: it is not thus that men act towards one another, but Thy ways, O Lord, are above mens ways. Against this is that the word torah does not mean manner (so Erdmann above), and that the sentence thus stands in no relation as to sense with the parallel passage, 1Ch 17:17.Other interpretations (see Pooles Synopsis) take as the proper name Adam, and explain: as Adams posterity rule the world, so shall mine rule Israel, or: as Thou madest a covenant with Adam and his posterity, so with me and mine; but the proper name Adam occurs nowhere else in the Davidic period, and this interpretation does not suit the context, especially the sense of unworthiness expressed by David.This word again is taken as =a great man (so Bib.Com. and Abarbanel), or as =a mean man, neither of which senses it can have by itself. We cannot therefore explain: Thou dealest with me as is becoming (to deal with) a great man, or: this is the law (or prerogative) of a great man, to found dynasties that are to last into the far future (Bib. Comm.), which interpretations (though agreeing somewhat with 1Ch 17:17) do not accord with the humility that characterizes the whole passage. Chandlers rendering: this is according to the constitution of men, namely, that the crown should be hereditary (God graciously making it hereditary in Davids family), is somewhat far-fetched and unsuitable to Davids line of thought. The early English commentators mentators generally interpret the passage as directly Messianic; but the context does not permit this.If our text be retained, the sentence must be rendered: and this is the law of man, that is, the promise given is the prescription made for the government of man, who, in comparison with God, is so low, so unworthy of such honor; and Dr. Erdmanns explanation is the most satisfactory. But regard must be had to 1Ch 17:17, in which it is evidently intended to give the same thought as is given here, and which, as it now stands, is to be rendered: Thou regardest me according to the line of men on high. It is difficult to bring these two declarations into harmony. Moreover, the two texts have enough similarity and difference to suggest that one has been altered from the other, or that both are corruptions of the original text. The ancient versions give little or no aid in determining text or meaning; they mostly either render literally, or give paraphrases that cannot be gotten from the existing Hebrew, and that offer no fruitful suggestion. It is noticeable, however, that the Chald. in Samuel has: and this is a vision of men, while the Sept. in Chronicles renders: Thou regardedst me as a vision of man, and these translations favor the causative form of the verb in Chron. (Hiph. ), or else a reading vision instead of or .Ewald (after Chron.) reads the Samuel text: and Thou hast made me look on the line of men upwards, that is, into the future; and Wellhausen changes (and ) into Thou hast made me see generations.Since none of the proposed amendments of the text are quite satisfactory (for it is not clear how our present text originated), we must be content to know the general idea of the passage (which does not essentially vary in the renderings of Erdmann, Ewald and Wellhausen), namely, that David here continues his humble acknowledgment of the divine favor.Tr.]
2Sa 7:20. David here affirms 3) the inexpressibleness and exceeding abundance of the divine favor bestowed on him, and the consequent impossibility of setting forth in words the thankfulness that he feels in his heart. And what shall David say more to thee?Language fails; silence is here the most eloquent thanks. And thou knowest thy servant, Lord Jehovah.As in 2Sa 7:19 the exclamation Lord Jehovah! formed a sharp contrast to the man, so it does here to thy servant, answering to the humble consciousness of the endless distance between him and his God, with which, however, is connected the childlike consciousness of immediate cordial community with God: for, as he often elsewhere appeals to God, who knows the heart, for consolation and justification against man, so he does here in respect to his thankful heart, since he is sure of having the testimony of the Omniscient for him (see Psa 40:6; Psa 40:10 [5, 9]).
2Sa 7:21. For thy words sake and after thy heart hast thou done all these great things to make them known to thy servant; the concrete great deeds31 is here meant, not the abstract greatness, see Psa 71:21; Psa 145:3. The word this [Eng. A. V. these] shows that the great things here referred to are the splendid promises that the Lord announced through Nathan to Him, his servant. Looking, now, at all the great things that the Lord has done for him in this revelation, David declares 4) the supernatural, superhuman eternal ground and origin of these new great manifestations of favor (which exceed all preceding ones) in the word and in the heart of God, that is, in His free gracious will, which is independent of all human merit. For Thy words sake. Chron. 2Sa 2Sa 5:19 : for thy servants sake, that is, because Thou hast chosen and called me to be king of Israel. For David does not boast before God that his own merit had gained him these things (Cler.). According to this point of view the word is perhaps that word of choice and destination given in 1Sa 16:12 (the Lord said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he), as Hengst. supposes. It is possibly, however, the old prophecy concerning the Tribe of Judah in Gen 49:10; for that David recognized the connection between the promise given him through Nathan and the prophecy of Gen 49:10, is shown by 1Ch 28:4, where he represents his choice to be king as the result of the choice of Judah to be prince (Keil). [It does not appear from this passage in Chron. that David means more than that the tribe of Judah had been now selected in his person as the royal tribe.Tr.]. And according to thy heart, that is, according to the love and grace by which thy heart is filled, from thy loving will.32 Clericus: From the spontaneous motion of thy mind, without external incitement. Comp. Exo 34:6; Psa 103:8. Over against Gods heart as the source of the great favor received David sets his heart as filled with humble thanks therefor; but his word of thanks must stand dumb before the clear Yea and Amen and the earlier words of promise of God, the Yea and Amen of which is this exhibition of favor. In thus deriving it from Gods faithfulness to His promise, and from His heart-love, he adds the positive thought to the negative who am I? of 2Sa 7:18, and so leads the conclusion of this thanksgiving back to its beginning. [To make thy servant know, or, as in Chron. (2Sa 5:19) to make known all (these) great things. God not only in His sovereign mercy determined great things for David, but further for his consolation and strengthening made them known to him through His prophet.Tr.]
b. 2Sa 7:22-24. Praise of the Lords greatness and incomparable glory as manifested by this highest exhibition of favor, in accord with the great deeds whereby in times of old He made Himself known to His people as their God.
2Sa 7:22. Therefore, because Thou hast done so great things for me, on the ground of this experience of Thine abounding favor, thou art great, Lord God; comp. 2Sa 7:26 : and Thy name will be great, not: considered great (Luth.), nor: be Thy name praised by me (5. Gerl., Then.), but it is an assertion of greatness manifested objectively in facts. The factual confession great is the Lord (comp. Psa 35:27; Psa 40:17 (16) is precisely praise to God. Now follows the ground for this praise of the Lords greatness: For there is none like theethis declares Gods incomparableness. Comp. Exo 15:11 who is like thee, etc.? Deu 3:24. And there is not a God beside thee, declaration of Gods aloneness and exclusiveness, comp. Deu 4:35; 1Sa 2:2. According to all that we have heard with our ears;33 David here passes from the contemplation of the greatness, incomparableness and soleness, wherein the Lord has declared Himself to him in the present, to the praise of God in the review of the great deeds whereby in the past He has revealed Himself to His people as such a God. In Psa 40:6 David rises, just as here, from his personal experience to the whole line of Gods glorious manifestations in the history of His people (Hengst.).
2Sa 7:23. And what nation is as thy people, as Israel any [nation] on earth? The initial and, according to the sense, gives the factual ground of what precedes. We cannot render: where is, as Israel, a nation, etc. (De W. [and Luther])34, nor for whose sake God went, etc., (Hengst.), but must translate: what nation whom God, etc. Elohim35 here stands with a plural verbas often elsewhere where heathen idol-worship is referred to, as in Exo 32:4; Exo 32:8, where Elohim is used of the golden calf (these are thy gods, that brought thee out of Egypt), comp. Deu 4:7; 1Ki 12:29, while, as name of the God of Israel, it has a singular verb or other complementbecause the thought is here intended to be expressed that there is no nation but Israel that had been redeemed by its deity or its idols by such a deed as that by which the true God had redeemed Israel to be His people. It is therefore unnecessary to change the verb into the singular, reading brought ( ) [] instead of went (). In consequence of Gods great deeds Israel is a people sole of its kind, to be compared with no other, comp. Deu 4:7; Deu 33:29. By His great deed, the deliverance out of Egypt, He has proved Himself to His people to be the only God, besides whom there is no God, and with whom no other is to be compared (Exo 15:11-13; Deu 4:34). Whom God went (put Himself in motion) to purchase to himself (redeem) for a people; the deliverance from Egypt was the suigeneric, incomparable deed of the incomparable, sole God, whereby He made Israel an independent nation and gained them out of all nations as His own possession. And to make himself a name; that deed of redemption is the factual historical proof that He is the true God, who has not His equal, and the God of Israel in the fulness of His might and of the revelation of His grace, and this fulness it is that makes His name. In this His name (whereby Israel only knows and names Him as the God that led them out of Egypt) He is contrasted with the vain idols of the heathen nations as the one true God (Jos 24:17; Jdg 2:1; Jdg 2:12; Jdg 6:13).And to do for you great things and terrible. The for you refers not to gods (Elohim), but to people; but it is not necessary to change the text to for them (after the Vulgate), because, Davids soul being filled and excited with the thought of his people, in the course of his prayer his words turn suddenly in increasing vividness from reference to the people naturally and immediately to the people itself, and since also 1 Chronicles 17. has in its for thee this easily explicable leap to an address to the thing spoken of (Bttch.). [But the address to the people is much harder than the address to God, and it seems better to read for them.Tr.].On the other hand, the for thy land gives no good sense without forcing, and Chron. has instead of this to drive out (2Sa 7:21). It is therefore better (with the Sept. ) to suppose a clerical error, and (taking as the true text) to render: (namely) that thou drovest out before thy people.The frightful, terrible things are the great deeds of the Lord in connection with the destruction of the heathen nations. On this idea comp. Exo 15:11; Deu 10:21. The fundamental passage respecting the expulsion of foreign nations is Exo 23:27-33, where this verb drive out () is repeatedly used. Which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt.This fundamental deed of the God of Israel is expressly mentioned in this parenthetical sentence, because the right of property that He thereby had in His people chosen out of the nations, necessarily led to His maintaining and defending them against the heathen nations, and the destruction of the Egyptians in this deed was the prelude to Gods for Israel great but for the hostile Canaanites terrible deeds, whereby He placed Israel in position to drive their enemies out of the land. The heathen and their gods; these words depend on the verb drovest out. Keil (who retains the for thy land, rejecting the alteration according to Chron.) takes these words as apposition to from Egypt and supplies the prep. from before them [so Eng. A. V. and Philippson.Tr.].But this construction is inadmissible, because the Plur. nations does not accord with the Sing. Egypt. After the deliverance from Egypt David will celebrate the expulsion of the heathen from Canaan as a great deed of God. The Sing. suffix [Heb. nations and its gods] gives no sense after the Plu. noun; to take it distributively, as Keil does (the gods of each of these heathen nations), is too hard; we must therefore read the Plu. suffix their gods.
2Sa 7:24. The result of Gods mighty deeds stated in 2Sa 7:23. And thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel, comp. 2Sa 7:10; it is Gods act whereby in the conquered land the people were led to the firm establishment of their dwellings, their possessions, and their whole life. The thought does not go back to the time of Moses, but advances from the foregoing fact of the subjection and expulsion of the heathen nations and their gods to the establishment of the people in Canaan. To be a people to thee forever. The design of Gods gracious benefits was: 1) Israel was to belong to Him alone as His property;36 through Gods mighty deeds the long-since executed choice of the people as His property is ever anew confirmed, and their obligation, to belong to and serve Him alone as people, ever repeated. 2) For ever they were to belong to Him as His people. This appointment of the people to be everlasting is remarkable; there shall never cease to be such a people of possession on the ground of such gracious manifestations and saving acts of the Lord. To this idea of the everlasting continuance of a people of God, (all nations are finally merged in this people, the divine Israel, the congregation of Jesus Christ, O. v. Gerlach), answers the promise of the everlasting continuance of the throne of David, which gave him occasion thus to praise God for His deeds, whereby He has established and prepared Israel for Himself as His people forever. And thou, Lord, art become their God, as Israel has become Thy people. This His relation to His people as their God has been established by all His revelations and deeds; for He has thereby testified that He is their God and given Himself to them as their own. The people on their part have contributed nothing thereto. The Lords free grace in its great and glorious manifestation is the source and origin of this covenant-association, wherein God is His peoples God and the people their Gods people. [Bib. Com. here refers well to Gen 17:7-8; Exo 6:7Tr.]
c. 2Sa 7:25-29. Davids prayer for the fulfilment of the promise, attached to his thanksgiving for the past, his glance passing from the splendor of the present (to which the promise has led him) to the future.
2Sa 7:25. David here distinguishes between the two applications of the promise, to him personally and to his house: that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house; establish it forever, as indeed it has promised the everlasting continuance of the house and of the kingdom. Let thy word become deed.
2Sa 7:26. Design or consequence of the fulfilment: that thy name may become great forever.David has in eye, as the highest end of the fulfilment, not the honor of his house, not the glory of the people, but solely the honor of the Lord. Saying, the Lord of Sabaoth is God over Israel, that is, the almighty God, who rules heaven and earth, is the defender and protector of Israel, His people; He attests Himself as their God by protecting the royal house on which depends Israels welfare (Hengst.). And the house of thy servant David will be established before thee.The petition here assumes the form of confident hope. This expression of definite expectation by reason of its boldness needs basing on a sure foundation, as is done in 2Sa 7:27, where it returns to the form of confident petition. For this reason the initial particle in 2Sa 7:27 () is to be rendered for (with Luth., Buns., De W., Hengst.) as giving the ground of what precedes, and not to be connected with the following therefore: because thou therefore has (Bttch., Then.). The former rendering accords with the liveliness of feeling with which David prays; the latter gives a construction too sluggish for his feeling. For thou, Lord of Sabaoth, hast uncovered the ear of thy servant, that is, hast revealed to him through thy word (comp. 1Sa 9:15), saying, a house will I build thee.David goes back to this fundamental promise, because in it are contained all the manifestations of favor that are promised to his family for the future. It is on the firm basis of this word, wherein the Lord acknowledged him and condescended to him, that David founded that confident petition: Therefore has thy servant found his heart, that is, found courage [Eng. A. V. found in his heart]. Heart = courage, Gen 42:28; 1Sa 17:32; Psa 40:13 [12] and often elsewhere.In 2Sa 7:28 and 2Sa 7:29 follows the conclusion and the completion of the petition; its ground on the subjective side of confidence and courage (which is exhibited in 2Sa 7:25-26) having been given by appeal to the divine promise (2Sa 7:27), the content (not yet expressed) of that which completes the petition, is based on the truth of the Lords word [that is, he first (2Sa 7:28) appeals to Gods truth and then (2Sa 7:29) sets forth his petition in final form.Tr.]. And now, Lord Jehovah, thou art God,37 and thy words are truth, not: may thy words be truth, [nor, will be truth.Tr.]. The following words of the verse are to be taken as protasis (Thenius): And thou spakest this goodness to thy servant, wherein the content of the promises is briefly condensed and recapitulated.
2Sa 7:29. The and now resumes the and now of 2Sa 7:28 : And now begin (not: let it please thee) to bless (Sept., Vulg.) the house of thy servant that it may continue forever before thee; the everlasting continuance of the house depends on the blessing of the Lord; the beginning in the blessing that secures the everlasting continuance is related to the forever. [Erdmann here follows Thenius in rendering begin instead of let it please thee as Eng. A. V.; the Hebrew word properly means to set ones self to do a thing with free determination of will, and the rendering of the Septuagint and Vulgate begin is only a very general one and not very correct. We cannot easily find a better rendering than that of Eng. A. V., which is the usual one; other possible translations are: make up thy mind, set thyself to, take in hand.Tr.] For thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken; these words represent the content of 2Sa 7:28 as the divine ground of the desired fulfilment of the promise, since in them is given the security for the confident hope that is expressed in the concluding word: And from [or, with] thy blessing will the house of thy servant be blessed forever. Instead of thou wilt bless, it reads: from thy blessing as the source of all blessings will the house of thy servant to which thou hast promised everlasting existence be blessed forever, which is the condition of everlasting continuance. Davids prayer is completed by the expression of confident hope, and goes over into prophecy. [This future rendering of the last clause gives a richer sense and one more appropriate in the connection (God has spoken and it will be so) than the optative form of Eng. A. V. So substantially 1Ch 17:27.Tr.].
HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL
1. Historically the divine revelation and promise that came to David through Nathan, concerning the theocratic-messianic kingdom that was forever connected with his seed, presupposes the previous development of the idea of the theocratic kingdom. Comp. pp. 68 sqq., 186 sqq. [Hist. and Theol. to 1 Samuel 8.]. In this development (which advances from the general to the particular, from the promise of salvation for all nations to be realized through the whole nation descended from Abraham) the promise that assigns to the house and family of David the position of bearer and mediator of the Messianic blessing is based on the prophecy which, out of the seed of Abraham as represented by the twelve sons of Jacob and the corresponding tribes, designates the tribe of Judah as the bearer of a royal dominion that embraces and brings peace to all the nations of the earth (Gen 49:10). While up to this time the tribe only had been designated in which an imperishable dominion was to be established, and out of which at last the Saviour was to come, under David the designation of the family also was added (Hengst. Christol. [Eng. tr., p. 123]). The really existing theocratic kingdom, as exhibited in Davids government, approximated very nearly to the ideal significance of the kingdom over Israel; that is, to being Gods dominion over His people through the human organ chosen by Him, who was in humility and obedience unconditionally to subject his own will to the divine will. On the basis of this fact the prophecy of a future seed of David, that should, in the possession of an everlasting royal dominion, stand in closest community with God as His son, could take shape, as here in Nathans word. In contrast with the kingdom of Saul, which came into sharp opposition to the idea of the absolute divine dominion in Israel, and consequently into permanent conflict with the other theocratic institutions (the Prophetic office and the Priesthood), there appeared, through the rule of David, the man after Gods own heart (1Sa 13:14), on the one hand, the idea of the theocracy, in such manner that David regarded himself only as the servant of the Lord, and wished to be nothing but the humble, obedient instrument of the divine government over the people, and on the other hand, the royal office was elevated to the position of being the controlling and centralizing point of all the theocratic main elements of the national life. This, then, was the basis of the further development of the Messianic idea, the way for which was paved by Nathans word to David, wherein the idea of the theocratic kingdom, which reached its highest point in David, was most intimately connected with Davids royal house.
2. The historical character of Nathans prophecy shows itself in the first place in its factual occasion. This lies in the relative contrast in the plans of human and divine wisdom. Davids plan, after subduing his enemies, to build a temple to the Lords honor in the midst of His people, together with Nathans agreement thereto, corresponds thoroughly with the theocratic disposition of the two men, and with their recognition of the Lords relation to His people as the people of His possession, and of the peoples character as a priestly kingdom. But according to Gods thought, the right time for this was not yet come; for the execution of this plan (which is not in itself rejected) the divine wisdom demands 1) that the present condition of the people should cease, for (despite Davids victories) they were still surrounded by threatening heathen nations, had not found sure and permanent rest, and so Gods sanctuary must still be a wandering tent; 2) that Davids house and the kingdom therewith connected should be completely, forever and finally established as basis for the unfolding of the divine dominion [theocracy] over the people of Israel and the other nations, as this dominion was to be exhibited in Gods enthroned dwelling in the permanent house [temple]. Nathan is made acquainted with these thoughts and ways of Gods wisdom through a divine revelation, in consequence of which he now in his divine-prophetic word does not indeed principially [fundamentally or essentially] reject the plan to build a temple to the Lord, but still announces the Lords will that the execution of this plan is to be reserved for the seed of David. The view that the prophets restraining word declares that Jehovah needs in general no stately house (Diestel, Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol., 1863, p. 559) finds no support in the text, which says nothing more in 2Sa 7:5 than that David should not build; and the assertion (ubi sup.) that the prohibition is in no way based on grounds derived from the special situation is obviously opposed to the statement of reasons in 2Sa 7:6-11, wherein Israels wanderings are connected with the still continuing unrest and insecurity of Davids time (the enemies being yet not definitively subdued), and the thought is clearly enough expressed that the temple cannot yet be built because quiet is still to be secured against enemies. There is, therefore, no ground for referring (Diestel) the prohibition of the temple-building to an ancient strict opinion [against such building]; nothing of this sort can be meant here, since the symbolical conception of Gods dwelling in space amid His people in a permanent temple is no more opposed to the strict conception of the being [essence] of God than that of His dwelling in a movable tent. And so also there is no sufficient ground for assigning this prohibition to some one else than Nathan, to Gad, for example. Rather the section 2Sa 7:4-16 is in accord both with the historical situation that it presupposes and to which it refers, and with itself.From another side the concrete38 reference to Solomons birth and the temple-building to be completed by him has been adduced against the purely historical character of the words of Nathan and David; it is affirmed to be clearfrom this reference, and from a comparison between it and the ideal picture of the kingdom contained in the words, and by comparing the brief and very peculiar last words of David, especially 2Sa 23:5that we have here a later post-Solomonic remodelling of the original promise, and that this original promise, which was of a more general form, was at a later time more distinctly stated according to events that had meantime occurred (G. Baur, ubi sup., p. 394, 405). Against which, however, is to be remarked 1) that those special designations are by no means so concretely set forth; there is nothing but a general statement of the raising up of the seed after David and of a building of the temple by this seed; 2) Solomons discourse in 1Ki 5:5 presupposes that Nathans words contained precisely this statement. Thenius also opposes this supposition of an ex post facto remodelling of these prophetic words, remarking (p. 176, 2d ed.): For the rest there is no ground to suppose with De Wette that Nathans prophecy was not composed till after Solomon; Psalms 89. (2Sa 7:4-5; 2Sa 7:20-29 [3, 4, 1937], especially 2Sa 7:20 [19]), Psa 132:11-12, and Isa 55:3 attest its historical truth, and rightly understood it as Messianic also.To this must be added that Davids prayer (2Sa 7:18-29) which in its peculiar individuality bears the marks of genuineness or originality, presupposes the whole content of Nathans words as here reported, especially the reference to the future and to the everlasting continuance of Davids house (comp. 2Sa 7:19; 2Sa 7:25-27; 2Sa 7:29); and so also his Psalms 18. (2 Samuel 22), especially the close, and his last word (2Sa 23:1-7).
3. The chief points in the content of this prophecy, which is introduced by the word: Not thou shalt build for the Lord a house, but the Lord will build thee a house, are the following (in order of mention): 1) God promises David a seed destined and called to be the bearer of the theocratical kingdom. It is true, the promise relates to Davids house in general (2Sa 7:11; 2Sa 7:16; 2Sa 7:19; 2Sa 7:25-27; 2Sa 7:29). But the house is not identical with the seed, to whom refer the declarations that form the gist of the prophecy. This seed is not the whole posterity, but a selection from it; comp. 2Sa 7:12 : I will raise up thy seed after thee with 1Ch 17:11, according to which the seed is to be of the sons of David; nor is it restricted to a single person, but signifies the posterity selected and appointed by God, which is to be bearer for all future time of the theocratic kingdom. 2) For this seed chosen by Gods free grace, wherein is represented the house that the Lord builds for David, the kingdom is firmly established; the securely established royal authority will be attached to the house of David (2Sa 7:12). 3) To the Davidic kingdom, the bearer of which is Davids seed, an everlasting duration is promised; the reference is not to the everlasting rule of a single king, but to the endless continuance of the kingdom of Davids seed. Like the promised kingdom, the house of David also has a perpetual duration (2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16). 4) God promises to be the Father of Davids seed, and pledges it such an intimate relation to Himself that it shall be His son. As God is the Father of the people of Israel by the fact that He has chosen them as His people by free grace, made them His people by redemption, led them by His paternal love, obligated them to obedience, and sanctified them to be the people of His possession, so He is the Father of the everlasting royal seed of David by the fact that He has chosen it for His kingly house in Israel, and made and formed it to be bearer of His everlasting dominion over His people, and it is His son by love of most intimate fellowship with God, and by the humble obedience wherein it thoroughly subjects its will to the divine will. As all Israelites are sons of Jehovah (Deu 14:1), so must the king be in special measure, but only as the head of the chosen people of God (Diestel, ubi sup. 559). 5) On the ground of this relation of father and son the favor of God will abide unchanged with the seed of David, that is, the theocratic king. He will, indeed, be punished for the sins into which he falls; but these chastisements will never reach the point of rejection, as happened in Sauls case; the sins of Davids seed will, for the sake of the promise given to David, never set aside the divine counsel.The word of the prophet Nathan and the thanksgiving of David mark the culmination of the Davidic history (Baumgarten).
4. The significance of the prophecy for the Messianic expectation of salvation. The direct Messianic reference to Christ (Tertull. ad Marc. iii. 20; Lactant. divin. instit. 4, 13; August. de civ. Dei, 17, 8; Rupert von Deutz, Beza, S. Schmid, Calov, Pfeiffer, Buddeus, and other old theologians [Patrick (in part), A. Clarke]) stands (apart from the un-historical view of the nature of Messianic prophecy that lies at its foundation) in contradiction with the sinning of Davids seed (2Sa 7:14-15), whereby a purely human and sinful posterity is designated, and with the temple-building (2Sa 7:13), which can only be understood of earthly work. [Some attempt to set aside these objections to a direct Messianic interpretation by suggesting that the sin in the case of Christ is the sin He bore for men, as in Isaiah 53. (Gill), or by rendering 2Sa 7:14 even in his suffering for iniquity I shall chasten him, etc. (A. Clarke), and by regarding the house built by Christ as a spiritual one; but this translation of the Heb. is not admissible, and the spiritualizing in the other case is harsh and contrary to the plain meaning of the text. Such a prophecy must be treated as that of the Servant of Jehovah in Isaiah and as the Parable of the Prodigal Son; the main spiritual idea must be determined, and its fulfilment looked for in the Messiah, without attempting to transfer all the details into the sphere of permanent spiritual history.Tr.]The limitation of the prophecy to Solomon and his immediate posterity (Rabbinical writers, Grotius) is opposed to the everlasting duration that is promised the Davidic kingdom, and that cannot be weakened into a designation of a long period of time (comp. Psa 89:30 [29]). [The phrase forever (the Eng. rendering of several different but substantially equivalent phrases in Heb.) sometimes indicates a limited period of time (as in 1Sa 1:22), where the limitation is determined by the nature of the case or by statements in the context; here the absence of any special limiting statements, taken in connection with the general tone of the promises to Israel in the Old Test., leads us to the conclusion that an unlimited duration is intended to be expressed.Tr.]The interpretation that refers the words in part immediately and directly to Christ, in part to Solomon and his nearest posterity is found already in Theodoret (2 Reg. qust. 21), who explains 2Sa 7:12-13 a, 14 b, 15 of Davids immediate bodily descendants, but 2Sa 7:13 b, 14 a, 16 of Christ. So also Brenz: he does not wholly exclude Solomon, yet refers principally to Christ. Similarly Sack (Apologet. 243 sq.) says that the seed of 2Sa 7:12-13 is to be understood of the Messiah, but the content of 2Sa 7:14-15 of the earlier scions of the Davidic house, from whom, notwithstanding their sins, the kingdom is never or at least not soon to be withdrawn. But this supposition of a double reference is as much opposed by the unity and continuity of the prophets thoughts and views (as traced in the Exposition) as the related supposition (based on the presupposition of a double sense in the Scripture) according to which Nathans word refers in the literal sense to Solomon, in the mystical sense to Christ (Glass, philol. sacra, p. 272). [We must distinguish between this mechanical view of a double sense in Scripture and the view that assigns to certain persons and things a typical-prophetical position in the development of the plan of salvation.Tr.]
In the first place it must be determined in what respect we are to suppose a factual fulfilment of this promise in Davids own lifetime, and then in his posterity. David himself, in 1Ch 22:9 sq., refers them first to Solomon, applying to him the words: he will be to me a son and I will be to him a father, and I will establish the law of his kingdom over Israel for ever. David does the same in 1Ch 28:2 sq., both times with the exhortation faithfully to observe the commandments and judgments of God, and by obedience to the Lords will to live worthy of his high calling in order that the promise might be fulfilled. So also Solomon applies the promise to himself, 1Ki 5:5; 2Ch 6:7 sq.; 1Ki 8:17-20. In 1Ki 9:4-5 God confirms to him the power given to David, assuring him that if he would walk before His face as David did, and faithfully keep His commandments, He would establish the throne of his dominion forever, in accordance with His promise to David: there shalt not fail thee a man from the throne of Israel.Punishment for his defection from the living God was visited on Solomon by the separation of the Ten Tribes under Jeroboam; but the promise that His favor should yet not be withdrawn from Davids house is also fulfilled, the kingdom for Davids sake and that David, the servant of the Lord, might always have a light before him in Jerusalem, which He had chosen to put His name there, remaining to the seed of David, which for this sin is to be afflicted, but not forever. The humbling of Davids seed was to be only temporary, and the promise of the everlasting kingdom was to be fulfilled not in Jeroboams house, but in Davids, 1Ki 11:31-39. Abijah, the son of Rehoboam, walked in the sins of his father, and his heart was not wholly with the Lord; but for Davids sake the Lord his God gave Rehoboam a light in Jerusalem, in that he raised up his son after him and let Jerusalem stand, because David had done what was right in the sight of the Lord (1Ki 15:4-5). Jehoram did that which was evil in the eyes of the Lord; but the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servants sake, as He had promised to give him a light in his sons alway (2Ki 8:18-19). While prophecy announces the downfall of one dynasty after another of the Ten Tribes, it also indeed threatens individual apostate kings in Judah with the divine judgment, but never questions the continuance of the right of Davids family to the throne. Davids crown may be taken away; but there will come one to whom it belongs, Eze 21:32 [27] (hler, Herz. IX. 412). The promise is thus referred to all Davids descendants that were called to the throne from Solomon on (comp. Psa 89:20-50; Psa 132:10-11) in accordance with the word of David in 2Sa 7:25, wherein he speaks of the promise of an everlasting kingdom as one that is given forever to his house.Nathans prophecy has thus in the first place a fundamental significance for the development of the kingdom of God and the salvation therein unfolded, in so far as from now on for all time the kingdom of Israel with its theocratic calling to realize Gods dominion in the life of His people, and to fulfil the ends of His kingdom, towers far above the Prophetic Office (as the organ of the revelation and announcement of Gods will to His people), and above the High-priesthood (as expiatory mediation between the sinful people and the holy God). All hopes and expectations of the future salvation under the theocracy that is realizing itself in the people attach themselves to the idea of the theocratic kingdom, which is the representative and manifestation of the kingdom of God itself and therefore everlasting, as also the people of God themselves have received the promise of everlasting duration (Deu 11:21). But this kingdom is exclusively the Davidic; with the seed of David (so far as this seed is chosen and appointed for it) it goes forth as everlasting bearer of the favors and blessings of God, of which the people partake on the ground of the covenant that God has concluded with David (Isa 55:3). Things may indeed be affirmed of every king that sits on Davids throne that are true in the first instance not of him personally, but of the kingdom that he represents (comp. passages like Psa 21:5; Psa 21:7; Psa 61:7). But, impelled by the Spirit, the sacred poesy produces a kingly form that far transcends what the present shows, and exhibits the Davidic and Solomonic kingdom in its archetypal completeness (Oehler, Herz. IX. 412). The idea of the theocratic Davidic kingdom of everlasting duration, and with the stamp of sonship assumes from this prophecy a concrete form in the ideal of a theocratic king who proceeds from the seed of David. This latter is called in Psa 2:7; Psa 2:12, the son of God absolutely; in Psa 110:1 declared to be the ruler that shares with God His unlimited might and power over heaven and earth, and even Davids lord; in Psalms 72 everlasting dominion to the ends of the earth is ascribed to him, and in Psa 45:2 the name Elohim, God, itself is given him. In Davids prophetic word in 2 Samuel 23 this ideal takes the form of a righteous ruler, who introduces a glorious future, in Psalms 2, 110, that of a victorious prince who as son and heir of God in unconquerable power extends his dominion by vigorous battles over the whole earthy and brings His foes to his feet, and in Psalms 72 that of a powerful prince, who conducts His government in divine righteousness, dispenses weal and blessing to the wretched, stretches out His kingdom of peace and its blessings over all princes and nations of the earth and receives their homage.[More correctly, these passages refer first to a present earthly monarch looked on as representing the ideal king, and their assertions, partially true of the finite earthly king, are to be realized in one that shall be identical with the ideal.Tr.] Further the promise given to David is the foundation of all Messianic prophecies and hopes in the prophets concerning the completion of the kingdom of God, its revelations of grace and its blessings of salvation, comp. Oehler ubi sup. 413. The idea of the everlasting victorious and peaceful theocracy that embraces not only Israel, but all the nations of the earth, and the ideal of the theocratic king, proceeding from Davids house and seed, and standing in the exclusive relation to God of son, who introduces and exercises this dominion [the theocracy], finds its full reality in the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of David, who is anointed without measure with the Holy Ghost and by the complete indwelling of God in His person exhibits Himself as the personal principle of the kingdom of God. The view that the descent of Christ from the Davidic race does not belong to the essential content of the fulfilment of the idea of the Old Testament-kingdom (G. Baur, 407) is refuted by the constant declarations of the prophets concerning the Davidic descent of the great king, as well as by the universal Jewish conception of the Messiah as the son of David (Mat 22:42 sq.), both of which rest on this fundamental prophecy. Jesus Himself accepts the name of Son of David without protest; Paul (Rom 1:3), the Epistle to the Hebrews (2Sa 7:14), and the Apocalypse (2Sa 5:5; 2Sa 22:16) declare Him to be a descendant of David. How deep this promise penetrated Davids soul is shown by his thanksgiving prayer in 2Sa 7:18 sq. The Messiah is not therein spoken of in the first instance; it relates to the ideal person of the Davidic race; but its final fulfilment in the Messiah is already contained indirectly in its own content, since the everlastingness of a merely human kingdom is inconceivable; this became clearer to David the more he compared this promise with the Messianic idea that had come down from the fathers; it finally reached full certainty in his mind through the further inward disclosures that attached themselves to this fundamental promise which occupied David day and night (Hengst., Gesch. d. Reich. Gott. unter d. Alt. Bundes, 1871, II. 2, 124 [Hengstenbergs Hist. of the Kingdom of God under the Old Covenant]).
