May I please Almighty God to
bless us together this morning as we meditate in His Holy Word.
Let's turn to the second book of Samuel, chapter 7, and we'll
read verse 18. The second book of Samuel, chapter
7, and we'll read verse 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? As I'm sure we are aware, the
Word of God gives much space for the life and account of David,
from the time when he was a shepherd right up until the day when he
was taken from this earth. And this particular chapter is
written about his time towards the end of his life, and as we've
read together in the seventh chapter, that here the king was
sat in his house and he said to Nathan the prophet see now
I dwell in the house of cedar but the ark of God dwelleth within
curtains and Nathan said to the king go do all that is in thine
heart for the Lord is with thee well clearly David desired to
therefore build a house which would have been great and glorious
for God to dwell in and Nathan was there with him, the prophet
and God spoke to Nathan about this situation and Nathan told
him what to do. So David had a good desire and
here he was sat in his house Obviously he was thinking of
good things and that's a blessing we can easily pass by such little
statements because Here he was thinking about the house of God
and what a good thing it is for us today if we Think about the
things of God and when we are in our house that we're able
to Think upon those things which are so important so much more
important than just the temporal things of our life. It's very
easy to find ourselves absorbed with the temporal things of our
life and yet we need to be reminded that our life is so short and
eternity is so long and yet how often we spend more time on the
vain things of the world than we do with regards to our soul's
eternal destiny. and the health and state of our
soul. Well, David clearly was blessed
by God and as we look at David's life we know how he sinned, how
he turned his back upon God, how the Lord left him to sin
and how he sinned greatly with regard to adultery with Bathsheba
and then the murder of her husband and we see how God allowed these
things to occur. and of course the result of that
was that David was able to write down under the influence of the
Holy Spirit of God his real concern as he wrote the 51st Psalm which
is of course a very wonderful Psalm and it describes the real
feelings and sighs and groans and concerns of his heart and
he pleads for mercy. It pleads for mercy. And so we're
thankful to know that we have a record of what David really
came to desire. He came to confess. Well, we
sinned. We've all sinned. We've all sinned
and sometimes we might think that, well, I haven't sinned
very much. Well, one sin, however small, can damn us to eternity
in hell. So in reality we can't really
categorise sin as big and small because all produce guilt to
our souls. And therefore to think that although
David was allowed to fall as he did we should never think
that we're any better because whatever sin the Lord allows
us to fall into will all need to walk up and down this 51st
Psalm and realise the truth of it and the relevance of it because
he comes and says against thee the only have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight. And it's good to be condemned
before a holy God. He tells us, I was shaped in
iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward part, in the hidden part. Thou shalt make
me to know wisdom. That means, of course, in our
heart. No one knows what's in our heart apart from you and
God. I don't know and you don't know.
But God knows what is in our heart. And God knows what sorrow
we have. God knows what concern we have,
what desires we have, what prayers go up to God from our heart. It's all known to God. my friends
he knows every moment of our life and what a blessing it is
if he has compassion upon us like he had with David David
didn't deserve it you and I don't deserve it but as God had mercy upon David
and enabled him to confess his sins and his faults and to plead
for mercy and to receive mercy well we believe we come to that
same God today that God who does not change and we still have
a merciful God so God knows all about us this morning He knows
our desires and then perhaps we see how Nathan the prophet
was sent to David Nathan had already been sent to David after
his sin to Bathsheba and that's reiterated in the 51st Psalm
and now again you see Nathan is before King David and God
is speaking through Nathan and he's saying go and tell my servant
David Thus saith the Lord. What a mercy it is. Therefore,
if perhaps we don't have prophets as such, but we do have God's
servants today who are called to preach the gospel, and what
a blessing it is when God uses poor sinful men to speak those
words, which come and enter in to our
hearts. And here was Nathan sent to David
to tell him the situation. And he says, go and tell my servant
David, thus saith the Lord. Shalt thou build me a house for
me to dwell in? And he then tells Nathan, and
Nathan then tells David what the situation is and how he's
