I Chronicles
17
Up to this point the life of David had been, to a remarkable degree, one of
action. From childhood upward it is likely that he had passed little enough
time which could be called idle time. The first employment, however, in
which he had been engaged, that of the shepherd, may be safely presumed
to have fostered the power of contemplation as well as of action, and to
have been distinctly favorable to meditation. There can be little doubt that
the very germs of the moral reflection which the psalms of later life
manifest in such rich abundance took their origin thence. The grandeur of
the aspects of external nature were thence suggested to him many a time,
in strange contrast to many of the aspects of human life and the individual
character. And again, from the same source of personal knowledge, at a
glance, and quick as the twinkling of an eye, he saw the analogy that
obtained between the works of nature and those of providence. Most
noticeable, likewise, is it, that David rarely enough speaks in the slightest
approach to the temper of the censorious critic of others, or of men in
general. When his meditation is most comprehensive, and his deliverance
universal in its application, it is perhaps even too plain, rather than not
plain enough, that they come forth strongly marked with the impress of
personal conviction, personal struggle of thought, personal experience. Nor
is it likely that the months and years of his fearing and persecuted life had
passed without much and deep thought. These
are the realities of life that
make to think those who have a mind to think. Amazed, pathetic,
melancholy, and anon all strong in faith and buoyant with confidence, were
the thoughts that paced what none would deny, were the ample spaces of
the large mind of David. Yet perhaps, what with personal fear and danger,
wars and rumors of wars, and an ever-increasing load of responsibility,
succeeded now, and somewhat suddenly, by greatness and
prosperity, his
care of late had been somewhat too self-regarding. He has made his
position — at all events, his position is made. His home is no longer the
den and cave of the earth; he has builded himself a mansion of mansions —
at all events, such a mansion is builded for him. We wait with interest and
anxiety to know how he will use these great gifts, with what sort of heart
and hand he will address himself to them. We do not wait very long, nor to
be disappointed in the event. David shows that he is moved by a right
principle himself, and he exhibits that principle in a very simple manner, the
convenient example for all others. He proposes to build God a house.
This chapter is paralleled by II Samuel 7:1-29; and the
parallel is for the
most part very close. The purport of the two accounts may be said to be
identical, while the variations of some few words and sentences just
suffice
to
indicate the somewhat different objects of the two writers, and the very
different time when our compiler was having recourse to the common
authority. The “good”
purpose which was in David’s heart is, like many
other good purposes, obstructed by the will and providence of
God
Himself. It is not one of that other kind
of “good intentions,” with which
the
way to hell is so often paved, when the man who forms the resolution
and
entertains the intention is he who of his own choice, or fickleness, or
indifference, breaks it. It is acknowledged, therefore, and meets in
fact with
a
large and gracious reward, in being made the occasion of the distinct
revelation to David of a lasting house
and perpetuated kingdom in his line.
The interest of this chapter is heightened, as will be
seen, by the aspects of
royal “home” life and peace which it presents.
We may easily imagine how the excitement, though not the
deeper interest,
attending the removal of the ark and the festival on occasion of its
safe establishment
on
the
ark of the covenant had time to grow into convictions, and they were greatly
and
rightly stimulated by reflection on his own surroundings of
comfort, of safety, of
stability and splendor. He revolves the possible methods and the
right methods of
showing that honour due. The completion
of his own house, one presumably fit for
the
permanent abode of the King of Israel (ch.14:1), is the clear demonstration to
him
that the ark should not dwell in a mere tent.
1 “Now it
came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David
said to
Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house
of cedars, but the ark
of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.” It
is a true touch
of
life, when it is written that as David sat in his house these thoughts
possessed
him,
and so strongly. The exact time, however, here designed, and the exact
occasion of his revealing the thoughts that burned within him, to
Nathan, do not
appear either here or in the parallel place. In the opinion of some, an
indication of
some interval having elapsed is found in the
words (II Samuel 7:1), “The
Lord had given
him rest round about from all his enemies;”
while others
consider those words to refer to the victories gained over the
Philistines, as
recorded in ch. 14. Nathan the prophet. This name suddenly breaks upon
us,
without any introduction, here for the first time. Nathan is emphatically
entitled “the prophet,” but
perhaps merely to distinguish him from Nathan,
David’s eighth son. Amid many other important references to Nathan, and
which speak for themselves, must be specially noted ch.29:29; II
Chronicles 9:29.