5. The prayer of David after the reception of the Lords promise of favor (2Sa 7:18-29) bears testimony to the unexpected, joyfully surprising revelation that was made to him, and mirrors his childlike humility, fervid devotion and unshakable confidence towards his God. To this prayer which proceeds from a joyfully shocked and deeply moved heart, applies (so far as is possible from the Old Testament stand-point) what Bernard of Clairvaux says of true prayer: If the way to Gods throne is to stand free and open to our prayer, and it is there to find ready acceptance and hearing, it must proceed from an humble, fervid and trusting heart. Humility teaches us the necessity of prayer, fervor gives it flight and endurance, trust provides it with an unmovable foundation. The humility of the praying servant of God expresses itself in the declaration of its own littleness and unworthiness: 1) in view of the many manifestations of favor, through which the Lord has brought him in the past up to this point (2Sa 7:18); 2) In view of the great promises for the future that He has given him out of free grace (2Sa 7:19); and 3) In view of the paternal kindness, wherein He has condescended to him in this present revelation of love (2Sa 7:20-21). All without merit or worthiness of mine (Luther).A further special exhibition of humility is the occurrence of the word servant three times in 2Sa 7:18-21 and seven times in 2Sa 7:25-29. This thanksgiving confirms anew the fact that the only foundation on which the true godliness and everlastingness of the kingdom can rest is the purity and holiness of an humble heart, and therefore the hearty and living humility of Davids thanksgiving may give us the strongest assurance that here is really enthroned the culmination of all royal rule (Baumgarten).In the prayer humility is combined with childlike fervor and sincerity, wherewith: 1) Gods power and glory, as revealed in His previous gracious deeds for His people, is praised and celebrated (2Sa 7:22-23); 2) Gods love, wherein He acknowledges Himself to be His peoples God and Lord, is declared (2Sa 7:24); and 3) Gods name is invoked from the depths of a heart full of the consciousness of His gracious presence. (The name Jehovah occurs twelve times, and is ten times addressed. In the address the simple Jehovah occurs once, Adonai Jehovah six times, Jehovah Elohim twice, and Jehovah Sabaoth once. The address Adonai Jehovah is found at the beginning and at the end. The third division first takes up the divine names of the second, and then returns at the close to that of the first. Hengst., ubi sup., 158.)[Compare the use of divine names in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17.Tr.]). With humility and fervor is combined hearty trust 1) in the prayer for the fulfilment of the gracious promise; 2) in the appeal to the truthfulness of Gods word; and 3) in the confident hope of Gods blessing (2Sa 7:25-29).
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
2Sa 7:1-11. The Lord is with thee (2Sa 7:3). I. How the Lord owns Himself as thine: 1) In battle and victory over all thy enemies; 2) In the quietness and peace of thy heart; 3) In the blessing of thy house; 4) In the instructions of His word. II. How thou shouldst consequently place thyself with respect to the Lord: 1) In joyful willingness to prove thy gratitude to Him; 2) In humble obedience of faith to His will when it rejects thy thoughts; 3) In humbly letting thy house be built for thee by Him, and letting Him give to thee before thou wilt give to Him; and 4) In awaiting with childlike confidence His blessing for the future.
Giving and Taking in the relation of man to God: 1) A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven; but 2) A man can also give nothing to God the Lord, except it be first given him by the Lord.
I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest (2Sa 7:9): 1) How far this divine testimony has been confirmed in the guidance of thy whole course of life; 2) How its truth should qualify thee to know His ways in the guidance of His people, and in the history of His kingdom; 3) What obligation is thereby laid on thee in relation to thy God.
2Sa 7:12-16. The fulfilment of the great and gracious promise of God to David, in Christ the Son of David: 1) In His person, He is not merely Davids seed = seed of the woman = Abrahams seed, but also Gods Song of Solomon 2) In His office, He is King over the kingdom of God, King of all kings; 3) In His possession of power, He has an everlasting kingdom, to Him is given all power in heaven and on earth; 4) In His work, He builds for the name of God the Father a house, a spiritual temple in humanity, out of living stones (comp. Joh 2:19).
[2Sa 7:16-17. Robert Hall: The advantages of Civil Government contrasted with the blessings of the Spiritual Kingdom of Jesus Christ (Works, Am. Ed., III., 444): 1) As to security, and the sense of security. 2) Liberty. 3) Plenty. 4) A tendency to improvement in social institutions. 5) Stability.Tr.]
2Sa 7:18-24. The greatness of the manifestations of Gods grace: 1) They infinitely surpass the desert and worthiness of sinful men (Who am I? etc.), 2Sa 7:18; 2 Samuel 2) They fill all times, from the remotest past into the farthest future (2Sa 7:18-19); 3) They are high-exalted above all human thoughts and words, which cannot comprehend and express them (2Sa 7:20); 4) They are deep-grounded in Gods word and heart (2Sa 7:21).
2Sa 7:22-24. The right praise of God on the part of His people: 1) Looking to that which He is to them, as their incomparably gracious God, and exclusively their own; 2) Looking to that which He as their God has done in them in the wonders of His redeeming might and love; and 3) Looking to that for which He has made them His people, and prepared them for Himself.
2Sa 7:25-29. The right prayer and supplication of living faith: 1) It grounds itself firmly in the word of Gods promise (2Sa 7:25); 2) It aims at nothing but the honor of Gods name (2Sa 7:26); 3) It springs from a heart which is moved by Gods promise (2Sa 7:27); 4) It appeals to Gods faithfulness and truth; 5) It receives the fulness of Gods promised blessing.
[2Sa 7:18-29. Henry: Davids Prayer: 1) He speaks very humbly of himself, and his own merits (2Sa 7:18). 2) He speaks very highly and honorably of Gods favors to him (2Sa 7:18-20). 3) He ascribes all to the free grace of God (2Sa 7:21). 4) He adores the greatness and glory of God (2Sa 7:22). 5) He expresses a great esteem for the Israel of God (2Sa 7:23-24). 5) He concludes with humble petitions to God (2Sa 7:27-29).Tr.]
2Sa 7:1-4. [Henry: When God His providence gives us rest, and finds us little to do of worldly business, we must do so much the more for God and our souls. How different were the thoughts of David, when he sat in his palace, from Nebuchadnezzars, when he walked in his, Dan 4:29-30.Tr.]J. Lange: It is not enough to have a good design in a matter, but one must also have a particular assurance as to whether this or that is according to Gods gracious will.Schlier: Alas for us, if the Scriptures were nothing more than human, well-meant thoughts of holy men of God; who could then rely on them? who could live and die on them? But well for us that we have a word of God, a word out of Gods own mouth, which Gods Spirit has given us.
2Sa 7:4-5. Wuert. Bible: God is much more desirous of giving to us than of receiving from us.S. Schmid: God demands not so much splendid outward service, but rather an inner and honest service of the heart, Isa 4:24.Schlier: The true house of God is His people; there would He make His abode in the hearts of His own. A human heart that opens itself to God is a temple more pleasing to Him than the stateliest structure of gold and marble, and a church that really has the Lord dwelling in its midst is in the sight of God more precious than the noblest showy building which sets all the world a wondering.
2Sa 7:8-11. We always indeed imagine that we must first give something to the Lord, and that if we have not been beforehand with Him, the Lord will not bless us; and yet what is all that we do, if the Lord has not first taken hold of us?We must first experience the Lords blessings in ourselves, and then first can we do any thing for Him in return.
2Sa 7:12-16. Starke: Christs kingdom is a firmly established kingdom; even the gates of hell cannot prevail against it (Mat 16:18).Christ is the right architect of the spiritual house of God; and through Him alone can we become temples and abodes of the living God (1Co 6:16; 1Pe 2:5).Schlier: The true and living house of God, which He has built, is the church of the Lord which He has bought with His blood and gathered by His Spirit.
2Sa 7:17. S. Schmid: A faithful servant of God speaks according to the direction of Gods wordtakes nothing therefrom, and adds nothing thereto (Deu 12:32).
2Sa 7:18. Cramer: That is the true complexion of the saints: the more they are exalted by God and favored with gifts and goods, the more they humble themselves and count themselves unworthy thereof (Gen 18:27; Gen 32:10; Luk 1:48).
2Sa 7:20-21. Osiander: When a devout mans heart is stirred up by the Holy Spirit to gratitude towards God, it can often not find words enough to utter its hearty love, and to exalt God high enough over all (Luk 1:46 sq.).Starke: In praying we must not merely recognize and acknowledge our unworthiness, but also praise Gods grace and compassion (Luk 1:48-50).
2Sa 7:17-21. Schlier: Gods goodness should awaken us to a recognition of our sins, it should bring us down on our knees, it should make us little and worthless. The more God the Lord does us good, so much the more should we humble ourselves; and the higher He places us, so much the more should we recognize our unworthiness; and when He lifts us up from the dust to the height and blesses us with the fullness of His blessing, then first should we become thoroughly little and worthless in our own eyes.
2Sa 7:22. Cramer: God demands of us not only the faith of the heart, but also the confession of our lips (Rom 10:10).
2Sa 7:23. S. Schmid: Not their own deeds make a people great, but the works of God which He does among such a people. Blessed is that people whose God is the Lord; but this blessedness comes from the mere compassion of God.
2Sa 7:22-24. Schlier: It is a great gain when, through Gods benefits, we learn to recognize the benefactor, and let ourselves be drawn by Gods goodness to the Lord Himself. Gods goodness should make us little and worthless, and bow us down on our knees, but Gods goodness should also make the Lord in our estimation ever greater, worthier and nobler.
2Sa 7:25-26. Cramer: Although we have Gods fair and rich promises before us, and have once found grace, yet we should always continue to seek confirmation and increase thereof (1Ki 8:25-26).
2Sa 7:28 sqq. Berl. Bible: The greatest act in praying is the persevering supplication of faith for the performance of Gods blessed purpose; to hold fast the everlasting truth made known to us, and as if seeking payment of a debt to remind, urge, press, knock, beat the door.Starke: Every blessing in heavenly good things is derived from the gracious pleasure of God (Eph 1:3).
[2Sa 7:2. It seems natural and appropriate that our houses of worship should be not less substantial and elegant than our dwelling-houses.
2Sa 7:3. The Lords having evidently been with us does not prove that He approves all we have done; still less that He will approve all we feel inclined to do.It may be perfectly proper that a thing should be done, and yet not proper that we should undertake to do it.Our wisest friends may give us wrong counsel, in hastily taking for granted that what seems to them good will seem good to the Lord.In denying us the gratification of some pious wish, God may design accomplishing it in a way that He sees to be better; and He may commend and reward the wish He does not gratify. (Thou didst well that it was in thine heart, 1Ki 8:18)A sermon on Nathan, 2Sa 7:1-17; 2Sa 12:1-14.
[2Sa 7:9. Fame.And have made thee a great name, etc. I. Fame is a gift of Gods Providencehence to be enjoyed with humility. II. Fame is one of Gods noblest giftshence may be desired and earnestly sought, if righteously. III. Fame, like all other gifts, has weighty responsibilitieshence to be used for the good of men and the glory of God.
2Sa 7:14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. This true1) of Solomon and other descendants of David who were kings of Judah; 2) of Christ, the son of David, Heb 1:5; Hebrews 3) Of every one who is a believer in Christ, and thus a child of God, 1Jn 3:1; 1Jn 5:1.Tr.]
[2Sa 7:18-21. A model of devout thanksgiving: I. Over what he rejoices. 1) Over great blessings received in the past, 2Sa 18:2) Over yet greater blessings promised in the future, 2Sa 19:2. In what spirit he regards these favors. 1) As utterly undeserved by himself, 2Sa 7:18; 2Sa 20:2) As the gift of Gods sovereign grace, 2Sa 7:21; Mat 11:26.
2Sa 7:22. The greatness of Israels God argued from the wonders of Israels history. Comp. 2Sa 7:23-24.Tr.]
[2Sa 7:27. Promise and Prayer. 1) The promise does not prevent prayer. 2) The promise authorizes prayer that would otherwise be presumptuous. 3) The promise gives assurance of success in prayer. Comp. 2Sa 7:28-29.Tr.]
Footnotes:
[1][2Sa 7:1. Sept. caused to possess, reading for .Tr.]
[2][2Sa 7:2. Sept. tent (), others curtain of skins. Vulg. has the plural here, as in 1Ch 17:1. The difference is not important.Tr.]
[3][2Sa 7:3. This word () is wanting in a few MSS. and in Syr. and Ar.; it is of the nature of an expletive.Tr.]
[4][2Sa 7:4. Nathan the prophet in Syr., Ar., and in 5 MSS., a natural scriptio plena.Tr.]
[5][2Sa 7:5. Philippson: wilt thou [wishest thou to] build?; Cahen: is it thou that wishest? Sept. and Syr.: thou shalt not build. Chald. has: a house for my presence [Shekinah] to dwell in. We may render either shall or will.In the first clause some MSS. and EDD., and all the ancient VSS. except Chald. omit the second to, probably to ease the construction (as in Eng. A. V.); so also in 2Sa 7:8.Tr.]
[6][2Sa 7:6. Thenius, citing the ancient VSS. (especially Sept., Syr., Chald.), would read the Perf. instead of the Inf. , and would then supply ; but the masoretic pointing is at least as suitable as that of the VSS., and these last may easily be a free translation of our text.Tr.]
[7][2Sa 7:6. Lit.: have been walking, have been a perambulator.Tr.]
[8][2Sa 7:7. So Sept., Vulg., Chald., Ew., Then., Philippson, Cahen. De Wette and Erdmann have less well in the whole time.Tr.]
[9][2Sa 7:7. This reading is discussed in the exposition.Tr.]
[10][2Sa 7:8. In this address to David (2Sa 7:8-16) the sequence of verb-form? (in respect to time) presents some difficulty. The passage begins with a Perf. (past time), which is followed in regular sequence by Waw with Impfs. till we reach the last verb in 2Sa 7:9, where the form changes to Waw with Perf., followed by similar forms in apparently future sequence up to the Athnach in 2Sa 7:11; in the last clause of this verse we find Waw with Perf., where the time is present. The remaining portion (2Sa 7:12-16) is clearly future. The difficulty concerns the rendering of the verbs in 2Sa 7:8-11. Here it is to be observed that the change of form in 2Sa 7:9 after the Athnach is somewhat strange if the past time is to be maintained, and on the other hand, for future time we should expect the Impf.; it seems better, therefore, to take it as present (as in 2Sa 7:11). But in 2Sa 7:10-11 a the time is more naturally fixed as future by the Impfs. that there occur, and the introductory Waw with Perf. () may be explained by supposing that the preceding I make, extends into the future, so that according to the law of sequence it would be followed by Perfs. Thus, then, we should render in the past from 8 b to 9 a, make 9 b a transitional present, 10 and 11 a future, and 11 b present.This is nearly the order of the Sept.; it varies only in 9 b where the Greek has the Aorist (so Vulg.). Philippson and Bib-Com. render throughout in the past, except in 11 b where the former has, and the latter permits the present. So Bttcher, Then., Cahen. The rendering here given is nearly that of Eng. A. V. and Wellhausen.According to the one view God has given His people rest, and will now make David a house; according to the other He has cut off Davids enemies, and will give him rest and make him a house.The past form in 2Sa 7:1 had given him rest is the strongest argument for a past rendering in 2Sa 7:11, and therefore throughout; but this is not conclusive, since the rest in the latter case may be completer than in the former.Tr.]
[11][2Sa 7:9. The adj. is omitted in 1Ch 17:8, and in Sept., which is better.Tr.]
[12][2Sa 7:11. The first clause of 2Sa 7:11 is now (as the connection requires) generally taken as the conclusion of 2Sa 7:10, with a full stop after Israel (but Philippson connects it with the following: and since the time I have caused thee, etc.). Instead of Ewald (followed by Wellh.) reads and I will cause them [Israel] to rest, on the ground that here (from 2Sa 7:10) it is Israel that is spoken of. This reading would remove the above-mentioned objection to the future rendering, but cannot be regarded as more than a conjecture, since in such a discourse the change of reference (as in the last clause of 2Sa 7:11) would not be strange.Tr.]
[13][2Sa 7:11. The proper name Jehovah is here inserted probably for clearness.Tr.]