dwelt. and how he's only been in a tent
and not in a house of cedar and yet he comes and says nevertheless
however moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel
and will plant them they may dwell in a place of their own
and move no more because we know that they had of course moved
from place to place as God had directed them as the Piraph the
cloudy pillar moved by day and the pillar of fire by night,
that have been the direction to them. Also the Lord telleth
thee that he will make thee an house. 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. And of course we know that Solomon
was that son ordained to build the house and so it came to pass
and the Lord continues as he addresses Nathan said but my
mercy shall not depart away from him as I took it from Saul whom
I put away from thee you see we see the sovereignty of God
how God dealt with Saul how God left Saul to himself to disobey
God and therefore he was condemned for it and he was a lost soul
and yet you see God had mercy upon David and as we look at
ourselves today I wonder if you and I can trace out God's hand
upon us not dealing with us as our sins deserve but being merciful
to us indeed we've been spared anyway and what a mercy if we
look back through our lives to see those years when we had no
time for God and yet His compassion failed not He didn't deal with us as our
sins deserved And so he comes and says, according to all these
words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto
David. And what was the result? The
result was clearly spelt out in the 18th verse, which we read
for a text today. Then went David in. sat before the Lord and we would
assume that was probably the temple he went in and he sat
before the Lord and what did he say what did he say did he
say what a great king I've been how wonderful I am he just said
who am I Oh Lord God who was he He was just a poor sinner
saved by grace. And it's good, isn't it, if you
and I are brought to that position. As we come before Almighty God.
Here he was sitting before the Lord. He'd come to hear what
God the Lord would say, how God the Lord would come and speak
to him. And so he comes and says, who
am I, O Lord God? Well, it's good if you and I
are small in our own eyes before God. He was king, and yet he
asked this question, who am I? Who am I, O Lord God? And what
is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto? Well, God had been
merciful and he had brought him hitherto. Hitherto. And then he goes on and says,
And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, but
thou hast spoken also 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. It's good for us to realise that
God knows you and me. He knows all about us, every
detail, every single thought. It's a great mercy, it's a great
blessing, It's a solemn realization to realize that God looks into
our heart and knows our very thoughts. Well, I wonder what
our thoughts have been today. God knows. When have they been
thoughts to God? When have they been thoughts
of sincerity and truth? When have they been thoughts
Desiring God will come and visit our soul with his salvation. Well, David came before the Lord
and sought for the Lord. What is my house that thou hast
brought me hither to? And this is the manner of man,
O Lord of God. And what can David say more unto
thee? Lord God knowest thy servant
for thy word's sake according to thine own heart hast thou
done all these great things to make thy servant know them. Again how wonderful it is God
brings his path his way before us so that by his grace we might
know them. for his word's sake and according
to thine own heart the heart of Almighty God hast thou done
all these great things to make thy servant know them. What has the Lord made known
to us? To make thy servant know them.
You see there have been many times perhaps when we've heard
God's Word and it has never entered in to our heart it's
never restrained us it's never directed us and that's why David
comes and says 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. Well,
David had been brought to know that he was a sinner. David had
been brought to know that he stood before the Lord of Lords
and the King of Kings against thee only, he says. Against thee
only. What a mercy it is when we're
under the blessed influence of the work of the Holy Spirit and
we realise that God is speaking to us and alerting us to our
true condition for thou Lord God knowest thy servant for thy
word's sake according to thine heart hast thou done all these
great things to make thy servant know them well what has God made
you and me know well what a blessing it is if first of all God's convinced
us like he did David that he was a sinner before a holy God
that'll be a great blessing and you know I won't look around
anything well I don't think I'm too bad I think in actual fact
there are some good points in me will recognise what the Apostle
Paul said, in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. We won't be able to boast of
any good thing in ourselves. We'll only be able to boast of