And it will be noticed from the former of these references,
in particular how
Nathan is the prophet (aybiG;h"); not (like Samuel and Gad) seer (ha,roh;
or
hwO,th"). Possibly he is intended in I Kings 4:5. An house of cedars. The cedar
here spoken of does, of course, not answer to our red, odorous cedar. The
word
employed is zr,a,, in the plural number. The first Biblical use of this word
is found in
<031404>Leviticus 14:4,6,49-52. It is
derived by Gesenius from an obsolete
word zr"a;, from the grip and the firmness of its roots. It is
probably the
derived signification,
therefore, that should be adhered to (as in the
Authorized Version), and not the original, where in Ezekiel
27:24, the
plural of the passive participial is found, “made of cedar,” not
with A.
Schultens, “made fast.” The cedar genus belonging to the order Coniferae,
is
odoriferous, very lasting, and without knots. The numerous good
qualities which it possesses are spoken to in the variety of uses,
and good
kind of uses, to which it was put — these all crowned by the almost
solitary spiritualized appropriation of the tree, found in Psalm
92:12.
From a comparison of I Kings 5:6, 8 (in the Hebrew, 20, 22)
with
II Chronicles 2:3, 8, and some other passages, we may be
led to believe
that the cedar as the name of timber was used occasionally very
generically. Nevertheless, the very passages in question instance by
name
the
other specific kinds of wood. Two of the chief kinds of cedar were the
abounds in the
purposes (e.g. for the masts
of ships) is almost out of the question, it is
exceedingly probable that this Deodars and some other varieties
of pines
are
comprehended under the eh-rez. Dean Stanley
points out what may be
described as very interesting moral landmark uses of the
celebrated cedars
of
knowledge, commencing in the dewing direction from them (I
Kings 4:33),
of
the devouring fire that should begin with the bramble and reach
high up to those cedars (in Jotham’s parable,
Judges 9:15), and (in the
parable of Joash, King of Israel, to Amaziah, King of Judah, II Chronicles
25:18) of the contempt with which the family of the cedars
of Lebanon is
supposed to hear of the matrimonial overtures of the family of the
thistles of
ceiling of the finest houses; and alike the first and second
temples (Ezra 3:7)
depended upon the supply of it. Under curtains. Here rightly in the plural,
though our parallel (II Samuel 7:2) shows the singular (Exodus
26:1-13;
36:8-19).
2 “Then
Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine
heart; for God
is with thee.” This
verse gives Nathan’s response on the spur of the moment.
And that it was not radically wrong from a prophet may be
inferred from
the
stress afterwards laid upon the acceptableness to God of what had been
in
the heart of David to do. Even with God, silence would sometimes be
understood by a prophet to be equivalent to assent.
3 “And it
came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to
Nathan, saying,” The express word of God came, however, that same night. It
proved to be an overruling word. But it brought with it the point
of a fresh
and
most welcome new departure for David. We might glean here by the
way
a suggestion of the beneficent operation of express revelation,
superceding the thought, the method, the reason of man.
From vs. 4-15, we have the unfolding to David of the
magnificent
and
far-stretching purposes of God’s grace towards him in his son
Solomon and his
descendants for ever. The
revelation is made by the
mouth of Nathan.
4 “Go and
tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt
not build me an house to dwell in:” Thou shalt not build. The
Hebrew
marks the personal pronoun here as emphatic,” Not thou shalt build,” i.e.
but
some one else. In the parallel this prohibition is conveyed by that
interrogative particle which
expects the answer No, and may be thus
translated: “Is it thou shalt build for me,” etc.? (II
Samuel 7:5)
The greatest trials of man’s faith lie in the working of the sovereignty of
God. Yet there is not an individual attribute of the Creator to be yielded to
Him more unreservedly than this same sovereignty, which may be said to
include in it the rights of many an attribute. The Divine
frustration of our
purposes, disappointment
of our hopes, and summary determination of
many a life that we
thought made for the highest service, often enough
elude all the acumen
of our reason, and bring to naught in one moment the
pride of creature-wisdom. But so soon as ever we are recovered from the
first severity of the blow and from the deep prostration which it has
inferred, it is always left to us to search for, gather, and compare the
relative uses that may attend cases of this description of suffering. We may
vainly seek the reason, as vainly as try to search the immortal mind itself;
but far from vainly shall we attempt to observe attendant uses and lessons.
Human wisdom is, indeed, never in so fair a way for increase and
improvement as when thus engaged. The present narrative contains little or
nothing of difficulty, however, either in respect of finding the reasons of
God’s prohibition, in the instance before us, or in respect of gathering the
lessons and uses suggested by that prohibition. It is remarkable
that neither this passage nor the parallel to it states the one of these
reasons
on
which the real stress would have been supposed to fall. We will notice
this, therefore, in its place (ch.22:8), inasmuch as the silence about it
here is entire.