[14][2Sa 7:12. There is no connective in the text, but 1Ch 17:11 and Sept., prefix and it shall come to pass. which, according to Wellh., has here fallen out by reason of the preceding .Tr.]
[15][2Sa 7:12. The divergences of the text of Chron. from ours are obvious. The former is briefer and simpler, and confines itself to the expression of the divine blessing, omitting (as unessential) the minatory clause in 2Sa 7:14.Tr.]
[16][2Sa 7:15. Instead of the Qal we find Hiph. I will not remove in 1Ch 17:13, Sept., Vulg., Syr., At., which form De Rossi thinks is supported by some MSS., which have 1 sing. Qal Impf. (); it is scarcely possible to decide between the two readings.So in the latter clause of this verse Sept. has as I removed it from those whom I removed from before me, and Chron.: as I took it. from him that was before thee. Here from the connection the thee of the Heb. seems preferable to the me of Sept.; as between Samuel and Chron. the general presumption is that the latter condenses and abbreviates an originally longer text. The Saul may be insertion for clearness of reference, and the difference in the two texts may be connected with the repetition of the verb (which in Eng. A. V. is here given by the two words took and put away). It is perhaps better to suppose that the two editors (of Samuel and Chron.) have wrought the original material each in his own way.Tr.]
[17][2Sa 7:16. Some MSS. and Sept. and Syr. read before me, which is preferred by De Rossi.Tr.]
[18][2Sa 7:18. In Heb.: Adonai Jahveh. Where this combination occurs, the Masorites call the second name Elohim (instead of the ordinary Adonai); the Chald. has Jahveh Elohim, Syr. Lord God, Sept. and Vulg. Dominus Deus, whence Eng. A. V. Lord God.Tr.]
[19][2Sa 7:19. For discussion of the text of this clause see Exposition and Notes.Tr.]
[20][2Sa 7:21. It is to be noted that, whereas Sept. here has for thy servants sake (as 1Ch 17:19), it omits this clause in the parallel passage in Chron.; this may point to a correction of the text by the Greek translators (Wellh. takes a similar view, holding the Sept. according to thy heart thou hast done to be taken from Chr.). The context seems to favor the reading in Chron.Tr.]
[21][2Sa 7:22. In some good MSS. and EDD. in all, which is preferred by De Rossi.Tr.]
[22][2Sa 7:23. The text of this verse can hardly be satisfactorily restored, even after introducing the changes suggested by the Chronicles-text (as given in the brackets). There seems to be a mingling of two forms of assertion, in one of which Israel is compared with a heathen nation and Jehovah with a false god, while in the other the comparison expresses only what Jehovah had done for Israel. To the first form, perhaps, belongs the Sept. phrase what other nation, and the Plu. verb went in Samuel, and to the second belong the phrases for you. for thy land, redeemedst from Egypt. As regards the testimony of the ancient versions, the Vulg. renders our Heb. text (as Eng. A. V.), except that it has at the end nation instead of nations (because elo-him has the Sing. suffix); the Chald. gives the Heb. paraphrastically: and who is as thy people, as Israel, a people one, chosen whom men sent from Jehovah went to redeem till they came to the land of thy presence which thou gavest to them, etc.; Syr. on the earth aforetime ( ); Sept. has other nation (instead of one nation), as God led them ( instead of ), to drive out (as in Chron.) nations and tents ( for ). Instead of for you, Vulg. and Chald. have for them; our text here is defended by Bttcher and Erdmann, but even if such change of conception is possible for David, it is harsh and is perhaps better omitted in a translation.See further in the Exposition.Tr.]
[23][2Sa 7:28. The fut. rendering is given by Sept., Syr., Vulg., but the Pres. is better (with then. and Erdmann), because the whole clause is a declaration of what God is essentially. Philippson has less well: and thy words will be (werden, become,) truth, since thou hast spoken.Tr.]
[24][To this Josephus perhaps alludes when he says (Ant. 7, 4, 4) that Moses predicted the building of the temple.Tr.]
[25][Bib. Comm.: The cedar of Lebanon is a totally different tree fro n what we improperly call Virginia cedar (Juniperus Virginiana). It is a close-grained, light-colored, yellowish wood, with darker knots and veins.Tr.]
[26][The general sense is not changed by this slight difference of translation.Tr.]
[27][The sense is the same as in Samuel.Tr.]
[28][See the thought here well brought out in Keil on Samuel, Eng. tr. p.344 sq.Tr.]
[29]The Rel. sentence begun with is broken off, the Inf. (), as indication of cause, acting as protasis and the Perf. with Waw cons. as apodosis in a future sense, giving the result of the sinning. Ges. 126, 6 d, Rem. 1. then. strikes out the second (as a mis-copy of the first), and connects the Rel. with the suffix in .
[30][On Davids posture see notes of Patrick and Gill in loco.Tr.]
[31]This is the only meaning of (. [But see 1Ch 29:11; Est 1:4Tr.]
[32][Note that the word heart in the usage of the O. T. means the whole inner nature, including intellect, affections and will.Tr.]
[33][This phrase probably refers to the oral tradition by which Israels history was handed down from father to son. Tr.]
[34] is not = where (De W.), but is to be connected with (comp. Jdg 21:8; Deu 3:24). See Ew. 325a: what one people, what people ever [whatever people]? is to be connected with as accus. of the object. [On the text see Text. and Grammat. Tr.]
[35][The Heb. word elohim is in form plural, but is the usual word for God.Tr.]
[36][This is the phrase found in Exo 19:5 ye shall be to me a possession or property (Eng. A. V. peculiar treasure), in Deu 7:6 a people of possession (Eng. A. V. Special people), and in Mal 3:17 they shall be to me, in the day that I make, a possession. The Hebrew word () is rendered by the Sept. and , which have thus passed into the N. T. in this sense of property, possession, as Tit 2:14 a peculiar people = a people that is Gods property, and 1Pe 2:9Tr.]
[37] here stands for the 2d person (as the 3d pers. pron. is often used for the verb to be): Thou art God, comp. Psa 44:5 [4]; Zep 2:12; Ew. 297 b. [The that God of Eng. A. V. is incorrect, and Dr. Erdmanns rendering is right; but it is not true that the 3 pers. pron. is ever used for the 2 pers. or for the substantive verb; the literal translation here is thou art He (namely) God, the copula being omitted as often in Heb.Tr.]
[38][That is, the specific reference, the idea being clothed in a person.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
CONTENTS
This chapter affords a pleasing view of David’s mind. His zeal for God’s honour and glory, prompts him to the desire of building an house for the Lord. He confers with Nathan the prophet on the subject. The Lord at night reveals his will on this occasion, and commands him to communicate the same to David. Upon receiving this message, David goeth in before the Lord, and offers a Most delightful prayer.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
(1) And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest roundabout from all his enemies; (2) That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
How much the soul of David longed to glorify the God of his mercies, is very evident from what is here related of him. Here he was a type of the ever-blessed Jesus, whose zeal for the honour of his Father’s house is said to have eaten him up. See Psa 69:9 . compared with Joh 2:17 . Reader! I venture to believe that it is no small testimony of our being of the house and lineage of our glorious spiritual David, when from a love to his cause and to his person, we feel somewhat as David here felt, a certain painful concern in eating our morsel alone, and would wish that Jesus’s poorest members were all partakers with us of his bounties.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Humility
2Sa 7:18
Saul’s failure and David’s success are here indicated; and in essence it came to this, that Saul was rejected for pride, and David was received for humility.
I. In illustration of all this, one of the most remarkable things in the story of David is the way in which he yielded to the guidance and reproof of God’s prophets. His attitude of humble praise on this occasion of our text, when Nathan predicted the perpetual dominion of his house, is typical of his temper at all such times. Instead of creating pride and vanity, as it would in a smaller, meaner soul, it crushes him to the dust, makes him feel his unworthiness, and melts his heart with sweet humility.
II. Happiness should not separate the soul of man from God, if it be accepted humbly as from His loving hand and loving heart. It should make a man praise God for His goodness, and make him walk softly and gently all his days. Yet, how rare is this humble attitude of heart, gratefully accepting the unmerited blessing and undeserved favour of God. Our common attitude is exactly the opposite. We do not cultivate the thankful heart.
III. Pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. Humility is the chief of the virtues, because apart from it none of them can grow to full beauty and power. It is the beginning of wisdom; the threshold of grace; the very doorway of the kingdom itself; the good ground ready for the seed that will bear fruit, some an hundredfold. It was of this humble-mindedness and simple-heartedness the Master spoke when He made little children typical of His Kingdom. We must feel in the presence of such love as Communion represents that we have no standing except of grace. We are not worthy to eat the crumbs from His table. And yet He brought us unto His ban-queting-house, gave us to eat the bread of life and to drink the wine of His love. When we have said all we just come back to the mystery of redeeming love, and we bow in humble, adoring praise before our Father in heaven.
Hugh Black, Christ’s Service of Love , p. 221.
The Solicitude of Success
2Sa 7:18-20
I. Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me thus far? It may seem paradoxical to say so, but in deep, true souls disappointment and disaster often cause less anxiety and questioning than brilliant success occasions. Success, especially sudden and singular success, brings many heart-searchings and solicitudes.
II. To a certain extent this is the right spirit in which to accept accessions of wealth and power. It is a far truer temper than to regard our success as the reward of merit, and to boast ourselves in our good fortune. To recognize our frailties, and to acknowledge that riches and honours are God’s free gifts, is the true attitude towards all worldly advancement Yet at the same time we must not permit morbid feeling to blind us to the graciousness of God, and to rob us of the sweetness of the good things He bestows. The ‘gifts of the Greeks’ were deprecated by their neighbours, it being generally understood that these favours were prompted by sinister motive or design; but there is nothing sinister in the bright things freely given us of God. The pagan in the day of his success was afraid of the jealousy with which the gods were reputed to view the uncommon happiness of mortals; but the Divine Giver is better known by us, and His delight in all the pure joy of His people is a great truth of that revelation which is ‘the master-light of all our seeing’. It is well to feel our unworthiness of the least of His mercies, yet we may greet the shower of gold or roses with the utmost confidence and expectation. It is a fine trait in the Christian character when we are able to fill high places and to enjoy goodly things in the spirit of unquestioning trust and appreciation. A suspicious, ascetic spirit is not the highest mood of life.
III. If it please God to exalt us to brilliant posts, to invest us with authority and influence, to dower us with riches, to give us favour in the sight of the people, to establish our house, let us dismiss all heathen solicitude, and, praying for God’s grace, use everything for His glory.
W. L. Watkinson, Themes for Hours of Meditation, p. 163.
References. VII. 18. Walter Brooke, Sermons, p. 72. VII. 18-22. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xx. No. 1166. VII. 18-29. Ibid. vol. xlviii. No. 2811; see also vol. 1. No. 2869. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture 2 Samuel, p. 36.
More Than Human
2Sa 7:19
Again and again we see in the Bible that God is like none but Himself. He has no compeer. He challenges the gods; He takes them up, as it were, in His fingers, and nails them to the walls of the universe and laughs at them, and asks them to come down and assert themselves in fair reason and in miracles of undoubted beneficence. As with God so with the Church. We can only live in our distinctiveness; not wherein we are like other people, but at the point where we are unlike everybody else does our power come in. If the salt have lost his savour, his weight will do nothing for him or his whiteness; his reputation was founded in his savour; that gone, cast him out and let men tread him under foot. You must not try to make God like man, nor must you endeavour to make the God of the Bible like the gods of the heathen. The God of revelation astounds even His most reverent prophets and minstrels by His mercy, His tenderness, His power, and His pity.
I. It is the same throughout the whole circuit of human inquiry. We might say, for example, of the Bible, Is this the manner of our books? There is no book like it; it is so curiously composed, it is hardly composed at all; it seems to fall into place in great star-quantities; we cannot trace its genesis, its intellectual evolution, and its literary polish in its full verbal accomplishment. The Bible is not after the manner of our books; it is a book by itself, it is many books in one, it is all literature in one statement, and that statement is as a burning bush within whose fiery branches the Jehovah of the universe dwells and glows.
II. We might say the same thing of the Christ Whom we serve and Whom we adore, blessing His name as we bless the name of the Father. When we watch Him, when we hear His words, when we study His methods, we say, ‘Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?’ Hear the people, the people who did not care for Him, the people who were hostile to Him; when they returned they said, ‘Never man spake like this man’. There we come upon our central doctrine, namely, there is in Him something more than human, more than measurable, more than common. When He came to the end of His Sermon on the Mount, the only sanctuary worthy of such a discourse, the people were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as One having authority, and not as the scribes.
III. We might say the same thing of the morality of the New Testament. Jesus Christ said, ‘Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven’; and the scribes and the Pharisees were there, and He offended every man of them. Jesus Christ took the soul back into the very sanctuary of the Divine wisdom and grace, and having wrought there in the innermost place the miracle of conversion, He said, Now, down, away to the paths and the market-place and the homes of the world, and love thy neighbour as thyself. Never man spake like this man!
Then take His attitude towards life. Sometimes He seemed to regard it as worthless; He said, Take no thought for it. Once He even went so far as to say that if any man would gain his life he must lose it; once again He declared in a startling paradox that if any man would gain his life he should lose it, and if he lost it in the right way he should gain it. There is no making a common line of this Man’s talk, it does not fit into any other conversation, it is not an eloquence that falls like splashing water into the cadences of other rhetoric; it stands alone, it is full of paradox, full of mercy, full of light; and no man can interpret Christ until he has been buried with Him in the very baptism of a common suffering.
Joseph Parker, City Temple Pulpit, vol. 1. p. 77.
References. VII. 19. J. Parker, The City Temple Pulpit, vol. i. p. 77. VII. 21. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlv. No. 2641. VII. 25. Ibid. vol. ii. No. 88. VII. 27. Ibid. vol. xxiv. No. 1412; see also vol. 1. No. 2869. IX. 1-13. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture 2 Samuel, p. 42. IX. 13. J. M. Neale, Sermons Preached in a Religious House, vol. i. p. 62. X. 8-19. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture 2 Samuel, p. 49.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
The Message of the Second Book of Samuel
2Sa 7:7
The second book of Samuel does not contain any very definite divisions, but seems most naturally to fall into three parts.
In the first, which includes chapters one to eight, we have the account of David’s public doings. In the second section, containing chapters nine to twenty, we have the history of David’s court life.
At chapter twenty the third and closing section of the book begins. This section constitutes an appendix of miscellaneous contents. The book closes with the story of the census and the plague which it brought in Israel, with the means taken by David for its removal.
As for the main lesson of this book, it is written across its pages so clearly that none can miss it. Wherever you open the book you find the message, ‘Be sure your sin will find you out’.
I. The Awfulness of Sin. Sin, as we know, is a theological term. The idea of sin is inseparably bound up with the idea of God. Without God you may have evil, vice, crime, you cannot have sin. Sin is a relation between a personal Creator and the personal creature. Hence it follows that our knowledge of God regulates our knowledge of sin. The better we know God the better we know what sin really is.
In reading the story of David we see something of the malignancy of sin, and learn something of its power. David was a good man. David was a Godfearing man. David’s heart was on the whole right with God, yet see what sin did to him. It threw him from the throne into the gutter, and made him go mourning all his days.
II. The Limits of Forgiveness. David sinned, and for months remained with his sin unconfessed and unforgiven. These months David never forgot. But a day came when Nathan reached David. The day came when David could write the fifty-first Psalm, the Psalm which ever since has been the song of broken-hearted penitents. And in that day David received forgiveness. When David said, ‘I have sinned against the Lord,’ Nathan could say, ‘The Lord hath put away thy sin’. And David knew that was true. David was not only forgiven, but he was kept safe, as we can see, to the end of his days in fellowship with God. But even all that did not undo his sin. He was forgiven, but his household was desolated.
III. The Lesson is an Unspeakably Solemn One. Sin has results which forgiveness cannot cancel. There are consequences of sin which even the grace of God cannot arrest. You may sin and be forgiven, and yet your sin may go down through the ages cursing and destroying men you never knew.
G. H. C. Macgregor, Messages of the Old Testament, p. 129.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
2Sa 7
1. And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
2. That the king said unto Nathan the prophet [the first mention of him], See now, I dwell in an house of cedar; but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains [compare Hag 1:10 ].
3. And Nathan said [speaking from the impulse of his own heart] to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.
4. And it came to pass that night [the night following Nathan’s conversation with David], that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying,
5. Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6. Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes [judges?] of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
8. Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote [pastures], from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
9. And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
10. Moreover I will [I have] appoint a place for my people Israel, and will [have] plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime,
11. And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
12. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom [Solomon may have been already born].
13. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
14. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:
15. But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever [David was the head of the line which culminated in Christ Jesus].
17. According to all these words, and according to all this vision [a word applicable to every divine communication], so did Nathan speak unto David.
18. Then went king David in [to the tent he had pitched for the ark], and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?