what God has done for us. And that'll be a very humbling
realisation. as we think of our lives. And
it is good to think of our lives. And it is good to cast our mind
back and see God's mercy, God's favour, left to ourselves. We wouldn't be here, we'd be
cut off. What a blessing if God has given
us there, therefore, to know these things. To know these things. for thy word's sake, to make
thy servant know them. Again, it's only between you
and God, between me and God. No one else knows what's going
on in our hearts. But what a blessing if the Holy
Spirit has moved us. And we can therefore trace out
this and realize there has been a change. One thing I know, whereas I was
blind, but now. see what a mercy if God has shown
us ourselves and then he goes on to show us himself David comes
and he carries on and he says wherefore thou art great O Lord
God for is none like thee neither is there any God beside thee
according to all that we have heard with our ears. Well, that's a blessing, isn't
it? We have a great God. And my friends, as we read in
those messages to the seven churches, he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. In our lives, we would have been
deaf, We would have heard it naturally but we would have not
heard it spiritually until the Blessed God opens our ears, they're
unstopped, and God's voice enters in. We hear. We hear. We hear the condemnation
of the Spirit of God. We hear. the good news of the
gospel, and we realise how great God is. And what's that done? It's produced a change. A change in our heart, a change
in our life, just like it did with David. and that's why he's
able to come and speak like this and say thou art great O Lord
God when God speaks to our soul we
realise how great God is we realise how merciful God is he hasn't
cast us off as something of no value but he's looked upon us
and He looked upon us with love to our souls isn't that amazing? and He's opened our ears to hear
His Word and as we perhaps stand condemned because of it then
He speaks to our heart the glorious Gospel and we then rejoice in
what Christ has done. We rejoice in his great and wonderful
work, which was accomplished on Calvary's cross. And to think
that we, unworthy sinners, are recipients of that mercy. Not surprising, is it? that David
says, who am I? O Lord God. He didn't think he was worthy
of any notice, although he was king. My friends, what a mercy
when you and I come before God and say, who am I? O Lord God. He was sat before
the Lord. He was in a posture to receive
God's word. And what a blessing it is when
God places us in a situation, in a posture, where we're willing
and ready to receive God's Word. There would have been times when
we would have rejected it, because we didn't want to obey God. We didn't want to follow the
Word of God. Because we realised it was not
an easy path, it was a costly path, it was a sacrificial path. And yet, what was it? It was
a path that followed the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
no more blessed, there's no more glorious path than to follow
the path of the Lord Jesus Christ. and to be brought to this confession,
which it was. Wherefore thou art great, O Lord
God, for there is none like thee. And there is none like the Almighty
God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
who comes to us. What does it bring us to? It
brings us to a humble, we might say a holy submission to Almighty
God. We bow down before Him. We understand
the glorious words of the Saviour when He prayed to His Father,
nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done. That is very humbling. When you
and I can come and sit before the Lord and confess who we are,
what we are, nothing really, and yet desire that God's will might be done and God's will
might be performed in our life. so that we may truly bring honour
and glory to Almighty God. For there is none like Thee.
There is no other Saviour like the Lord Jesus Christ. And what
will this show to us? What will this do for us? It
will make the Saviour a reality. It will make the Saviour, the
Lord Jesus Christ, precious to our souls because here was the
one that redeemed our soul here was the one that had mercy upon
us this was the one who had looked upon David and been able to bring
him to that situation desiring that the Lord would indeed bless
him And he asks, he says, restore unto me the joy of my salvation. Uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors
thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver
me from blood guiltiness, O God. Thou God of my salvation. You see, everything comes down
to personal dealings between God and our soul. And that's why David is able
to come and say, oh God, thou God of my salvation. What a mercy, isn't it? Isn't
it humbling to think that you and I are in this world, and
as David said, who am I? Oh Lord God, who are we? In this lost world of billions
of people, there's only God who looked down upon us. Who am I? Who am I? And yet to come, therefore,
and plead to him. He pleads, deliver me from blood
guiltiness. Yes, he was a sinner indeed.