We must not pass unnoticed, however, one and perhaps the
only sign of an
explanation of this silence which we can find. In both this and the
parallel place
the
historian speaks. In ch.22:8, 28:3, where all the facts are boldly
stated, it is
he
noble-hearted David himself who speaks; and in I Kings 5:3, where we have
what may be called an intermediate account as regards fullness, the son
Solomon
speaks.
Unfitness for Some Parts of God’s Work (v.4)
God sent a distinct refusal of David’s request by the
Prophet Nathan. “Thou shalt
not
build me an house to dwell in” But
this refusal may not be regarded as an
act
of mere sovereignty; it was based upon the Divine recognition of the unfitness
of David as the instrument for this particular work. Much he might do for
God
(and he served his generation well
– Acts 13:36), but this he may not do; and the
disability even followed upon his very fitness for the other work
which God had
called him to do. He was a man of war. His work had been the
extending
and
settling of the new kingdom. But the “man
of blood” must give place
to
the “man of rest,” to whom could be
more wisely committed the work
of
building a temple for God. We are here taught that God’s work, which
He would have done on earth, is divided into pieces;
that one piece only is
usually committed to the trust of each man; that every man finds he has one
such trust, and that all the pieces and parts fit together, and make up one
great whole of DIVINE PURPOSE!
There is a Divine arrangement
of the
pieces. There is a Divine allotment of the pieces to individuals.
And this
involves the selection of individuals upon a Divine recognition of
particular
gifts and endowments. Then a man may be either fitted or unfitted
for
some positions and for some work; and God will, by His providence, guide
each man to the work that he may hopefully do; and no man has occasion
to envy the
place or work of another man.
reproach David for wishing to build the temple. He now says,
“Thou didst
well that it was in thine heart.” (II Chronicles
6:8). It is a good sign that
we want to serve; though so often it is only a sign of our restlessness in
the
work we have, and our foolish fancying that some one else’s work
is better, or easier, or nobler than our own. Faithful doing of present
duty may be quite consistent with earnest desire to do something else and
better, provided it finds expression, as
David’s did, in patient waiting
on God, and
earnest prayer for Divine direction.
FROM THE SPHERES HE SEEKS. Such disabilities may arise out of
natural disposition and character; educational conditions; local
circumstances; or, as in David’s case, out of the very life-work which
may
be entrusted to us. When we remember how actions bear the
stamp of the
character of those who perform them, and men receive their
impressions of
the thing itself from the person who does it, we realize how God may
properly refuse to permit us to do just the work we may wish to do.
We need to satisfy ourselves
that God knows both us and our work, and
so can fitly match the two together, and keep us from
unfitting spheres.
WHAT WE PLAINLY HAVE TO DO. Forming a very high value of our
present trust. Quite sure that it is the very thing for us; and
cherishing the
assurance that God makes our work fit into the work that others do,
and
that the very thing which we would like to have done ourselves,
God gets
done in His own time and way, and by the agents He pleases. “One
planteth, another watereth,” and God gives the
increase that
crowns the union of various labourers and labours (I Corinthians
3:5-9). We may learn:
Ø
The lesson of submissive obedience to the Divine appointments.
Ø
The importance of keeping
our minds free from all envy of other
workers, even of those who seem to be doing the very work
which we would like to have done.
Ø
And to be thankful for
the work that is entrusted to us; quick to
discern the dignity and importance of it; and supremely anxious
that we should be found of God faithful in the doing of it.
5 “For I
have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up
Israel unto this day; but have gone from
tent to tent, and from one
tabernacle to another.” This
verse contains the three terms — house, tent,
tabernacle (see notes on
ch.16:1). Gesenius observes that when the
Hebrew of the last two words is used distinctively, the
tent describes the
outer coverings of the twelve curtains; and the tabernacle, the
ten inner
curtains and framework as well, in other words, the whole equipment
of
the
well-known tabernacle. As compared with the version we have here,
the
parallel place (v.6) speaks an almost pathetic condescension, “I was a
shifting traveller in tent and tabernacle.” God meant to remind David how
surely and faithfully HE HAD SHARED THE PILGRIM
UNSETTLEDNESS OF HIS PEOPLE!
What most holy the tabernacle
contained was herein a type of the bodily tabernacle of Jesus
Christ in
later
times.