19. And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?
20. And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant.
21. For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
22. Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any god beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears [the same word applies to written records, and to divine communications made in any way].
23. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel whom God went [in the Hebrew both the divine name and the verb are plural] to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you [for them in the Vulgate] great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
24. For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.
25. And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
26. And let thy name be magnified [hallowed be thy name!] for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
27. For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
28. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
29. Therefore now let it please thee [it will please thee] to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XX
BRINGING UP THE ARK AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTRAL PLACE OF WORSHIP
2Sa 6:1-7:29
The wars are now all over, and there has come a period of rest. The first thing that impresses David’s mind is this: “I have made Jerusalem the capital of the nation, and Mount Zion is the chief place in Jerusalem, but in order to keep this people unified, God must be present. Off yonder at Gibeon is the tabernacle and the brazen altar, a part of the people worshiping there, and there is an altar of sacrifice but no altar at Jerusalem. Ten miles off yonder at Kirjathjearim is the ark of the covenant; it has been there forty-eight years. Lost in the days of Eli to the Philistines, and returned by the Philistines and stopped at that place, and there another part of the people are worshiping.” You can see how David’s mind would be fastened upon the thought that he must bring that ark with its symbol of divine presence to his capital, but in order to bring it he must have a place to put it, so he selects a site for it and builds a tent, something like the tabernacle which Moses built, which was still at Gibeon, and it remained there until Solomon built the Temple. After Solomon built the Temple, the tabernacle was no longer regarded. It passes out of history.
It has been a characteristic of this man’s life to consult God in everything that he does. Now the priest carried two jewels on his Ephod called the Urim and Thummim, and through the Urim and Thummim God answered questions propounded. That Ephod with the Urim and Thummim had been carried by Abiathar to David in the cave of Adullam. All along through life he had that with him, and through these brilliant jewels in some way, we do not know just how, God answered questions propounded. There was also instituted an order of prophets who became the mouthpieces of Jehovah, so that if a man wanted to know Jehovah’s will he would go to the seer, or prophet, as David went to Nathan, and as Saul went to Samuel. These were two ways in which God communicated with the people the priest way, through the Urim and Thummim, and the prophet way, through their inspiration. It is the object of David to gather together at Jerusalem everything sacred the ark, tent, and altar, and the precious Urim and Thummim, so that here now in every way he may hear from God.
Sometimes God communicated with individuals in dreams and visions, but ordinarily through the two ways I have pointed out. We see why he wanted to get the ark up there, and how important in order to perpetuate unity and solidarity of his kingdom; all who would confer with God must come to his capital.
While David was king it was not an absolute monarchy. There was what was called the Convocation of Israel the general assembly. This section commences: “And David consulted with the captains of thousands and of hundreds, even with every leader.” Notice that he did not settle matters by a mere ipse dixit “words spoken by himself.” It was not by mere royal edict. He wanted the people to see and commit themselves to it, that this was the best thing to do for the nation. Sometimes a pastor becomes arbitrary in deciding what to do when he could accomplish his object a great deal better if he would confer with his brethren. David was not just a boss; he wanted everybody committed. After this consultation it was decided that they would go for the ark, and our text tells us how they brought it from Kirjathjearim on a cart drawn by oxen and that when the oxen stumbled and the cart looked as though it were going to turn over, Uzzah, one of the men who had been guiding it, reached out his hand to stop it, and God struck him dead instantly. That made a deep impression upon David and the people as deep as when Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire upon the altar and the lightning leaped from God and destroyed them; an impression as solemn as when at Peter’s words Ananias and Sapphira fell dead under the stroke of God. The question is, why? The answer is found in the Mosaic law, that while carts might be used to carry the external things, the posts of the enclosure, and the curtain of the enclosure, the things of the sanctuary had to be carried by men, and staves were fitted into each piece heavy enough to require it so that four men might carry it. They might put the other things in a cart, but these sacred things had to be borne by men. In the next place, only certain men could touch it without death. They must not only be of the tribe of Levi, but of the family of Kohath. In Numbers we have the order of the encampment of the twelve tribes, three on each of the four sides; the Levites made an inner circle, and the position of the Kohathites and their duties. Whenever the trumpet sounded the Kohathites had to pick up the ark to carry it. In this case the law was violated, and God, in order to show that there must be reverence for sacred things, and that his precise commands must be carried out, made the breach on Uzzah.
We now come to a question of David, and it is a great text 1Ch 13:12 : “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” What a theme for a sermon! If I were to preach on that I would show that wherever the ark was there was safety and blessing. After it stopped at Kirjathjearim that place was blessed; after it stopped at the house of Obed-Edom that home was blessed. Since that ark was a symbol of divine presence and divine guidance, it was a supreme question, “How shall I bring the ark of God home to me?” How shall I get the ark of God into my family, so that there will be safety, guidance, peace, and love? You see what kind of a sermon could be made out of it.
The whole vast crowd went back to Jerusalem and left the ark there. It was a good thing to have, but a bad thing to touch. It stayed at the house of Obed-Edom three months, and every hour it brought a blessing to that home. Our text tells us that David had made him houses in the city of David and prepared a place for the ark, if he could ever get it there: “How shall I bring it home to me?” The house that David built for himself was a palace.
The riches that he had made, the commerce that he had instituted, culminated in a treaty with Hiram, king of Tyre. Tyre was the great naval power of that age what England is now and through his alliance with Hiram he obtained the best artificers in wood and metal, skilled workmen, and cedars from Lebanon. These huge trees were floated to Joppa, and from Joppa brought across the country to Jerusalem, and so David had a fine house. When he went into that house the day it was finished, he wrote a song Psa 30 . I told you about his gratitude; whenever a blessing came, it brought immediately from him an expression of thanksgiving to God. He wrote Psa 30 and sang it at the dedication of the house. He dedicated this house of his to God. The song commences: I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
I told you that in studying the psalms, you would get the interpretation of the inner life of David, and that you could tell from the psalms what events of his life most impressed him. Arrange the Davidic psalms in order, as they express the life of David. You will commence, of course, with the twenty-third, then the eighth, etc. There was a great difference between the Gave of Adullam and this fine palace. Some people do not get a home until late in life. Lorenzo Dow used to sing that he never had a home, and when a friend made him a present of a home, he declined it because it kept him from singing his favorite hymn.
David, hearing that the blessings of God had been on ObedEdom, and wanting this blessing brought to Jerusalem, studied the law and the law told him how to handle the ark; that the Kohathites should bear it, the Levites only should come near it; so he set out again with a vast host nearly 1000 singers to go after the ark.
Three chief singers led with cymbals, then three more men led the lute or psaltery-crowd, and three more men led the harp-crowd, and the priests blew the trumpets for signals. On page 127 (1Ch 15:19 ) we have: “So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were appointed, with cymbals of brass to sound aloud; and Zechariah and Asiel, and Shemiramoth and Jehiel, and Unni and Eliab, and Maaseiah and Benaiah with psalteries set to Alamoth.” “Alamoth” means female choir; “Sheminith,” male choir. He started out to get the ark home, and when he got to the place they sang this song, Psa 15:1 : Jehovah, who shall sojourn in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, And speaketh truth in his heart; He that slandereth not with his tongue.
Then when the Kohathites lifted up the ark, he said, “Let God arise, and his enemies be scattered,” the song that Cromwell sang before battle. And now having picked up the ark, the priests with the trumpets gave the signals to the cymbal-band., the psaltery-band whose singers were maidens, and to the harp-band. When that vast host drew near to Jerusalem, they sang Psa 24:7 . Lift up your heads, O ye gates, And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors.
They marched in and deposited the ark in its place in the tent and then David repeated the words of Moses: “Return to thy rest, O Lord,” then followed refreshments, and then followed the benediction.
I will not go over the pageantry, but will present this thought: The Harmony tells us (p. 128) “On that day David first ordained to give thanks unto the Lord, by the hand of Asaph and his brethren.” In other words, as soon as he got the ark in its place, he instituted that remarkable worship which has never been equalled from that day to this; there was something every day, morning sacrifice and evening sacrifice. He appointed 24,000 Levites to various services around the sanctuary. There were twelve different bands, twenty-four pieces each, for each month of the year, and on great occasions these 288 pieces would be in one grand band with a choir of 4,000 voices; but every month of the year a certain band would know that it would have to go in. There were a great many singers, male and female; singers corresponding to cymbals, singers corresponding to harps, and singers corresponding to cornets. I do not suppose that history has a parallel to this organization of music. It became somewhat greater in Solomon’s time, but David was the organizer.
We now come to one of the most important lessons in the Bible (p. 131). You will understand that Deu 12:10-11 , is the key passage for interpreting the present section. Here is the direction that after they get over into the Promised Land and their enemies are subdued, the kingdom is settled, all the wars ended, then God will designate a central place of worship for his house. David was familiar with the passage in Deuteronomy. He now believes that the provisional days are over, and that the time has come for God to have fixed habitation where all must come, in fulfilment of that passage, and he purposes in his heart to build the most magnificent house for God that the world has ever seen (2Sa 7:1-3 ). He was not mistaken in the divine purpose to have a central place of worship; he was not mistaken that Jerusalem was the place, but he was mistaken as to the time when, and the man by whom this glorious Temple of God should be erected. It is important for you to see wherein he was mistaken and wherein he was not mistaken. God commends him for his zeal: “It was well that thou didst purpose this in thine heart.” “That is a good thing, but you are not the man to do it.”
The Bible assigns two reasons why David was not the man. In 1Ki 5:3 , Solomon, who was the right man, uses this language: Thou knowest how that David, my father, could not build a house for the name of Jehovah his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until Jehovah put these under the soles of his feet. In other words, the military power of David had not fully given rest; the time of rest had not fully come; a partial rest had come, but not the full rest necessary to the establishment of this house. Solomon then adds: But now Jehovah my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. That is the first reason.
We find another reason in 1 Chronicles. David is speaking: “But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou art a man of war, and hast shed blood” (1Ch 28:3 ). He refers to it again as follows: “But the word of Jehovah came to me saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight” (1Ch 22:8 ).
Now go back to the passage in Deuteronomy: “When you have gotten over into that country and have obtained rest from all your enemies, then this permanent house of God shall be built.” David mistook, (1) the time the wars were not yet ended; (2) the person he had been a man of war and had shed blood abundantly, and the builder of the house of God must be a prince of peace. We will have use for this thought when we come to consider the antitype. Whereupon the message to David, the message of our text (and I want you to see that this divine message to David made the deepest impression ever made upon his mind by any event of his life) made a stronger impression upon the Jewish mind after his time than any preceding thing. You will find the psalms full of references to it, and the prophets magnify it above every promise, particularly Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel, and you will find that this message that Nathan, from God, delivered to David, thrilled the Jewish heart with marvelous expectation of the Messiah, David’s son, the Great King that was to come. Frequent reference is made to it in the New Testament, and Matthew’s whole Gospel was written on the thought of the coming of the King. This is his great theme.
In order to see how this impressed David, notice the exact words spoken to him (2Sa 7:4-7 ): “And it came to pass the same night, that the word of Jehovah came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah, shalt thou build me a house for me to dwell in? for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even unto this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel, spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to be shepherd of my people Israel, saying, Why have ye not built me a house of cedar?” “During the period of the judges, when I selected a judge like Samson, or Gideon, or Barak, did I at any time say to any of these judges that the time had come to build me a permanent house?” (Read 2Sa 7:8-16 .) That was the message and it is very easy to see from the context that at the time it made a most wonderful impression upon the mind of David, as you further note from his prayer following right after it. (Read 2Sa 7:18-19 ; 1Ch 17:16-17 .) Consider particularly these words: “And this too after the manner of men, ‘O lord Jehovah.” Luther translates that passage thus: “This is after the manner of a man who is God, the Lord.” That is to say, such a promise cannot fulfil itself in a man of low degree. The Chronicles passage has it: “Thou hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree.” David does not understand that his son Solomon is to exhaust the meaning of this passage.
In order to prove the impression made on David’s mind, let us read all of Psa 72 which closes with the words of David and ends a book of the Psalms. The subscription is: “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.” You may easily gather from this psalm that when this promise was made through Nathan that God would build him a house house meaning family except the Lord build a house, they labor in vain to build it, since children are a heritage of the Lord. The King in his mind appears from Psa 2 . (Read Psa 2:1-8 .) Then again in Psa 110:1 “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” This king is to be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Then in Psa 89 . (Read Psa 89:2-4 .) Notice again in Psa 45 . (Read the entire psalm.) Now we want to know how this promise to David impressed the mind of the prophet. (Read Isa 11:1-10 .)
The genealogies of both Matthew and Luke prove that Jesus was a descendant of David. (Read Luk 1:31-33 ; Luk 1:68-70 .)
Another passage (Read Heb 1:5 ). “Again” here refers to Christ’s resurrection. His soul had gone up to God at his death on the cross to make atonement, and after the atonement returned for the body, and when the resurrection took place God said, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” Again, in Hebrews, he says that Moses built a house, the tabernacle, and Solomon, the lineal son of David, built a house, the Temple. But the Temple that Solomon built was out of unfeeling rock, unthinking stone, quarried as rough ashlars from the mountains; then by certain processes smoothed and fashioned into things of beauty, to be fitted into the earthly Temple of the Lord, which is a type of human beings, quarried as rough ashlars from the mountains of sin; then by the marvelous works of regeneration and sanctification, they become smooth ashlars ready for fitting into the temple of God, the living temple, to be a habitation for God, through the Spirit, to the end of the world. See also the last chapter of Revelation.
My point is, that while this promise of God through Nathan rested for the time being on Solomon, who did build a house, that it looked to a higher than Solomon, to a more distant day. Let us read Luther’s translation again: “This is after the manner of a man who is God, our Lord.” When you study the vast literature of the Old Testament say such a series as Hengstenberg’s Christology or Hengstenberg’s Kingdom of God, or any good commentary on 2Sa 7 and parallel passages in Chronicles, you will find that they regard this promise made to David as the most remarkable ever made. The prophetic light grew brighter all the time. Way back yonder the seed of the woman, Abel, then Seth, Shem, Abram, Isaac, Jacob. . . David, but here the messianic light becomes most brilliant in this promise.
QUESTIONS
1. What are the general conditions of affairs at this point, and what prompted David to bring up the ark from Kirjathjearim?
2. In what three ways did God communicate with his people, and what was the bearing of these on the removal of the ark and tabernacle to Jerusalem?
3. What course did David pursue, and the lesson therefrom, what incident here shows the sanctity of the ark and the impression made by it, and what Mosaic law was violated here?
4. What text here for a sermon, and the line of thought suggested?
5. Give an account of the building and dedication of David’s house.
6. What course did David pursue before attempting again to bring up the ark?
7. Describe the procession that went after the ark. What psalm did they sing as they started?
8. What did David say when the Kohathites lifted up the ark, and what general sang it before battle?
9. What song did they sing as they approached Jerusalem, and what did David say when they deposited the ark in the tent?
10. Describe the course of worship instituted by David.
11. Cite the direction for the establishment of the central place of worship; what David’s purpose concerning it; wherein was he not mistaken, and wherein was he mistaken?
12. Why was not David the man to build the Temple?
13. What message brought to David by Nathan, what impression did it make on his own mind, on the Jewish mind, and what Old Testament and New Testament references to it?
14. What was Luther’s translation of, “And this too after the manner of men O Lord Jehovah,” and what its meaning?
15. What was the impression made on David’s mind, and what was the proof?
16 How did this promise to David impress the mind of Isaiah?
17. Who was the immediate fulfilment of this promise to David, who the remote fulfilment, and what the New Testament proof?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
2Sa 7:1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
Ver. 1. When the king sat in his house. ] His newly built house of cedar; and considered that God and his ark dwelt in tabernaculo pelliceo et papillione, in a meaner tabernacle.
And the Lord had given him rest.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
came to pass. This chapter takes its place with Gen 15. It is the unconditional Covenant with David, to give him the Throne; as that was with
Abraham, to give him the Land.
the king. Thus now dignified.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 7
Now it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all of his enemies; [Now he’s established, he’s strong, he’s powerful.] That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, Look I’m dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of God is dwelling there in the curtains. Nathan said to the king, Go, and do all that is in your heart; for the Lord is with you ( 2Sa 7:1-3 ).
Now David is expressing his desire to Nathan to build a house for God. “Look Nathan, I’m dwelling in this beautiful palace, the ark of God is still in that tent. I want to make a house for God. Nathan, the prophet is taken with the idea, “Ah, David that’s great do all that is in your heart.”
But when Nathan went home, that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shall you build a house for me to dwell in? Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought the children out of Egypt, even to this day, but I have walked in a tent, and in the tabernacle. In all of the places wherein I have walked with the children of Israel did I ever ask anyone to build me a house? Now therefore so shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepcote, from following after the sheep, and I made you the ruler over my people, over Israel: And I was with thee wherever you went, and I’ve cut off all of your enemies out of your sight, and I’ve made you a great name, like the name of the great men which are upon the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and I’ve caused you to rest from all of your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that he will build you a house. And when thy days are fulfilled, and you sleep with your fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever ( 2Sa 7:3-13 ).