Oh God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud. of thy righteousness. You see,
a born-again sinner, a sinner saved by grace, a sinner redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ, desires to give thanks to God
and we're told here, and my tongue, some people seem to think that
they can be silent. Well, here is a statement, here
is an example My tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. It wasn't something which was
just kept in, nothing was said. Some people seem to rejoice that
they don't say very much, perhaps don't say anything. Well, here
we have the testimony of David, and it's a good testimony. And
he desires then, he says, O Lord, open Thou my lips and my mouth
shall show forth thy praise. Yes, he didn't say I'm going
to speak how great a person I am, what I've done here and what
I've done there, no. Shall show forth thy praise. And he wanted
his lips opened to do this. And then he comes and says, for
thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Now do
like it's not in burnt offering and then he tells us the sacrifices
which are acceptable The sacrifices and remember a sacrifice means
that you and I have to give something Yes, and a sacrifice is evident
in Old Testament days. It was very costly and when they
had to give a lamb or a goat or an ox or whatever, it meant
giving something, passing something. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit and a contrite heart, oh God, that will not despise. Well, what a blessing, isn't
it? If God gives to us a broken spirit, not proud, a broken spirit,
and a contrite heart. And as David says, O God thou
wilt not despise, it's a mercy, isn't it, to be brought to that
situation and that position. And so here we have David then,
Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house if Thou
hast brought me hitherto? Well what a blessing if God has
brought you and me hitherto to this place to this situation and so he says
for Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy people Israel to be a people
unto thee forever, and thou, Lord, art become their God. Well, what a mercy if that includes
us as part of a household of faith to realize that we are
one of God's chosen children. And so he says then, he desires
then to glorify God. What does he say? And let thy
name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God
over Israel. And let the house of thy servant
David be established before thee. He desired to magnify the name
of God. Every true believer, every true
born-again believer, Every true believer who has had the Holy
Spirit's work in their heart, because of God's grace and mercy
and favour to them, will desire to magnify the Lord. What's an evidence therefore
of the work of God. the work of God in the heart.
For thou, Lord of hosts of Israel, hast revealed to thy servants,
saying, I will build thee an house. Therefore hath thy servant
found it in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now,
O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words are true. That's
good, isn't it? They are true. The devil may
want you and me to doubt the Word of God. But my friend, let's
tell the devil, his words of God are true. Thy words are true,
devil. The words of God are true. And
thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant. Every true believer is a servant
of God. And how humbling to realize such
a statement has a personal application to all of his people. And what
a mercy if it has a personal statement to you and me today. And now, O Lord God, Thou art
God, and Thy words are true, and Thou hast promised this goodness
unto Thy servant. Well, it'll be a great blessing,
won't it? You see, if this is true. You see, David desires
to display his view of God. God had had mercy upon him. God
had spoken to him. God had forgiven him. God had
drawn him. God had caused him to desire
to build a house for the Lord. And God had heard his prayer,
heard his desires, and spoken to Nathan, the prophet. And now Nathan spoke to David. Well, it's a pattern, isn't it,
for us today? What a mercy if God has come
therefore and caused us to confess our sins, to acknowledge the
greatness of God, the mercy of God, the love of God toward us,
and to desire to have his name lifted up and magnified, especially
as we think, who am I, O Lord God? Who am I? An unworthy sinner. Not worthy of any notice. And
yet that great God, the ruler of mankind, the ruler of the
universe, has taken notice of me. He's plucked us, as it were,
as the Word of God tells us, as a brand from the burning. There we were, being consumed. by the vanities of time and God
comes and plucks us out. His grace, His mercy, how humbling
it is for us today to be able to acknowledge that such an account
has a wonderful and glorious position to our lives. not something which doesn't resonate,
is not relevant, but we can trace in it God's mercy to David and
we can trace out in it God's mercy to us. what a blessing
therefore if that is so you know finally in this chapter we read
therefore now says David 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 when God speaks It's done. God doesn't go back on his word.
The devil may desire to cast a doubt on it, but remember,
God's word says, for thou, O Lord, God hast spoken it. How confirming, how wonderful
it is. And we might just analyse it
in our own way with this thought that God has done for you and
me. Those things which we could not
have done for ourselves. He's given us a new heart. A heart which seeks after spiritual
blessings. For thou, O Lord, hast spoken
it. And with thy blessing, let the
house of thy servant be blessed forever. You see, God's blessings
are eternal. The things of time fade away. The things of God are forever. And so today may we meditate
in these things and thank God that we have an account like
this and a testimony of David and realize that as David said,
then went David, King David in and sat before the Lord and said,
who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that has
brought me hitherto? Amen.