6 “Wheresoever I have walked with all
the judges of
in
the word “judges,” would make it “tribes,” and bring it into harmony with
the
parallel place (v.7). But the succeeding clause,“whom I commanded to
feed my people,” - would
rather suggest that the parallel place, which adds the
same clause, should be brought into harmony with this (see again v. 10 of
this
chapter). The general meaning and the gracious spirit underlying
it is evident
enough. God had never made a suggestion to tribe, or leader of
tribe, nor to judge,
who
had been temporarily raised up to lead, and so to feed, all His people
to
build Him an house. He had shared their lot, and had shared it without
murmuring. He also “had not opened
His mouth” ( ch. 28:3-4; I Kings 8:12-16;
Psalm 78:67-71). Note also the expression, “I chose no city
out of all the tribes
of
and
28:3 the fuller causes why David was not to be permitted to be the builder of
the
house. It is not apparent why those causes are not recited here. The same
remark applies to the parallel place -“saying, Why have ye not built me an
house of cedars?”
7 “Now
therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David,
Thus
saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee” - (So I Samuel
16:11-12; II Samuel 7:8;
Psalm 78:70) “from
the sheepcote,” - The Hebrew hz,n;
strictly signifies a
resting or place of resting. Hence the habitation of men or of
animals, and
in
particular the pasture in which flocks lie down and rest (Psalm 23:2,
plural construction; Job 5:24; Hosea 9:13; Jeremiah 23:3; 49:20).
The sheepcote
was
sometimes a tower, with roughly built high wall, exposed to the sky at the top,
used for protection from wild beasts at night; sometimes the sheepfold was a
larger
low
building of different shape, to which a fenced courtyard was adjacent, where
the
peril of cold or of wild beast was less imminent. The word of our present
passage,
however, cannot be compared with these places; compare rather
Exodus 15:13;
II Samuel 15:25; Isaiah 33:20; 65:10, as above - “even from following
the sheep, that thou shouldest
be ruler over my people
8 “And I
have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and
have cut off all thine
enemies from before thee, and have made
thee” - This may
be rendered and will make thee; in which case the promise
to
David commences with this rather than the following clause - “a name like
the name of the great men that are in the
earth.”
9 “Also I
will ordain a place for my people
and they shall dwell in their place, and shall
be moved no more;
neither shall the children of wickedness waste
them any more, as at
the beginning,” All
the verbs of this verse are in the same tense as those of the
foregoing verse, which are correctly translated. For an expression
similar
to
the last clause of the verse, Neither shall the children of wickedness
waste them any more, may be found in Psalm 89:22.
10 “And
since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people
thee that the LORD will build thee an house.” This verse should read on
continuously with the preceding, as far as to the word “enemies.” The time here
denoted will stretch from the people’s occupation of the land to the
death of Saul,
as
the expression, “at the beginning,” in v. 9, will point to the experience of
Egyptian oppression. Will build thee an house; i.e. will
guarantee thee an
unfailing line of descendants.
11 “And it
shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must
go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise
up thy seed after thee, which
shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his
kingdom.” The
promise is now,
not
to “David and his seed,” but to David personally. The verse contains, no
doubt, the original of the Apostle Peter’s quotation (Acts 2:29-30; see also Acts
13:34; Luke 1:32-33). The last clause of this verse has Solomon, for
the object
of
its pronoun
“his.”
11 “He
shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever.
12 I will
be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my
mercy away from him, as I took it from him that
was before thee:
14 But I
will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever:
and his throne shall be established for
evermore.” The promises in these
three verses were also to
Solomon, and to him they were faithfully fulfilled.
They were early perceived to be prophecies also, and of the highest
significance
and application (Psalm 89:26-37; Isaiah 9:7; 55:3-4;
Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:17-21;
Zechariah 6:12-13; Hebrews 1:5; 3:6). The alternative of
the “son who commits
iniquity” (II Samuel 7:14) is omitted from the middle of our thirteenth verse. The
latter half of v.13 manifestly purports to say, “I will not take
my mercy away from
Solomon, as I did
take it away from Saul.” The close of our
fourteenth verse is in
the
parallel place (II Samuel 7:16) distinctly referred to David, with the use of
the
second person possessive pronoun.
15 “According
to all these words, and according to all this vision, so
did Nathan speak unto David.”
The last twelve verses (vs. 16-27),
contain David’s response to the gracious
communication which had been made to him, and thanksgivings for the
promise made to him as regards his seed. His appreciation of the
contents
of
that promise is expressed in a manner which would seem to indicate that
he
was not altogether untaught, even then, by the Spirit of some of the
deeper significance of the far-reaching promise.
16 “And
David the king came and sat before the LORD,” - i.e. before the ark.
