2 Samuel chapter 7 verse 1. And it came to pass when the
king sat in his house, this is King David, and the Lord had
given him rest round about from all his enemies. David has not
been king very long at this time. And this is the first time in
his life that he had had rest from all his enemies. See that
word all, not most of them, but rest from all his enemies. He still had enemies and we'll
have many more, but he has rest from them. Also notice in this
first verse that this rest David enjoys is the Lord's doing. David never obtains it in himself. But we read that the Lord had
given him rest. That's a precious, precious thought
and verse. But now, in this restful condition,
David is about to get religious. And that's dangerous. There's a big difference between
being spiritual, having a heart for the Lord, as David did. Big difference between spiritual
and religious. So David is about to get religion. He's about to decide to, and
I quote, do something for the Lord. Verse two, that the king said
unto Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar. I've got a nice house. But the
ark of God dwelleth within the curtains, just that old tabernacle. And David has got it in his mind
and heart to build a temple. And Nathan, the prophet, thinks
it's a good idea. And he tells David in verse 3,
Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart,
for the Lord is with thee. Nathan's a good man. He's God's
prophet, but he gets a little carried away here, gets the cart
before the horse and tells David, go for it. The Lord is with thee. But the Lord has a different
message for David. Verse four, and it came to pass
that night that the word of the Lord came into Nathan saying,
Go and tell my servant David, thus saith the Lord, shall thou
build me a house for me to dwell in? 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. 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? Have
I ever asked for a house? Now therefore, so shalt thou
say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took
thee from the sheep coat, from following the sheep, to be a
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 as before time. And since the time that I commanded
judges to be over my people Israel and have caused thee to rest
from all thy enemies, also the Lord telleth thee that he will
make thee an house. Nathan, go tell David, you're
not going to build me a house. I'm going to build you a house." David was talking about building
the Lord a material house. But the Lord is talking about
building David a spiritual house. And these next few verses that
we're going to read are to be read with the understanding that
they are partly fulfilled in Solomon, David's son, and partly
in Christ, David's greater son, generations on down the road.
Verse 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. Now that can be Solomon. Verse 13, He shall build a house
for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. That can't be Solomon. Nebuchadnezzar
invaded Solomon's kingdom, invaded Jerusalem,
destroyed the temple, destroyed the city. But all the Nebuchadnezzars
in all history, have not affected Christ's kingdom. It's established
forever. I will be his father and he shall
be my son. If he commit iniquity, now that's
Solomon. Christ could not and did not
commit any iniquity. If he committed 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. Now verse 16 is
Christ again. And thine house and thy kingdom
shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall
be established forever. Anytime there's a forever, it's
not David. David died and Luke said, His
sepulchre is with us to this day. It's not Solomon. Solomon died and reigns no more.
But Christ our Lord lived, died, rose again, said, all power is
given me in heaven and earth, and said in Revelation 118, I
am alive forevermore. It's His kingdom. It's His throne
that's established forever. Verse 17, according to all these
words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto
David. 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? 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? And what can David say more unto
thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. For thy word's 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. David is so humbled by all this,
what the Lord has promised him to be fulfilled in Christ and
that forever. This is a grace promise. There's
no condition on David's part. Now in verse 14, there's an if
concerning Solomon, if he committed iniquity. But in verses 13 and
16, where the forevers are, there's no if concerning Christ. No if. It's a free grace promise to
David. And that's our thought this morning,
the humbling effect of God's free grace. And I want to zero in on three
statements for a few moments. In the latter part of verse 18,
talk about this a little bit. And we see here how God's grace
has humbled this man. He says in the middle of verse
18, who am I? Oh, Lord God. Me. A nobody. Lord, as you said in verse eight,
you took me from the sheep coat. from following the sheep when
I was a little boy you took me to be ruler over your people
Israel I was just a lad out there in obedience to my father I was
where I was supposed to be doing what I was supposed to be doing I never came looking for you
but you came out there and started doing business with me. You started working in my heart. You started inspiring me to write,
to sing, to worship, to trust, and to love you. You did that
for me, Lord. I never did it for myself. This
morning, I think back on my life. I think back on my school days
and there's a few here this morning that knew me when I was young. And I think about my friends
in the neighborhood. I think about my classmates and
several I know that are already gone that I graduated with. Cancer,
Vietnam, car wrecks, Gunshots. Two or three. Alcohol. Drugs. And I ask. Why me, Lord? Why me, Lord? When so many. Have perished in
their sins. And so many others around you
and I today perishing in their sins. We can ask with David,
who am I, O Lord God, that you chose me for your own and you
drew me to yourself and you gave me a new heart to love you and
desire you. Who am I? Who am I? I tell you this true humility,
this fruit of God's grace alone, has gripped the heart of every
saint of God in every generation and has brought us all to ask
the same question. Who am I, O Lord God? Remember Abraham way back in
Genesis pleading with the Lord concerning Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham saw God's greatness And he saw his own nothingness.