Now in Acts chapter two, verse thirty, Peter is making a commentary on this particular passage of scripture, the word of the Lord to David. Peter tells us there that being a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit upon His throne. David understood that God was promising that the Messiah was gonna come through his loins. It was a glorious promise of God.
Disappointment of David, “You can’t build a house for Me, but good news David, I’m gonna build you a house, from you the Messiah shall come.”
[And the Lord said,] I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: and thy throne shall be established for ever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, Nathan related to David faithfully. And when king David went in, and he sat down before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that you have brought me to this place ( 2Sa 7:14-18 )?
God reminded him of his past. That “You were just a shepherd, I took you from following after the sheep, and I made you the king, the ruler over My people.”
“Who am I oh Lord God, and what is my house? My family was nothing that You should make me the king.” He was just looking at the goodness that God had shown to him. “That You should bring me to this place of ruling. Who am I oh Lord God?”
And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but you have spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come ( 2Sa 7:19 ).
In other words, “Lord, this is not a small thing, this is tremendous, but that isn’t all, You now start to talk to me about my house for a great while to come. You start telling me of the future.”
You look at what God has done for you. As David said, “He brought me up out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, He established my feet upon the rock, and He established my going” ( Psa 40:2 ). God redeemed me from my sin. He’s made me His son. “Beloved now are we the sons of God. It doesn’t yet appear what we’re gonna be, but we know that when He appears, we’re gonna be like Him, for we are gonna see Him as He is.”
In other words, God has already done this for us, but then God gives us fabulous promises of the future. Of the kingdom of God, where we shall dwell with Him in righteousness in joy, and peace, in the everlasting kingdom, and we shall be heirs with Him, joint heirs with Christ. We shall reign with Him. Oh, the glorious things of God that’s spoken of your future. It’s not a small thing that God has already done; it’s fabulous what God has already done for us. When you think of what God took us from and what He has made us now, as children of God, in the fellowship with Him. But then He just doesn’t stop there, He goes on and He speaks about your eternal blessedness in His kingdom as you’re living with Him forever and ever. “Is this the manner of man O Lord God?” No, it isn’t the manner of man. This is divine grace of which we know so very little, and experience as far as man is concerned.
And what can David say more to these things ( 2Sa 7:20 )?
“God I’m just speechless, I don’t know what, I don’t have words to express what I feel about Your grace.”
Paul said, “And what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who shall be against us? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who is justified. Who is he that condemneth, it is Christ who has died, yea rather is risen again, and is even at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for you. What can you say about it?”
Number one, God is for you. So many times we think, “God’s against me.” No God is for you. If God is for you, who can be against you? Well, Satan can be against you, but who is he against God? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God who is justified. God’s not laying any charges against you. “Oh how blessed is the man to whom God does not impute sin.” God isn’t laying any charges.
Now Satan is constantly charging you with failure, weakness, and so forth. But God isn’t charging you with these things. He’s justified you. He considers you as though they never happened. Who is he that condemneth? Jesus isn’t condemning you.
He said, “Hey I didn’t come to condemn the world, but that the world through Me might be saved. He that believeth,” note carefully “is not condemned. There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. He that believeth is not condemned. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ who died, yea rather is risen again and is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for you.”
Jesus is there tonight before the throne of God interceding in your behalf, because of your weaknesses and your failures, and your stumbling. He’s there to intercede for you, not condemning you, He’s not saying, “Oh Father, look at that. Fell again; didn’t he? Why don’t we wipe him out, why don’t we just forget him. Let’s go to somebody else Father.” Not at all.
As you stumble, He says, “Father, just put that one to my account, lay that one on Me. Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” He’s there interceding, not condemning, but interceding for you, pleading your cause.
“Hey, if God is for us.”
“What can you say to this?”
Just, “Oh Lord You’re too much, too much.” We become just speechless when we realize the greatness of God’s love and grace towards us. What more can David say, the most literate of all people? A guy who is so gifted at expression of himself, his heart, his feelings. I love to read the Psalms because of David’s gift of expression. He’s able to say the things that I feel that I can’t say. He’s able to articulate feelings of the soul and spirit, that I’ve only been able to feel, never articulate.
“As the deer thirsted after the water, so pants my soul after Thee O God. My soul thirsteth for thee as in a dry and barren land.” Oh, you go on and oh, that’s beautiful. I love it. This guy who was so articulate, man he got to the place where he was just speechless. “God, You’re too much. What You’ve already done, You’ve made me the king. I was just a little kid following sheep. You’ve made me the king of Your people. If this wasn’t a small thing, Lord You’ve spoken now of my house for a great while to come. You’ve promised the Messiah coming. The Messiah’s coming, Lord what can I say. What do I say?”
For thy word’s sake, and according to your own heart, have you done these great things ( 2Sa 7:21 ),
He said, “Hey Lord, I know it’s not me, it’s not because I’m somebody great or I’m so good, it’s for Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart You’ve done these things. These things proceed from Your righteousness, not from mine. They proceed from Your goodness, not from my righteousness.” God’s grace is never a reward for your goodness or righteousness. God’s grace always proceeds from His heart, and for His own word’s sake He does for you. Not because you’re worthy, not because you’re especially nice, or especially good, now you’re going to get this special blessing. Never. It’s just because He loves you, and that’s His nature, and that’s His heart to show His love to you, and just to totally overwhelm you, though you realize how totally undeserving, and how unworthy you are. It is just the hardest thing to do, just accept grace gracefully.
My son came up he called me Wednesday morning, he said, “Dad, I need to talk to you.”
So I said, “Okay.”
He said, “I’ll be up there about two-thirty this afternoon.
I said, “Fine, I’ll wait for you.”
So he came in, and he sat down, and he said “Dad, I’m really worried.”
I said, “What about?” He began to tell me of all of the blessings that had been laid upon him lately. Just God has just opened up, and began to pour out blessings on that kid, so much so that he said, “I just worry. You know God has given me so much, I’m just getting worried.” The church bought them a new washer and dryer, and just a lot of neat things. He was just concerned. I said, “It’s really hard to accept grace gracefully isn’t it?” That was his problem. Just accepting God’s goodness.
“Surely this is too much for me. I truly don’t deserve this.” Just when God begins to pour it on, it gets hard to take. You’re thinking, “Oh no it’s just too much for me. I don’t deserve that.” That’s one thing though that we have to learn, is just to accept grace gracefully.
God loves you, and He does it for you just because He loves you, not because you deserve it, not because you’re worthy. “Lord, it’s for Your word’s sake, and because of Your heart, I know that You’ve done these things. It isn’t because David is so good, or so deserving God, I know that.”
Wherefore Lord thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. [“Lord, You’re just great, there’s no one like You, or any other God beside You.”] And what one nation in all of the earth is like your people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and awesome, for thy land, before the people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever: and thou Lord, are become their God. And now, O Lord God, the word that you’ve spoken concerning your servant, concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as you have said. And let your name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee a house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto you. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and you have promised this goodness unto thy servant: Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever ( 2Sa 7:22-29 ).
“All right God, You’ve said it, You’re gonna do it, have at it. Go ahead Lord, fulfill Your promise. I know that You’ve said it, and now Lord, I want You to do it, establish the house forever.” So David’s response to that glorious promise of God. The establishing through him the coming Messiah.
We’ll pick up with chapter eight next week in our study. Shall we stand?
May God bless you and give you a very profitable week. May your heart be knit to Him in love. May you be open to God that you might receive those blessings that He is desiring to bestow upon you just because He loves you. For no other reason, but just He thinks you’re tops. May you just experience that blessing of God, flowing into your life. May you wait upon the Lord, and seek His guidance in all things, looking to Him for direction, for the leading, for the timing. Thus may you walk in the Spirit, and thus have a very profitable, beautiful week, in Jesus’ name. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
2Sa 7:1-2. And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; that the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
He said no more, but his intention was very plain, namely, to build a house that should be a more suitable abode for the ark of the Lord.
2Sa 7:3. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
He spoke too fast. Even prophets, who are inspired of God, must wait upon their Master for their message; and when they utter words which only come out of their own mouths, they say what they will have to unsay before long. It did look very clear that this was the proper thing for Nathan to say to David; but he had not a Thus saith the Lord for it.
2Sa 7:4-5. And it came to pass that night, that the ward of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD,
You have already let him know what Nathan had to say about the matter;
now go and tell him what Jehovah says:
2Sa 7:5. Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
The conception was altogether too low. He has made all space, time is his creation, and the arch of heaven stands by his almighty power; shall he himself have a house in which he can dwell?
2Sa 7:6. Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.
A structure to be set up, and taken down, and to be moved about wherever the people journeyed. That was sufficient to be a central shrine of worship, and God cared for nothing else.
2Sa 7:7. In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
Did God ever put to the children of Israel such a question as this? No; and it is very remarkable that, from the time that the temple was built, you may date the decay of true religion in Israel; and the same thing has happened many times since; whenever religion is surrounded by elaborate ceremonies, and gorgeous architecture, it is almost certain to suffer loss of power and efficacy. The simplicity of worship may not be the life of it, but it has a very intimate connection with that life.
2Sa 7:8-11. Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: and I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies, out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, us beforetime, and as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.
God has a way of returning mens generosity in kind. Since David wished to build Gods house, God would build Davids house.
2Sa 7:12-15. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
Here is our warrant for believing in the final salvation of Solomon. Perhaps that Book of Ecclesiastes, the work of his old age, shows us by what rough and thorny ways God brought the wanderer back. He had tried to satisfy himself with the things of time and sense, but he was constrained at last to utter this verdict, Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity; and he had to go back to his God, and God his comfort there.
2Sa 7:16-18. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Than went king David in, and sat before the LORD,
Like one weighted down with a great load of mercy, too heavy for him to stand up under it, and therefore he must needs sit down, and consider, and meditate upon the wonderful words of God to him.
2Sa 7:18-19. And he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O LORD GOD?
All that thou hast done for me, therefore, in overcoming my enemies, and making me king over this people, has seemed to be but a small thing to thee, for thou hast spoken also of thy servants house for a great while to come. That astonished David, and therefore he asked, Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Man gives stingily after his own grudging fashion; but thou givest in a lordly, kingly, divine way. Davids question may be rendered, Is this the law of the Man? Am I to be the parent of that Man who shall be my Lord as well as my Son, who shall reign for ever and ever, and of whose kingdom there shall be no end? David was spelling out the inner mystery hidden in the words of the Lord, reading between the lines, and discovering that the covenant which God had made with him was, at least in some respects, a repetition of that greater covenant made with Christ on his behalf.
2Sa 7:20. And what can David say more unto thee?
He had not said much, but he could not say much under such circumstances. He was utterly overwhelmed, just as, when some wondrous kindness has been shown to us, we wish rather to sit still, in grateful silence, than to stand up, and speak acknowledgments, for our heart is too full for utterance.
2Sa 7:20-22. For thou, LORD GOD, knowest thy servant. For thy words sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. Wherefore thou art great, O LORD GOD: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
God had said to David, in the message he sent by Nathan, I have made thee a great nation, like unto the name of the great that are in the earth; and now David brings back the words to God, and says, Thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
The story of David’s desire to build the Temple is told here in close connection with that of his bringing the Tabernacle to Jerusalem. It is not necessarily in chronological order, but is fittingly related at this point. David’s desire to build the house of God was perfectly natural, and, indeed, proper. So much was this the case that it appealed to Nathan, who advised him to do all that was in his heart.
It was not, however, God’s will that he should carry out this work, and the prophet was sent to deliver a message which was neither in agreement with David’s desire nor with his own opinion.
Jehovah reminded David of all that He had done for him, and declared His intention of making David’s reign permanent. He was not, however, the chosen instrument for building the Temple, which work should be carried out by his son.
The story reveals the triumph of Nathan and David in their ready submission to the declared will of God. The prophet unhesitatingly delivered his message, even though it contradicted his own expressed opinion. David immediately acquiesced in the will of God, and worshiped.
It is of the utmost importance that those called to the service of God in any way should ever test their desires, even the highest and the holiest of them, by His will. Work, apparently excellent in itself, must not be under taken unless by the expressed direction of God. Time always vindicates the wisdom of the divine procedure.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
the Glorious Future of Davids House
2Sa 7:1-17
Always do better for the cause of God than for yourself. You have no right to dwell in cedar, while Gods Ark is under curtains. Also, beware of giving directions or advice, unless you have first consulted God. You may be as good as Nathan, but, if you speak apart from the divine Spirit, you will probably be compelled, on the following morning, to eat your words.
Davids intention was good, but neither was he the man nor was that the time for temple-building. See 1Ch 22:8. The sword could not yet be exchanged for the trowel, but in the meantime the will was accepted in lieu of the act. It was then Gods turn to pour out a perfect avalanche of blessing, which must have made David forget those weary years of waiting and wandering. Do not be anxious about the future. Use your life and all its resources for God, and he will care for you. No tongue can exaggerate the goodness and mercy which God lays up for them that trust in Him before the sons of men. And it is because He loves that He does not hesitate to chasten.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
4. The Lords Promise to David and the Covenant
CHAPTER 7
1. Davids desire (2Sa 7:1-3)
2. Nathan receives the message for David (2Sa 7:4-17)
3. David in the presence of Jehovah (2Sa 7:18-29)
We reach now a climax. The Lord speaks and reveals His great purposes He had in His eternal councils for David, the king after His own heart. We behold the king in peace sitting in his own house; he had rest from all his enemies. In pious meditation the heart of the king had but one great thought, one great ambition. The prophet Nathan is in his presence and to him he speaks. See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan told him to do all that was in his heart. But he had spoken without divine authority. God knew all David planned and what was in his heart. While His prophet encouraged David to carry out his wishes, God meant otherwise.
That night Nathan received an important message. The Lord told Nathan that David thought of building Him a house, but that the Lord would build David a house. Then He promises him a son. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. Solomon is first in view, but he is only a type of Him, who said while on earth a greater than Solomon is here. In Christ alone this great covenant-promise is to be fulfilled. Chastening for his offspring is announced, but a disannulment of the covenant is impossible, for Gods gifts and calling are without repentance. But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee, thy throne shall be established forever. More than that, this great covenant was confirmed by the oath of Jehovah. Once I have sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me (Psa 89:35-36). And when He was about to come, the Son of David according to the flesh, but also Davids Lord, He who spoke these words to Nathan, it was divinely announced the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David. And He shall reign forever and of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luk 1:32-33). That throne and that kingdom He has not yet received. He fills the Fathers throne in the highest heaven, but all heaven and earth wait for the appointed time when He will come again to claim His crown-rights and receive the world-wide kingdom, which David in inspired songs of praise so often beheld (Ps. 72).
And this prophecy refers neither only to Solomon nor only to Christ; nor has it a twofold application, but it is a covenant-promise which, extending along the whole line, culminates in the Son of David, and in all its fulness applies only to Him. These three things did God join in it, of which one necessarily implies the other, alike in the promise and in the fulfilment: a unique relationship, a unique kingdom, and a unique fellowship and service resulting from both. The unique relationship was that of Father and Son, which in all its fulness only came true in Christ (Heb 1:5). The unique kingdom was that of Christ, which would have no end (Luk 1:32-33; Joh 3:35). And the unique sequence of it was that brought about through the temple of His body (Joh 2:19), which will appear in its full proportions when the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven (Rev 21:1-3).