It has surprised many that it should be said that David sat before the Lord, in the act
of
prayer or devotion. But this was not altogether unusual (I Kings 19:4) in the
first
place; and then, secondly, it is not quite clear that this is
said. Possibly he sat awaiting
first some such token as he might know how to construe into the
presence of Jehovah,
and
into His gracious vouchsafing to give him audience, and thereupon he may have
altered his attitude. Confessedly, however, the other is the more
natural reading.
(In Hebrews 4:16, we are encouraged to “come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.”
- CY
– 2012) - “and said, Who am I, O LORD
God, and what is mine house,
that thou hast brought me hitherto?”
17 “And yet
this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God; for thou
hast
also spoken of thy servant’s house for a great
while to come, and
hast regarded me according to the estate of a
man of high degree, O
LORD God.”
David here makes a clear sad very just
difference between all
that had been done for him, and the very great prospect now in addition
put
before him: Thou… hast regarded me
according to the estate of a
man of high degree; i.e. thou hast treated me, or dealt with me, in this
promise as though I had been of high rank indeed. The parallel
reading is
very concise (II Samuel 7:19), and perhaps somewhat obscure, “And is
this the manner [or, ‘law’] of man?”
or, “And this is to be a law of man,”
i.e. this continuity of a
great while to come. Elliptical as this reading may
seem, there is no real difficulty in feeling its essential harmony with the
passage before us. David’s unfeigned surprise and joy in the “great while
to come” nature of the
promises made to him and his house overpower all
else in his estimation. It is, indeed, a most opportune emphasis that he
lays
upon this element of the full promise, and accords exceptionally well with
our
later knowledge and brighter light. Our Authorized Version rendering
throws out sufficiently this surprise, and gives not inadequately
the drift of
the
passage. The continuity and exaltedness of
the promise, which was only
fully realized in the greater Son of David, the Christ, might well astonish
David.
This verse contains a part of David’s response to the communication
which
had
been made to him. That communication had contained a refusal, and
one
which under most circumstances would have been felt to be charged
with a disappointment sufficient to overspread all the scene with gloom,
and
to require some little time to recover from. But there was much in the
communication to heal at once that disappointment, and to prevent the
rankling of offended feeling and affection. It was all couched in
gracious
language, spoken in a
gentle tone though firm, accompanied with reasoning
and
some individual reasons, softened by tender memories, and memories
very suggestive and instructive; and above all, if it wanted in the present,
the
present want was abundantly compensated for by a sure
promise of the
future; if it lacked
anything directly to himself, it were easy to bear it, when
that lack was to be turned into glorious abundance in the person of his own
best-loved Son. Accordingly, this response of David is found to be
one of
very prompt, very dutiful submission. David bows to the Divine fiat and
kisses the rod which
smites. The response goes beyond meek
surrender and
unhesitating acquiescence. David cordially accepts the representations
made, and every turn and illustration and enforcement of them drawn from
his
own fast life. He knows every word to be true. He knows what he owes
to
special favor, special promotion, special deliverance, and continued
faithful protection. The “sheep-cotes”
of old, and his “palace
of cedars” of
to-day, proclaim facts and tell a tale that melt his heart not to
submission
only, but to grateful love. And his response is filled with grateful
thanksgiving, trustful prayer, adoring praise. In all this response of
David,
nothing, perhaps, is more effective, nothing meant more than the
touch
contained in this verse, “Thou hast
spoken of thy servant’s house for a
great while to come.”
David has been reminded, in language very plain, of the
rock whence he was
hewn, and the pit whence he was digged; of the low
estate of his onetime
life, and of how he owes an unwonted much to the goodness, unmerited,
sovereign, of his almighty Patron and Defender (vs. 7-8). His early life is
summarized. All his past
life to this throbbing hour is exhibited, brought
well into the
foreground. Not a feature of it does David
dispute. No
wounded vanity, nor vanity unwounded, strives to draw a veil on
his
humble origin. To the full he accepts and proceeds upon the
description
given him of himself, and acknowledges, Who am I, O Lord God, and what
is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And yet this was a
small thing in thine eyes, O God” (it evidently was now, comparatively
speaking, a small thing in his own
eyes); “for thou hast also spoken of thy
servant’s
house for a great while to come.” The continuity of the goodness
and
favor of God, and the continuity of them to a future a great distance off,
evidently riveted and fascinated the thought of David.
Davud was very aware of God’s attention and love in his life and
His regard
for
both body and soul after death. For the pious Israelite great was the
fascination of the future — THAT FUTURE THAT BEGAN WHERE
SENSE ENDED. His reverent provision for the body then meant
something
altogether different from the ostentation of funeral obsequies. It was
thought and
imaginings up-borne on strong pinions of faith, and impelled by the temperate and
obedient force of a far-enduring patience. Pride of pedigree and of the traceable
genealogies of a dozen centuries past, how this dwarfs before the excursions of
a
taught faith, a
trained imagination, an inspired hope, that
peer into that
“great while to come” called
THE ETERNAL FUTURE! It is evident that
this lies at the root of David’s deep satisfaction and adoring gratitude now.