And he said this to the Lord, I am, but dust and ashes. We read those chapters in Genesis
and see that he was the greatest man that walked the earth at
that time. But his own testimony, his own
heart to the Lord is. I am but dust and ashes. What
is dust and ashes worth? Nothing. Nothing. And Abraham
said, I'm nothing. I'm but dust and ashes. Jacob on his way home after many,
many years away, his heart is brought to dwell on the goodness
and protection and provisions of God. And here's what he said
to the Lord. I am not worthy of the least
of all these thy mercies." I want to tell you right now,
when your heart is in that place, when your mind is in that frame
of thinking, there's not too much arguing about who gets the
best deal and what's fair and what's not fair and all that
garbage. No, no. I am not worthy of the
least of all these thy mercies. Others may be, I don't know their
hearts. I don't know their lives, but I'm not worthy, Jacob said.
Job, near the end of his trial, when he saw really who God is
and he saw himself, he testified of himself. Now the Lord had
said in the beginning of the book of Job, he said he was the
greatest man in all the East. But you know what Job said to
the Lord? Behold, I am vile. Look at me, who thought I was
something. I'm nothing. Behold, I am vile. Simon Peter, depart from me,
O Lord, for I am a sinful man. Why would you want anything to
do with me Lord? Who am I? Oh Lord God. The Apostle Paul.
For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing. Oh wretched man that I am. Why me Lord? Who am I? Oh Lord God. John on the Isle of Patmos. So
humbled. So overwhelmed. with the Lord's
presence, he said, I fell at his feet as dead. And David,
in this text, looking back over his life, remembering back, nothing
but a poor shepherd boy. Nobody in Israel would have ever
guessed that he'd be king. He'd never be heard of, but God. had it all fixed. And that says
it all but God. What about your life? What about
mine? We're way too busy nowadays running our own lives, solving
our own problems, complaining about the ones we can't solve,
handling things we think we can't really handle anything. We ought
to look back, look back as the old Dottie Rambo song said, remind
me, dear Lord, show me where you brought me from and where I could have been.
Remind me that it's not me that got me to here. It's your goodness
and grace. Who am I, O Lord God? Secondly,
next statement in this verse, not only who am I, O Lord God,
but and what is my house? David starts to think about his
family. What a mess it is. What a mess
I've made of it, he says. What an awful bunch we are. One son, Adonijah is so sneaky
and untrustworthy. After David's death, Solomon
has him killed, his brother. Another son, Amnon, whose name
means unclean, filthy, obscene, he raped his sister. And two
years later, Absalom, another son, kills him for it. Absalom, he revolted against
his father David. He's disobedient, he's disloyal,
he's rebellious, and he winds up hanged by the neck in an oak
tree with his long hair. Solomon, another son, the king,
in all his wisdom, left to himself. He proves to be foolish indeed. David knows these children of
his. And his question of the Lord is a big question. What
is my house? What on earth is they about that
gang of rebels I've raised that could ever be of any good to
you? There's not one of us. David
says, not me or my young'uns that's worth anything. We're
an awful bunch. We all deserve hell. We all deserve
to die and perish in our sins. But you, O Lord, he says in verse
9, have spoken of thy, verse 19, have spoken of thy servant's
house for a great while to come. We ought to all perish miserably. And I would say that to us today,
left to ourselves, getting what we deserve. We all ought to perish
miserably before sundown this evening. But David said, you've spoken
of my house for generations to come. You're not going to kill us.
Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house? And then
the third thought, and I'm through, this is the end of verse 18, that thou has brought me hitherto. It's God's free and sovereign
grace that's brought me to this present moment. I don't deserve
all the blessings of God. I enjoy. I hope you'd confess
that as well. I don't deserve the measure of
respect and honor that I have in this life. God knows me. You don't. He knows you. I don't. You do not deserve all his goodness. His grace continues to flow like
a river and no one can stop it. No one can stop it. David says, not only am I not
worthy, Lord, look at my sons. They're not worthy. I can imagine the Lord saying,
it's not your sons I'm looking at David. It's my son. It's my son. That's the secret of his grace. All I'm doing for you and all
I'm doing with you is not for your sake or your son's sake. It's for my son's sake. David
is at a loss for words. He says, I don't understand.
Why? Why is it that thou hast brought
me hitherto? He thought Saul was going to
kill him a long time ago. The Lord never let that happen.
Why, Lord, have you put up with me all this long? That word hitherto
is a beautiful word. Lord, I never dreamed you'd bring
me this far. hitherto to this present moment. David is favored by God from
eternity past in God's election. He is formed according to God's
design in his mother's womb. David sees that he was no afterthought
with God. And neither are you. Psalm 139,
15 and 16. My substance was not hid from
thee. This is David talking to the
Lord. When I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth, thine eyes did see my substance yet
being unperfect. And in thy book were all my members
written. which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them. Conceived in my mother's
womb, you knew all about me before there was any part of me in existence. That's God. He says, I fed upon my mother's
breast. I was followed by you, Lord,
into the sheep coat. I was fetched to be anointed.
Samuel said call him in When they did the Lord said to Samuel
arise anoint him for this is he he's the one he's the one
and Then David says you forwarded me Lord you put me plumb to the
throne Second Samuel five three and four so all the elders of
Israel came to the king to Hebron King David made a league with
them in Hebron before the Lord and they anointed David king
over Israel David was 30 years old when it began to rain and
he rained 40 years. He said, it's been you all along,
Lord. David was favored from eternity, formed in his mother's
womb, fed from his mother's breast, followed to the sheep coat, fetched to be anointed, all in
order. that his son, his greater son,
generations later, might be fixed upon the throne, Christ. Luke 1, 33, And behold, thou
shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne, of his father, David. The dispensationalists put that
way on out in the future, but wait a minute. Where was the
throne of David? Solomon built the temple. Solomon
built the palace. David was a people's man, a warrior. He lived in the woods a lot,
even as the king. David was not a palace couch
potato. No. He's out yonder slinging
the sword. David's throne was not a materialistic
thing. David's throne was in the hearts
of his people. That's where he reigned. That's
where he reigned. You remember how they sung about
him? Saul slain his thousands, David his tenth. All the people
loved him. They honored him. They fought
for him. They died for him. That's where
David reigned. That's where his throne was,
in the hearts of his people. And that's the throne Christ
inherited. He shall sit on the throne of
his father, David. He reigns in the hearts of his
people, and he reigns there right now. He who created this earth, with
all the gold and the silver that's buried in the mountains and all
in this earth. He created it now. What glory
would it be to him to have somebody dig out a little hunk of it and
build him a place to sit over yonder in Jerusalem? He's already seated. He's already
on the throne, reigning and ruling in the hearts of his people.
That Jerusalem from above, His church, His elect people. Oh, our King Jesus, He's not
a palace couch potato. He's with you every day, every
night. He's with you in your sorrow
and your suffering. He's with you in that thing that's
eating your heart out today. He'll be with you in the morning
on that difficult job. He'll be with you at the house
in that messed up family. He's with you in the bondage
of that habit that you can't handle, but He can. He's with you in your sorrow. over that loved one dying with
cancer. He's bigger than any problem
you have. And he's with you in it all. And to think his love and his
patience with you all these years, even hitherto to this present
moment. or that God would bring us in our stubborn, selfish pride
and humble us to say with David, who am I? Oh Lord God, a wretch
like me. And what is my house? That messed up bunch. that thou hast brought me hitherto
to this present moment. Coincidence? No, no. It's free and sovereign grace. Lord, help us not take anything
for granted, but to know it's your love to us, your blessings
upon us that makes us what we are and where we are. right now. I praise his holy name for his
goodness and mercy to me. You may act like you deserve
this. I don't. I promise you, I don't. But thanks
be to God who loved me and gave himself for me. And I'm one of
his own. Let's stand together.