Such was the glorious hope opening up wider and wider, till at its termination David could see afar off the dawn of the bright morning of eternal glory; such was the destiny and the mission which, in His infinite goodness, God assigned to His chosen servant. Much there was still in him that was weak, faltering, and even sinful; nor was he, whose was the inheritance of such promises, even to build an earthly temple. Many were his failings and sins, and those of his successors; and heavy rods and sore stripes were to fall upon them. But that promise never failed. (A. Edersheim, Bible History)
And to this we add, nor will the promise ever fail in the future. Even now all is preparing for Him who alone is the Hope of the world. Thy Kingdom come is still the prayer, nor will it ever come till the Kings coronation day arrives. And Nathan delivered faithfully the great covenant message. Davids response is beautiful, yea it measures up to the fullness of grace the gracious Lord had bestowed upon him. He does not seek the fellowship of Nathan to talk over this unspeakably Wonderful promise. He sat before the Lord. All the thoughts in him, planning to work and to build the Lord a house, were forever hushed. He is in His presence as a worshipper, pouring out his grateful heart. Jehovahs grace has touched the innermost cords of his soul; they give forth their sweet vibrations, which ascend in a holy melody to the courts above. He is humbled, bowed in the dust. Who am I, Lord God? and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto?–He believes all he has heard; he trusts in every word. His prayer is do as thou hast said. What an hour it was when the king with the message of grace and mercy was in the presence of the Lord! May we who are the Recipients of even greater grace in our Lord Jesus Christ respond to that grace as David did.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
the king: 1Ch 17:1-15, Dan 4:29, Dan 4:30
the Lord: Jos 21:44, Jos 23:1, 1Ki 5:4, 2Ch 14:6, Psa 18:1, *title Pro 16:7, Luk 1:74, Luk 1:75
Reciprocal: Gen 49:15 – rest 2Sa 7:11 – have caused 2Sa 12:1 – the Lord 1Ch 22:18 – and hath 1Ch 23:25 – The Lord 1Ch 28:2 – I had in mine heart 2Ch 9:29 – Nathan 2Ch 20:30 – his God Est 1:2 – sat Job 34:29 – When he giveth Psa 21:8 – General Psa 89:23 – I will Psa 132:2 – he sware Mal 3:16 – and the Mat 25:16 – went Act 7:46 – found
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Sa 7:1-2. When the king sat in his house That is, was settled in the house which Hirams men had built for him; then he reflected upon the unsettled state of the ark. For, being a pious prince, he spent much of his time in holy meditations and the exercises of devotion; and among other subjects of consideration, thought upon the meanness of Gods habitation in comparison of the splendour of his own. See now, I dwell in a house of cedar Such as the rich Jews had in the days of Haggai, termed by the Lord ceiled houses; see Hag 1:4; but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains That is, in a tent or tabernacle, (2Sa 7:6,) composed of several curtains. This, David thought, ought not to be, and therefore resolved to build a stately house for Gods ark.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2Sa 7:1. When the king sat in his house, and began to feel the approaches of age, he was more concerned for the ark than for himself. All men, but especially the aged, should do their best for religion.
2Sa 7:3. Go, do all that is in thy heart. Here the Lords thoughts were not as Nathans; and here is the hallowed distinction which must ever be preserved between the revelations of God, and the ordinary thoughts of inspired men. We find Samuel, and Jonah, and others, exactly in the situation of Nathan.
2Sa 7:12. I will set up thy seed after thee. This is one of the most remarkable prophecies, comprising a constellation of promises, in the old testament. Many a saint has wished to build a church, chapel, or school for religious purposes; and the Lord has accepted the will and the preparations for the full act. Here we find, that Gods first care is over the church. He (Solomon) shall build a house for my name. Covenants, we may observe, are all sure in the hands of Christ, but they have conditions in regard of man. The throne of David, the Messiah, shall be established for ever. Yet the dying king said to Solomon, If thou forsake the God of thy father, and rebel, he will cast thee off for ever. 1Ch 28:10. So Ezekiel said, that David, the Messiah, should be shepherd over his people for ever. Hosea also foretold that God would raise again the tabernacle of David which had fallen down, for he foresaw the departure of the sceptre from that house. Zachariah and Elizabeth rejoiced to see the horn of salvation raised up in Christ. Luke 1.
2Sa 7:19. Is this the manner of man, oh Lord God? This is a very unsuccessful reading. The Hebrew is, This is the direction (or the law) of Adam: that is, by speaking thus to thy servant, thou art honouring me as thou didst honour Adam, by a covenant to him and his posterity.
2Sa 7:23. From the nations and their gods. In 1Ch 17:21, it reads better, By driving out nations from before thy people.
REFLECTIONS.
True piety is ever distinguished by gratitude to God. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits? While David, taken from the sheep-cotes, enjoyed a palace of cedar, built in the Tyrian style, he blushed to think that the ark of God still dwelt in tents, and felt much that devout people should he exposed to storms and tempests while worshipping in the open courts. He was ashamed to think that most of the heathen nations had adjourned the mysteries of superstition from the mountains and the groves, to the most magnificent temples that art could devise, or industry elevate. He therefore wished to rival or excel them in gratitude to that God, to whom both he and all his people owed their existence and their victories.
We should also observe, that this pious wish originated wholly with David; the Lord was content to dwell in tents, having originally chosen the tabernacle for his pavilion; and because it expressed the more strikingly, that the symbols of his presence were not absolutely confined to any place, or to any particular people; for in these later ages, the glory has been conferred on the believing gentiles. Let us learn hence, that we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, and that we ought to cherish the tokens of Gods special presence in our hearts, and in our assemblies, lest he should cause his glory to depart to a people more faithful to his grace.
Though Davids purpose to build a house to the Lord was not accepted, because he had neither leisure nor adequate means; and because he had shed much blood in wars, he was not proper to prefigure the peaceful reign of the Messiah; yet the piety of his wish was so pleasing to God, that he gave him a grand series of personal and family promises. He promised in particular, that he would build him a sure house, far more stable than any which the hands of man could raise; that he would be a father to Solomon his son, and to his Christ; and that his children should reign for ever before him. This was fulfilled in the kings of Judah who reigned in Jerusalem; in the Asmnian family, who reigned as governors, though frequently interrupted with chasms; and lastly, in Christ, who sitteth for ever on the throne of his father David. So the Holy Ghost has expounded this passage: Luk 1:32-33. Heb 1:8. And farther, to comfort David, that God would not take his covenant from him as from Saul. If his children should sin, the Lord would visit their iniquities with stripes, as it is expressed in the 89th Psalm, but his lovingkindness he would not utterly take away, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail. We have said in the remarkable case of Eli, that every covenant has its conditions, either expressed or implied: what then are those stripes? It is replied, where repentance followed sin they were the gentle stripes of a fathers hand. But in more than a hundred tragic cases these stripes were Gods heaviest strokes of vengeance, as is exemplified in the assassination of Amnon, the piercing of Absalom in the worst of sins, the slaughter of all the seed royal by Athaliah, except Joash an infant; and the like slaughter of all the princes by Nebuchadnezzar, except a small remnant. Let then the profane professor tremble at the idea of these stripes for his sin, nor think to stain the glory of heaven by arrogating promises grossly misapplied.
But while apostasy is inspired with fear, and while the riches of grace are guarded by the terrors of justice, let us be comforted and quickened in devotion, by every new expression of Gods lovingkindness. So David, now softened into grateful piety, went into the Lords house, and uttered one of the sublimest prayers that ever had proceeded from his heart. If new mercies do not enkindle pious affections, and reanimate our devotion, it is a sad sign that we are in a dead and lukewarm state. On the contrary, let us cheerfully follow the drawings of love; and let every signal mercy vouchsafed to us and our families, be a fresh occasion of renewing our covenant with God, the giver of all good. Happy, thrice happy, if sermons and ordinances do indeed bring us into the same frame of mind, into which Nathans sermon brought David.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2 Samuel 7. David Proposes to Build a Temple for the Ark but Yahweh Prefers to Dwell in a Tent, as heretofore. He Promises David that his Dynasty shall always Occupy the Throne (D).An independent narrative, complete in itself; not from any of the main sources, but probably composed towards the close of the Jewish Monarchy by a writer of the Deuteronomic school. 2Sa 7:13, referring to Solomon and his Temple, is a later addition. This Divine promise of permanence to the Davidic dynasty is an early form of the Messianic Hope of Israel.
2Sa 7:1-3. David proposes to build a house of cedar for the Ark; Nathan assures him of the Divine approval.
2Sa 7:4-17. Nathan, however, was premature. Clearly, we are shown here that we are not intended to regard every utterance of a prophet recorded in Scripture as an infallible word of God. Yahweh bids Nathan tell David that He does not desire a house of cedar. There are some traces in OT of a view that the Temple of Solomon was a mistaken innovation. Yahweh will be gracious to His people, and the dynasty of David Shall always rule over them.
2Sa 7:7. tribes: read, judges with 1Ch 17:6.
2Sa 7:18-29. David gives thanks glorifying Yahweh and His dealings with himself and with Israel.
2Sa 7:19. and this too after the manner of men: the Heb. is unintelligible, and the text is hopelessly corrupt.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
The Lord having given grace to David to subdue the nations surrounding Israel, it is understandable that David’s thoughts turned to a serious consideration of what is due the God of Israel. Why should David enjoy a house of cedar while the ark of God was housed in a tent (v.2)? This is a case similar to the previous chapter, where David’s godliness deceived him. Of course his godliness was commendable, but it is not to be depended on for guidance. A godly man, out of genuine desire for the glory of God, may do the wrong thing, just because he has not first sought God’s direction. We must be constantly reminded that God’s Word alone can be trusted. David had forgotten this in the way in which he first sought to bring up the ark to Jerusalem: now he forgets it in reference to having a permanent building prepared for the ark.
Nathan was no more careful than David in this matter, however. He told David to do all that was in his heart because the Lord was with him (v.3). Nathan too was depending too much on David’s reputation for godliness. In general it was true that the Lord was with David. But Nathan ought to have advised him to seek God’s special guidance for a matter so special as the building of a temple. Indeed, we needed this not only for large matters, but for those smaller too!
That night God spoke decisively to Nathan to tell him to completely change his message to David. He must tell David, “Would you built a house for Me to dwell in?” (v.5) Then He reminds him that ever since God brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt a tabernacle had been His dwelling (v.6). God had been virtually a Sojourner on earth. Did He not also expect His people to realize that earth is no lasting place of rest? Had He ever suggested to any one of all the leaders of Israel that they should build Him a permanent house (v.7)? If God had expressed Himself in this way, then certainly David would have been right to do it. But he had no word from God on which to act.
As to David personally, God has to remind him that it had been God’s own work to bring David from his lowly shepherd employment and make him ruler over His people Israel (v.8). David had no initiative in this whatever. More than this, God had been with him through all this. God had cut off his enemies and had given David a great name to compete with any other great men of the earth. Let David learn in all this that it is God’s sovereign will alone that is to be trusted.
“Moreover,” God adds, “I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more” (v.10). Here is a promise of remarkable blessing for Israel such as they have never seen to this day, and yet which will be fulfilled in absolute perfection in God’s time.
When David wanted to do something for the Lord, he had to be reminded that God Himself had done things for him and for Israel and would do great things for them in the future. “Also,” He says to David, “the Lord tells you that He will make you a house” (v.11). Although David personally was not worthy of this, as he admits in 2Sa 23:5, yet this promise of the Lord is absolute. The reason for it is that God chose David to be a type of Christ, and to be the king from whose line Christ would come, according to the flesh (Rom 1:3). thus, the virgin Mary and her husband Joseph were of the house of David (Luk 1:27) and Mary was told that the Lord God would give to her child Jesus the throne of His father David (Luk 1:32).
Verse 12 then shows that after David’s death God would set up David’s seed who would come from his body, and would establish his kingdom. This speaks directly of Solomon, David’s son who reigned after him in greater splendor than any other ruler. But this was simply as another type of the Lord Jesus, not as a sufferer, but as He will be in His future exaltation in millennial glory.
Solomon would also build a house for God’s name (v.13). God had decreed this. David was not to be permitted to build the house because he was a man of war and had shed much blood (1Ch 22:8). In this way he had been a type of Christ in subduing all His enemies. The building of the house must not be connected with war and bloodshed, but with peace established after conquest, a character in which Solomon was a type of the Lord Jesus.
“And I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.” Of course this did not refer to Solomon personally, but only as a type of Christ. for Solomon’s kingdom was torn in two almost immediately after his death, and to this day there has been no recovery from the resulting ruin. But our verse speaks of the future kingdom of the Lord Jesus, which will stand forever.
“I will be His Father and He shall be My son.” This is quoted in Heb 1:5 as referring to the Lord Jesus, which is of course the most important matter. In a secondary way it was true of Solomon, but not in the vital, eternal way that it is true of Christ. “If he commits iniquity, I will chastise him with the rod of men, and with the blows of the sons of men.” This cannot refer to the Lord Jesus as it does to Solomon, who did commit iniquity in having many wives and even worshiping their idols (2Ki 11:8). He suffered for this under the governing hand of God (1Ki 11:11-14).
In spite of Solomon’s grievous failure, God’s mercy did not depart from him as it did from Saul, whose kingdom abruptly ended with his death (v.15). Solomon’s kingdom continued through his descendants, and Mat 1:6-7 shows him in the lineage of the Messiah, though this was only officially, not actually, for Joseph was not the actual father of the Lord Jesus, but only officially so, as Mat 1:16 says, “Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.”
In this way David’s house and David’s throne should be established forever (v 16). How great an honor this was for David! No other line of all mankind could have this signal dignity. But it was dependent altogether upon the grace and counsels of God, not on David’s faithfulness or work.
When Nathan had given this message of God to David, David was deeply subdued and went in to sit before the Lord (v.18). His sitting would imply that he had no work to do, but he is rather calmly considering the work of God. He becomes a worshiper rather than a doer. First, he takes his own place of being fully unworthy of all that God has done for him and of all that He would yet do. “Who am I, 0 Lord God? and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?” Why had David been chosen to be taken from the lowly work of sheep herding, to come through experiences that are most unusual and to be exalted to the place of ruling a nation whom God had chosen as His own people? It was certainly only right that he should remain little in his own sight.
Yet he realizes (v.19) that this was comparatively only a small thing in God’s sight, for God had spoken of His purposes as to David’s house “for a great while to come” — far beyond all the days of David’s life, reaching to a “manner of man” whom David realizes to be far greater than he. This King — God’s choice of Messiah for Israel — would be of David’s house, yet infinitely greater than David. Indeed, as the Lord Jesus pointed out to the Pharisees, David in writing of the Messiah, called Him “Lord” (Mat 22:41-45), quoting from Psa 110:1. Though He is David’s son, yet He is David’s Lord.
After hearing such great things from God, David (in verse 20) shows himself to be at a loss for words by which to respond to the Lord, yet takes comfort in the fact that God knew His servant well. He sees too (v.21) that God was not doing all these things merely for David’s blessing, but for His word’s sake and according to His own heart. The glory of God is the highest consideration in this matter God’s Word is to be absolutely fulfilled in accordance with the counsels of His own heart. Of course, when the name of God is supremely honored, there will be marvelous blessing for His creatures too. But His glory is first. David also deeply appreciates the fact that God has kindly acquainted His servant with His wonderful counsels of grace.
Since God has spoken to David concerning his house “for a great while to come” (v.19) and has “done all these great things” (v.21), David’s fitting response is, “Therefore Thou art great, 0 Lord God” (v.22). He gives God personally the place of supreme greatness, none being like Him or none even in a little lesser place beside Him. Absolute, solitary dignity and grandeur are His.
Yet this great God has seen fit to bless one nation in an outstanding way. No other nation was like Israel whom God had taken the great pains to redeem from the bondage of Egypt in order to make them His own people (v.23). By this unusual work He had accomplished a name of high honor for Himself as well as doing great and awesome deeds for the sake of His land, in the sight of His people whom He had redeemed out of Egypt — in fact from the nations and their gods. He had clearly separated Israel from all the nations and from their widespread idolatry.
In all this work of God He had made Israel His very own people forever. In spite of centuries of failure and disobedience on their part since that time, this purpose of God has not failed. They will be restored to greater blessing that they have ever known in the past, and will rejoice with unspeakable joy in the knowledge that the Lord is their God.
In verse 25 David shows the faith that receives and submits to the Word of God with the expressed desire that it should be accomplished simply as God had said, both concerning David himself and concerning his house. In comparison to God’s Word, all David’s wisdom and energy becomes nothing.
More than this, and consistent with it, he adds, “So let Thy name be magnified forever”, saying, “The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel” (v.26). What God has revealed is that which rightly magnifies the glory of His name, and as “Jehovah of hosts”. He is the God over Israel. Though Israel may seem small compared to the great population of other nations, their God is “the Lord of hosts.” Then, in connection with the honor due God’s name, he again asks that the house of God’s servant should be established before the Lord.
It is evident (v.27) that David takes deeply to heart the significance of the two expressions, “the Lord of hosts” and “God of Israel.” Both designations are full of meaning to him in reference to the revelation God has given him that He would build a house for David. For this reason, as he says, it was laid upon his heart to pray as he did.
In verse 28 he uses another expression, which he uses six times (see J.N.D.’s translation) in this prayer, “Lord Jehovah.” As Lord He is in absolute authority; as Jehovah He is seen in covenant relationship with Israel, showing great goodness to them. All these expressions are necessary in different connections, to give some adequate knowledge of our great God. He is not only great, but full of grace and truth, and David finds delight in affirming that God’s words are true in promising such great goodness His servant.
Therefore, in glad confidence he asks for the fulfillment of what God had promised, in blessing the house of David forever (v.29). This can only be because the Messiah of Israel would be of the house of David. David can do nothing but give his thankful “Amen” to the clearly declared Word of God.