He had been reared of nothing, and was but of yesterday, but the revealed word
that is spoken to him gives him hope of a far future. And for him to feel
joy in this,
two elements must have been present:
and promise for his son and his people.
His heart transports him into
the future, and converts that future into so
much good bona fide present. These
are among the greatest triumphs
of a taught, a receptive, a willing spiritual nature. It is the
diametrical
opposite of the disposition of THOSE
WHO MUST HAVE ALL NOW
and to whom the future is LESS THAN SHADOW and nothing more
than UTTER FICTION! There are not a few who want to have things
irreconcilable. They want to have the pleasures of sin, which
are essentially
“for a season,” (Hebrews 11:25), and not forfeit those advantages
which as essentially come of present abstinence and a patient
waiting. The
faith that really apprehends the unseen, the patient waiting
that willingly
defers fruition, are the two
guarantees, so far as human quality and human
conditions are involved, that qualify the human to transmute itself
into the
Divine, and the mortal to merge into immortality. And David
testifies to
these imperial possessions now. He acquiesces in one moment in
everything that is evidenced derogatory to claim,
merit, dignity, in his
own
past, in order to seize with passionate eagerness, with
grateful
acknowledgment, on that which is spoken concerning him
and his,
for
the “great while to come.” In these essential facts, then, David is a
religious model for even Christian times, for all times. To be able
to lose
sight in favor of gaining faith,
to part with sense to apprehend spirit, to quit the
present in order to dwell in the future and occupy it with the
objects of
affection beforehand, — these are the distinguishing characteristics
of the
spiritual anti the newborn. (“For we walk by faith, not by
sight:” –
II Corinthians 5:7; “While we look not at the things
which are
seen, but at the things which are not
seen: for
the things that
are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are
eternal.” (Ibid.
ch. 4:18). And the best part of these David had, when
he pleaded guilty to any and all disparagement of the past;
didn’t stop to
look a second time at the personal disappointment of the
present, but did
“embrace”
eagerly and with all his heart the proffered possession of the
“great while
to come.” (Some very touching words are
the last words
of David
in II Samuel 23:1-5 – especially, v. 5.
I think that David,
like so
many of us, when we come to the end of life, understand how
far short
we have come to God’s will and expectations in our lives, but
are so
blessed with the eternal promises and counsels of God of which
we are the beneficiaries and recipients! CY – 2012)
18 “What
can David speak more to thee for the honor of thy servant?
for thou knowest thy
servant.” Thy servant. The
Septuagint Version has not
got
these words on their first occurrence. They may have found their way in
wrongfully out of the next clause. They are not found in the parallel place.
Our Relation to God (vs. 16-18)
The attitude which David assumed and the words of devotion
he uttered on this
occasion are suggestive of the relation in which we stand to our
Creator and
Redeemer. We gather:
DEEP SENSE OF OUR NOTHINGNESS AND THE DIVINE
GREATNESS. When
Nathan had delivered his message David placed
himself in the posture of deliberate reflection (v. 16), and, thus
seated, he
became possessed of a profound sense of his own unworthiness. “Who am
I, O Lord, and what is my house?” (v. 16). He soon passed on to
cherish a deep feeling of God’s supremacy. “O Lord, there is
none like
thee,” (v. 20). This is a most suitable end to any transaction between
our God and ourselves. We are then arriving at the truth, reaching a place
of spiritual
safety, in an attitude that is most
becoming, when we are
impressed with our own nothingness and with the absolute greatness
of our
God and Saviour.
US AS HIS CHILDREN. “Thou hast regarded me according to the
Estate of a man of high degree” (v. 17). This
probably means that, in David’s
thought, God had treated him as one who was most exalted, and who
might on that ground look for the largest things. At any rate it
was true —
if this be not the exact thought of the obscure passage —
that God was
treating David in a way which corresponded with the exalted
position to
which He had called him. And this truth has its illustration in
the Divine
dealing with all His sons. In the gospel we are all called to be
the sons of
God (John 1:12; I John 3:2). And
having reinstated us in this filial
position, our heavenly Father treats us as the reconciled sons and
daughters
we have become.
Ø
He confides in us; not
laying down a multitude of precepts in detail, but
giving us a few living principles to apply for ourselves.
Ø
He gives us constant access to His person (Hebrews 4:16); whenever
we will we may approach and address Him.
Ø
He chastens rather
than punishes us (Ibid.12:5-11).
·
THAT GOD HAS CONFERRED ABOUNDING HONOR ON US
IN JESUS CHRIST. David
felt that God had put so much honor on him
that he did not know how he could ask for more (v. 18). The
utmost
desires of his heart were fulfilled. And what more of honor and
position
could we have asked of God that he has not given us in the
gospel of His
grace? We are even said to be “kings and priests unto God”
(Revelation 1:6).
Ø
We are children of the
heavenly Father: “now are we the sons
of God.” (I John 3:2)
Ø
We are heirs of God
(Romans 8:17).
Ø
We are the friends of
Christ (John 15:14-15).
Ø
We are fellow-laborers
with the living God, “workers together with
Him” (I Corinthians
3:9; II Corinthians 6:1; Acts 15:4). What
could we speak more for the honor of His servants?
19 “O
LORD, for thy servant’s sake,” - The parallel
place reads, “For thy
word’s sake.” This reading is superior, and well suits the connection,
suggesting also whether the first occurrence of the word “servant” in the
previous verse might not be similarly explained. The similarity of
the
characters of the words in the Hebrew would render easy the exchange
of
the
one word for the other -“and
according to thine own heart,
hast thou done all this greatness, in making
known all these great
things. 20 O LORD, there is none like thee,
neither is there any God
beside thee, according to all that we have heard
with our ears.”
21 “And
what one nation in the earth is like thy people
God went to redeem to be His own people, to
make thee a name of
greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations
from before thy
people whom thou hast redeemed out of
(II Samuel 7:23), our Authorized Version, following the Hebrew text (μk,l]),
reads, “To do for you great things and terrible.” The transition is awkward,
no
way in harmony with the other short clauses of the passage, and it would be
inexplicable except for the alternative open to us, of regarding it as a
quotation
from Deuteronomy 4:34, brought in regardless of the context into
which it
was
introduced. The difficulty does not meet us in our present passage,
being obviated by the other sentences of our compiler. Both
places,
however, manifestly quote from the Book of Deuteronomy, with the
grand
passages and grand verbiage of which we may well imagine David
familiar.
A similar familiarity is also betokened in the following
verses, as regard
other Pentateuchal passages.
22 “For
thy people
“Thou didst confirm.”
- “thine
own people for ever; and
thou, LORD,
becamest their God.” 23 Therefore
now, LORD, let the thing that thou
hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established
for ever, and do as thou hast said.”
God Incomparable (vs. 20-22)
Surrounded as they were by idolatrous nations, it was
natural that the Israelites
should often draw comparisons between their own God, and the God
of the whole
earth, on the one hand, and the so-called gods of the heathen on
the other. The most
important contrast would be in character; for, whilst the idolatrous
peoples worshipped
gods who were the impersonation of cruelty, caprice, and lust, Jehovah was
worshipped
as
a holy, a righteous, a merciful Lord and Ruler. Yet there was another contrast
—
that between the powerlessness of the idols of the nations, and the might
and wisdom
of
the true and living God. In Psalm 115, this contrast is wrought out with vigor
and
irony.
name implies, are fashioned by a superior power, and upheld in
life by Him
in whom they “live and move
and have their being” ( Acts 17:28).
THE LORD IS THE
SELF-EXISTING BEING, WHO IS
FROM ETERNITY TO
ETERNITY!
qualities of mind are derived FROM
HIM, and, so far as they are
excellent, they are gleams of His brightness. Human virtues are the growth
of a DIVINE SEED! But IN JEHOVAH ALL PERFECTIONS
MEET AND
HARMONIZE!
especially to have impressed the mind of the king, when he poured
forth his
adoring thanksgiving before the Lord. The
recollection of God’s goodness
and faithfulness, not only to himself and his household, but
also to the
nation of
too have these reasons in abundance to prompt our
thanksgivings and
confidence.
These are attributes of God; but
they are attributes called into
exercise by our state and position as sinners in the sight of the
Searcher of
hearts, the righteous Judge and King. In this passage David
acknowledges
that God redeemed His people
God. How gloriously are these expressions justified in the
dispensation of
the gospel, of God’s infinite love towards our race in THE GIFT AND
EFFECTIVE
MEDIATION OF HIS DEAR SON! Let these
reflections:
Ø
awaken our gratitude
to Him who has made Himself known to us,
and who, though incomparable and alone, deigns to communicate
in grace and compassion with us; and
Ø
prompt us to testify
to His adorable excellence, and to summon our
brethren, the children of men, to put
their trust under the shadow
of His wings.