While David had desired to build a house for God, God made it clear that a mere material building was nothing in comparison to what God had planned. The house of David refers to people redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, a house in which God’s name would receive the highest honor through “a manner of man” infinitely greater than David, but the Son of David. God would build this house, requiring much more time than the building of a material temple. We know today too that while the house of David will be great in the millennial earth, God’s house today, the Church, is more wonderful in many respects than the house of David on earth will be.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
David’s desire to honor God 7:1-3
It was when God had subdued all of David’s enemies that He gave this covenant to him (2Sa 7:1; 2Sa 7:9). Those enemies included the Ammonites with whom David was at war when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered (ch. 11). Thus it seems clear that God gave the Davidic Covenant to David after he had committed these sins rather than before, as the order of events in the text implies. We have already seen that the order of events in the text is not strictly chronological but primarily theological, to make the spiritual emphases that are traceable through the Books of Samuel. The traditional interpretation is that this chapter is in chronological order and that the rest that David experienced was a result of a lull in fighting.
"The concept of rest or peace from enemies is a Deuteronomistic idea (cf. Deu 12:10; Deu 25:19; Jos 22:4; Jos 23:1; 1Ki 5:18 [4]; 1Ki 8:56; see also G. von Rad, ’Rest for the People of God,’ The Problem of Hexateuch, 94-102). In this context ’rest’ is security from enemies and peace from wars." [Note: Anderson, p, 116.]
The Israelites had anticipated entering into rest in the Promised Land since their wilderness wanderings (Deu 12:9). Joshua had given them a measure of rest (Jos 21:44; Jos 22:4; Jos 23:1). Now with David’s victories they enjoyed a larger measure of rest than they had anytime previously in their history (2Sa 7:1; cf. 2Sa 7:11; 1Ki 5:4; 1Ch 22:9; 1Ch 22:18; 1Ch 23:25; 2Ch 14:7; 2Ch 15:15; 2Ch 20:30).
"David completed what Joshua had begun: the taking possession of Canaan. It is this completion of Joshua’s work which is reflected in 2Sa 7:1; 2Sa 7:11. Now David plans to build a temple as the sequel of the LORD’s having granted him rest from his enemies." [Note: Wolfgang Roth, "The Deuteronomic Rest Theology: A Redaction-Critical Study," Biblical Research 21 (1976):8.]
In the ancient Near East, the people did not consider a king’s sovereignty fully established until he had built himself an appropriate palace. [Note: Merrill, Kingdom of . . ., p. 274; A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, pp. 95-98.] The people of ancient Near Eastern countries also regarded the kings as the vice-regents of their gods. Therefore they viewed the temples of the gods as the palaces of the true kings. This view existed in Israel as well. David thought it inappropriate for him as second-in-command to live in such a magnificent palace while his commander-in-chief’s dwelling was only a temporary, much less impressive structure. [Note: See Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, 2:282-83.] The Canaanites often built a temple in honor of a god who gave them victory over their enemies. [Note: Frank M. Cross, Canaanite Myth and the Hebrew Bible, p. 243.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER IX.
PROPOSAL TO BUILD A TEMPLE.
2Sa 7:1-29.
THE spirit of David was essentially active and fond of work. He was one of those who are ever pressing on, not content to keep things as they are, moving personally towards improvement, and urging others to do the same. Even in Eastern countries, with their proverbial stillness and conservatism, such men are sometimes found, but they are far more common elsewhere. Great undertakings do not frighten them; they have spirit enough for a lifetime of effort, they never seem weary of pushing on. When they look on the disorders of the world they are not content with the languid utterance, “Something must be done;” they consider what it is possible for them to do, and gird themselves to the doing of it.
For some time David seems to have found ample scope for his active energies in subduing the Philistines and other hostile tribes that were yet mingled with the Israelites, and that had long given them much annoyance. His friendship with Hiram of Tyre probably gave a new impulse to his mind, and led him to project many improvements in Jerusalem and elsewhere. When all his enemies were quieted, and he sat in his house, he began to consider to what work of internal improvement he would now give his attention. Having recently removed the Ark, and placed it in a tabernacle on Mount Zion, constructed probably in accordance with the instructions given to Moses in the wilderness, he did not at first contemplate the erection of any other kind of building for the service of God. It was while he sat in his new and elegant house that the idea came into his mind that it was not seemly that he should be lodged in so substantial a home, while the Ark of God dwelt between curtains. Curtains might have been suitable, nay, necessary, in the wilderness, where the Ark bad constantly to be moved about; and even in the land of Israel, while the nation was comparatively unsettled, curtains might still have been best; but now that a permanent resting-place had been found for the Ark, was it right that there should be such a contrast between the dwelling-place of David and the dwelling-place of God? It was the very argument that was afterwards used by Haggai and Zechariah after the return from captivity, to rouse the languid zeal of their countrymen for the re-erection of the house of God. “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses and this house lie waste?”
A generous heart, even though it be a godless one, is uncomfortable when surrounded by elegance and luxury, while starvation and misery prevail in its neighbourhood. We see in our day the working of this feeling in those cases, unhappily too few, where men and women born to gold and grandeur feel wretched unless they are doing something to equalize the conditions of life by helping those who are born to rags and wretchedness. To the feelings of the godly a disreputable place of worship, contrasting meanly with the taste and elegance of the hall, or even the villa, is a pain and a reproach. There is not much need at the present day for urging the unseemliness of such a contrast, for the tendency of our time is toward handsome church buildings, and in many cases towards extravagance in the way of embellishment. What we have more need to look at is the disproportion of the sums paid by rich men, and even by men who can hardly be called rich, in gratifying their own tastes and in extending the kingdom of Christ. We are far from blaming those who, having great wealth, spend large sums from year to year on yachts, on equipages, on picture galleries, on jewelery and costly furnishings. Wealth which remunerates honest and wholesome labour is not all selfishly thrown away. But it is somewhat strange that we hear so seldom of rich Christian men devoting their superfluous wealth to maintaining a mission station with a whole staff of labourers, or to the rearing of colleges, or hospitals, or Christian institutions, which might provide on a large scale for Christian activity in ways that might be wonderfully useful. It is in this direction that there is most need to press the example of David. When shall this new enlargement of Christian activity take place? Or when shall men learn that the pleasure of spreading the blessings of the Gospel by the equipment and maintenance of a foreign missionary or mission station far exceeds anything to be derived from refinements and luxuries of which they themselves are the object and the center?
When the thought of building a temple occurred to David, he conferred on the subject with the prophet Nathan. The Scripture narrative is so brief that it gives us no information about Nathan, except in connection with two or three events in which he had a share. Apparently he was a prophet of Jerusalem, on intimate terms with David, and perhaps attached to his court. When first consulted on the subject by the king, he gave him a most encouraging answer, but without having taken any special steps to ascertain the mind of God. He presumed that as the undertaking was itself so good, and as David generally was so manifestly under Divine guidance, nothing was to be said but that he should go on. “Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee.” That same night, however, a message came to Nathan that gave a new complexion to the proposal. He was instructed to remind David, first, that God had never complained of His tabernacle-dwelling from the day when He brought up the children of Israel to that hour, and had never given a hint that He desired a house of cedar. Further, he was commissioned to convey to David the assurance of God’s continued interest and favour towards him – of that interest which began by taking him from the sheepfold to make him king over Israel, and which had been shown continuously in the success which had been given him in all his enterprises, and the great name he had acquired, entitling him to rank with the great men of the earth. Towards the nation of Israel, too, God was actuated by the same feeling of affectionate interest; they would be planted, set firm in a place of their own, delivered from the thralldom of enemies, and allowed to prosper and expand in peace and comfort. Still further – and this was a very special blessing – Nathan was to inform David that, unlike Saul, he was not to be the only one of his race to occupy the throne; his son would reign after he was gathered to his fathers, the kingdom would be established in his hands, and the throne of his kingdom would be established for ever. To this favoured son of his would be entrusted the honour of building the temple, God would be his Father, and he would be God’s son. If he should fall into sin, he would be chastised for his sin, but not destroyed. The Divine mercy would not depart from him as it had departed from Saul. The kernel of the message was in these gracious concluding words – “Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.”
Here, certainly, was a very remarkable message, containing both elements of refusal and elements of encouragement. The proposal which David had made to build a temple was declined. The time for a change, though drawing near, had not yet arrived. The curtain- canopied tabernacle had been designed by God to wean His people from those sensuous ideas of worship to which the magnificent temples of Egypt had accustomed them, and to give them the true idea of a spiritual service, though not without the visible emblem of a present God. The time had not yet arrived for changing this simple arrangement. God could impart His blessing in the humble tent as well as in the stately temple. As long as it was God’s pleasure to dwell in the tabernacle, so long might David expect that His grace would be imparted there. So we may say, that so long as it is manifestly God’s pleasure that a body of His worshippers shall occupy a humble tabernacle, so long may they expect that He will shine forth there, imparting that fullness of grace and blessing which is the true and only glory of any place of worship.
But the message through Nathan contained also elements of encouragement, chiefly with reference to David’s offspring, and to the stability and permanence of his throne. To appreciate the value of this promise for the future, we must bear in mind the great insecurity of new dynasties in Eastern countries, and the fearful tragedies that were often perpetrated to get rid of the old king’s family, and prepare the way for some ambitious and unscrupulous usurper.
We hardly need to recall the tragic end of Saul, the base murder of Ishbosheth, or the painful deaths of Asahel and Abner. We have but to think of what happened in the sister kingdom of the ten tribes, from the death of the son of its first king, Jeroboam, on to its final extinction. What an awful record the history of that kingdom presents of conspiracies, murders, and massacres! How miserable a distinction it was to be of the seed royal in those days! It only made one the more conspicuous a mark for the poisoned cup or the assassin’s dagger. It associated with the highest families of the realm horrors and butcheries of which the poorest had no cause even to dream. Anyone who had been raised to a throne could not but sicken at the thought of the atrocities which his very elevation might one day bring upon his children. A new king could hardly enjoy his dignity but by steeling his heart against every feeling of parental love.
And, moreover, these constant changes of the royal family were very hurtful to the kingdom at large. They divided it into sections that raged against each other with terrible fury. For of all wars civil wars are the worst for the fierceness of the passions they evoke, and the horrors which they inflict. Scotland and England too have had too much experience of these conflicts in other days. Many generations have elapsed since they were ended, but we have many memorials still of the desolation which they spread, while our progress and prosperity, ever since they passed away, show us clearly of what a multitude of mercies they robbed the land.
To David, therefore, it was an unspeakable comfort to be assured that his dynasty would be a stable dynasty; that his son would reign after him; that a succession of princes would follow with unquestioned right to the throne; and that if his son, or his son’s son, should commit sins deserving of chastisement, that chastisement would not be withheld, but it would not be fatal, it would bring the needed correction, and thus the throne would be secure forever. A father naturally desires peace and prosperity for his children, and if he extends his view down the generations, the desire is strong that it may be well with them and with their seed for ever. But no father, in ordinary circumstances, can flatter himself that his posterity shall escape their share of the current troubles and calamities of life. David, but for this assurance, must have looked forward to his posterity encountering their share of those nameless horrors to which royal children were often born. It was an unspeakable privilege to learn, as he did now, that his dynasty would be alike permanent and secure; that, as a rule, his children would not be exposed to the atrocities of Oriental successions; that they would be under the special care and protection of God; that their faults would be corrected without their being destroyed; and that this state of blessing would continue for ages and ages to come.
The emotions roused in David by this communication were alike delightful and exuberant. He takes no notice of the disappointment – of his not being permitted to build the temple. Any regret that this might occasion is swallowed up by his delight in the store of blessing actually promised. And here we may see a remarkable instance of God’s way of dealing with His people’s prayers. Virtually, if not formally, David had asked of God to permit him to build a temple to His name. That petition, bearing though it did very directly on God’s glory, is not vouchsafed. God does not accord that privilege to David. But in refusing him that request. He makes over to him mercies of far higher reach and importance. He refuses his immediate request only to grant to him far above all that he was able to ask or think. And how often does God do so! How often, when His people are worrying and perplexing themselves about their prayers not being answered, is God answering them in a far richer way! Glimpses of this we see occasionally, but the full revelation of it remains for the future. You pray to the degree of agony for the preservation of a beloved life; it is not granted; God appears deaf to your cry; a year or two after, things happen that would have broken your friend’s heart or driven reason from its throne; you understand now why God did not fulfill your petition. Oh for the spirit of trust that shall never charge God foolishly! Oh for the faith that does not make haste, but waits patiently for the Lord, – waits for the explanation that shall come in the end, at the revelation of Jesus Christ!
It is a striking scene that is presented to us when “David went in, and sat before the Lord.” It is the only instance in Scripture in which any one is said to have taken the attitude of sitting while pouring his heart out to God. Yet the nature of the communion was in keeping with the attitude. David was like a child sitting down beside his father, to think over some wonderfully kind expression of his intentions to him, and pour out his full heart into his ear. We may observe in the address of David how pervaded it is by the tone of wonder. This, indeed, is its great characteristic. He expresses wonder at the past, at God’s selecting one obscure in family and obscure in person; he wonders at the present: How is it Thou hast brought me thus far? and still more he wonders at the future, the provision made for the stability of his house in all time coming. “And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”* All true religious feeling is pervaded by an element of wonder; it is this element that warms and elevates it. In David’s case it kindles intense adoration and gratitude, with reference both to God’s dealings with himself and His dealings with Israel. “What one nation in the earth is like Thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to Himself, and to make Him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for Thy land, before Thy people, which Thou redeemedst to Thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?” This wonder at past goodness, moreover, begets great confidence for the future. And David warmly and gratefully expresses this confidence, and looks forward with exulting feelings to the blessings reserved for him and his house. And finally he falls into the attitude of supplication, and prays that it may all come to pass. Not that he doubts God’s word; the tone of the whole prayer is the tone of gratitude for the past and confidence in the future. But he feels it right to take up the attitude of a suppliant, to show, as we believe, that it must all come of God’s free and infinite mercy; that not one of all the good things which God had promised could be claimed as a right, for the least and the greatest were due alike to the rich grace of a sovereign God. “Therefore now let it please Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue forever before Thee; for Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and with Thy blessing let the house of Thy servant be blessed forever.” Appropriate ending for a remarkable prayer! appropriate, too, not for David only, but for every Christian praying for his country, and for every Christian father praying for his family! “With Thy blessing,” bestowed alike in mercy and in chastisement, in what Thou givest and in what Thou withholdest, but making all things work together for eternal good – “With Thy blessing let the house of Thy servant be blessed forever.” (*The expression is very obscure, whether we take the affirmative form of the Revised Version or the interrogative form of the Authorized Version. “And this, too, after the manner of men, O Lord God!” (R.V.) We must choose between these opposite meanings. We prefer the interrogative form of the A.V. David’s wonder being the more excited that God’s ways were here so much above man’s.)
We seem to see in this prayer the very best of David – much intensity of feeling, great humility, wondering gratitude, holy intimacy and trust, and supreme satisfaction in the blessing of God. We see him walking in the very light of God’s countenance, and supremely happy. We see Jacob’s ladder between earth and heaven, and the angels of God ascending and descending on it. Moreover, we see the infinite privilege which is involved in having God for our Father, and in being able to realize that He is full of most fatherly feelings to us. The joy of David in this act of fellowship with God was the purest of which human beings are capable. It was indeed a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Oh that men would but acquaint themselves with God and be at peace! Let it be our aim to cherish as warm sentiments of trust in God, and to look forward to the future with equal satisfaction and delight.
A very important question arises in connection with this chapter, to which we have not yet adverted, but which we cannot pass by. In that promise of God respecting the stability of David’s throne and the perpetual duration of his dynasty, was there any reference to the Messiah, any reference to the spiritual kingdom of which alone it could be said with truth that it was to last forever? The answer to this question is very plain, because some of the words addressed by God to David are quoted in the New Testament as having a Messianic reference. “To which of the angels said He at any time, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to Me a son?” (Heb 1:5). If we consider, too, how David’s dynasty really came to an end as a reigning family some five hundred years after, we see that the language addressed to him was not exhausted by the fortunes of his family. In the Divine mind the prophecy reached forward to the time of Christ, and only in Christ was it fully verified. And it seems plain from some words of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost that David understood this. He knew that “God had sworn to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh. He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne” (Act 2:30). From the very exalted emotions which the promise raised in his breast, and the enthusiasm with which he poured forth his thanksgivings for it, we infer that David saw in it far more than a promise that for generations to come his house would enjoy a royal dignity. He must have concluded that the great hope of Israel was to be fulfilled in connection with his race, God’s words implied, that it was in His line the promise to Abraham was to be fulfilled – “In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” He saw Christ’s day afar off and was glad. To us who look back on that day the reasons for gladness and gratitude are far stronger than they were even to him. Then let us prize the glorious fact that the Son of David has come, even the Son of God, who hath given us understanding that we may know Him that is true. And while we prize the truth, let us embrace the privilege; let us become one with Him in whom we too become sons of God, and with whom we may cherish the hope of reigning for ever as kings and priests, when He comes to gather His redeemed that they may sit with Him on the throne of His glory.