24 “Let it
even be established, that thy name may be magnified for
ever,” - The
Hebrew text reads here naturally enough, And let be
established and magnified for
ever thy Name. The “established”
in the
last clause of the verse is not the same word with that used here -“saying,
The LORD of hosts is the God of
the house of David thy servant be established before thee.
25 For
thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him
an house: therefore thy servant hath found in
his heart to pray
before thee.
26 And now, LORD, thou art God, and
hast promised this
goodness unto thy servant:”
27 “Now
therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant,
that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and
it shall be blessed for ever.” The marginal, It hath pleased thee, is the
correcter rendering of the Hebrew here, though the parallel place
exhibits the
imperative mood. That it may be before thee for ever. The fulfillment of these
words can ONLY BE FOUND IN
THE MESSIAH ALONE! (compare
Psalm 2:6-12).
The Blessedness of God’s Blessings (v. 27)
David puts his desire and prayer into the one expressive
word “bless,” and
that because he has such a full apprehension of what God’s blessing is to
His people. “For thou blessest,
O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.”
Men ask for the summum bonum (the
highest good). David finds it in the
enrichment and the satisfying of the Divine goodness. “The blessing of
the
Lord maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22)
As the verse on which we are dwelling reads in II Samuel
7:29, “With
thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for
ever.” The word
“bless” is used with great frequency in the Old Testament, and
evidently
with a variety of meanings. It is difficult to fix upon a definition of the
term
which will express the essential idea that underlies the
diversity of its
forms. A distinction, however, is made in Psalm 145:10, “All thy works
shall praise thee,
O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.” From this
choice of different terms we may learn that “bless” carries the idea of the
intelligent agent who knows and
loves the object with which He deals, and
seeks for gracious adaptations to feeling as well as to
need. If saints bless
God, it means that
they intelligently and lovingly apprehend the goodness
of
His dealings, and express their feelings of thankful love. If God blesses
saints, it means that He intelligently considers their
conditions, and finds
and
adapts grace precisely to their needs; and that whatsoever He does for
them turns out to be for their ultimate good. We have come to use the term
without due consideration, and as a mere formality. It often hides
the fact
that we have no precise petitions to present; and so we fall back upon the
general prayer for blessing. We should be placed in extreme
difficulty, if
God were to say in reply to our prayer for blessing, “Say precisely what it
is
you want. Translate your word. Use exact terms. Ask for the very things
which press upon your heart (“Pour
out your heart before Him” - Psalm
62:8).
For my blessing is this — “the
supply of all your needs out of my riches in
glory.”
(Philippians 4:19) It may be well to
show further what
God’s blessing would be to a royal house or dynasty,
and to a nation or
people, noting the special features of that blessing as applied
to David’s
house and kingdom.
without venturing to specify any. It may fittingly be used in prayer
when we have no specific desires, and only want to run into the
shadow
of God’s goodness. And it may be used when we are in
difficulty, and do
not even know what things we ought to ask. (Romans 8:26 – My son-in-
law tragically lost his father this week and I overheard he
and my
daughter, his wife, discussing this very situation – CY – 2012) Sometimes
we are afraid to ask definitely lest we should ask amiss
(James 4:3); and
then we may leave the form of the answer with God, only
asking Him to bless.
PERSON FROM WHOM THE GOOD IS SOUGHT. Compare the cry
of Esau, “Bless me, O
my father!” (Genesis 27:34) - He
could not tell what
to ask, but left the matter with his father, and with full
confidence in the fatherly
love. So for us to ask God to bless us should be the expression of our full
submission and entire surrender to his wisdom and grace in fixing
the
form which the good
shall take; so it may be — and should
be — a fitting
expression of the right attitude and spirit of God’s people, WHO TRUST
THE WHOLE MATTER
OF THEIR TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL
GOOD TO HIM, and will not even seem to dictate to Him. (“O
Lord,
I know that the way of man is not in
himself: it is not in man that
walketh to
direct his steps” (Jeremiah
10:23). Enough for
all true hearts
to pray with David, “Let
it please thee to bless us,” “for with thy
blessing shall the
house of thy servant be blessed for ever.”
THUS FULLY TRUST HIM, MUST MAKE THEM INFINITELY
BLESSED. The
things God sends will make them blessed, and their
gracious moral influence on such recipients will make them double
blessings. Christ’s miracles of healing were Divine blessings, and
the healed
ones were doubly blessed, in body and in soul. God’s
gifts and
providences now become DOUBLE
BLESSINGS, they order and
hallow our lives; they help to prepare us for the “inheritance of the saints
in the light” (Colossians
1:12). God
still blesses with THE
ETERNAL BLESSINGS!
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