Alright, if you would turn back
in your Bibles to the portion of Scripture that our brother
read, 2 Samuel chapter 7. Excuse me. As he read through that passage,
I've been reading through it quite some time now, and it's
an experience if you read it with him from the heart. You know what he's talking about,
it's a worship experience, just sit and read that, isn't it?
David worshiping the Lord. I've entitled this message a
prayer of thanksgiving. Some call it a psalm of thanksgiving. Either way, it's prayer, it's
worship of God. It's David expressing the desires
of his heart. And I believe the desire of every
believer's heart. First come to this, I thought,
well, we could just read through it. But you know, we see some
things here that are for our teaching, the Lord teaching us. We see, first of all, the great
blessings of God's grace. And I wonder sometimes as we
go through our lives, we who are saved by the grace of God,
we who have been given the gift of faith, faith in Christ, the
gift of repentance, repentance of dead works and idolatry, we
who have been given the gift of His love. I wonder sometimes,
do we really understand how blessed we are? And I think about that
a lot because I think about the millions of people who have and
who are perishing in their sins with no hope without Christ.
How blessed we really are. And to understand also that we
didn't deserve and don't deserve and haven't earned the least
of those blessings. That's the way this starts out
in this prayer of thanksgiving, the great blessings of God's
grace. And then, David, in his prayer, he begins to talk about
the great God of all grace. You see, these blessings are
only great because of the God who gives them and stands behind
them. Our God is great, and therefore
he cannot give any blessings that aren't great. So the great
God of all grace. And then he concludes his prayer
with the great covenant of all grace. Every blessing we have
that the great God of all grace has given is backed up by his
word. His word. You know, I've often
told you about the sign that I saw. I use this quite a bit
because it is so appropriate to the scriptures. Going through
a town and saw a sign outside of a church building that said,
God said it, I believe it, that settles it. And I said, oh, no,
that's wrong. Let me tell you how it should
read. God said it, that settles it. Now I believe it. God said it. That settles it.
Whether I believe it or not doesn't settle the issue. God saying
it does. Because he's faithful to his
words. So we're going to talk about that. But these great blessings
of all of God's grace. James just sang that song, Who
Am I? David starts his prayer out that
way. Verse 18. He says, Then went King David
in, and he sat before the Lord. He sat before the Lord. What
that means, it doesn't mean that he just went in and sat down
and took a seat or an open chair. It means that David literally
sat before the Lord. It means that he literally took
his proper place before a holy and merciful God. It means he
yielded to God. He submitted. What salvation
for a sinner is all about? Submission. holy submission brought
about by the Spirit of God when we see God's holiness and see
our sins and see that the only way of salvation for sinners
like us is the Lord Jesus Christ and what he accomplished at Calvary
in the shedding of his blood and establishing righteousness
for us. And David sat down. He sat before
the Lord and he said this. He said, Who am I? Oh, Lord God. And what is my house that thou
hast brought me hitherto, that you brought me to where I am?
What a thought. You see, David's expressing this
thing not just in bodily position, but in heart. Who am I? Well, we're nobody. That's what
we are. We're sinners. That's what David
was. God didn't choose David. He didn't
bless David. He didn't give David what David
had. He didn't put David where he was because of David's greatness,
goodness, or anything about David. It was simply God's sovereign
mercy. And David recognizes that. And
I'll tell you what I believe. Every true sinner saved by grace
knows that too. This thing about, I did this
for the Lord and I did that, that's not going to do. with
those who truly sit before the Lord, submit to him, and his
righteousness is the only way of salvation. In fact, David's
saying this, it kind of reminds me of another man who made this
kind of a statement over in chapter 9 that we're coming to later
on in verse 8. His name was Mephibosheth. Remember
what he said in verse 8 of chapter 9? He says, And he bowed himself
and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon
such a dead dog as I am? That's the same kind of attitude
that the king is expressing before a holy God. I read one message
on this on Mephibosheth, and it's entitled, A Dead Dog in
the House of the King. And that's what it is. Who am
I, David said back here in verse 18. I think about the testimony
of some of God's choicest saints. Think about Daniel. Daniel in
chapter 10, he had several visions that the Lord gave him, words,
revelations from God. And one time he had such a vision
that overwhelmed him, he said in Daniel chapter 10 in verse
8, he said, I was left alone and I saw this great vision and
there remained no strength in me. I had no power, he said. And then he says, for my comeliness,
that's my beauty, was turned in me into corruption, and I
retained no strength. What's Daniel saying there? He's
saying all strength, all beauty, and all glory is in the Lord,
not in me. And that's a recognition of what
we are before God. We don't deserve anything from
God, and we certainly haven't earned anything from God. Even
Peter recognized that. You remember in Luke 5, verse
8, it's recorded that Peter, when he saw the glory of the
Lord, when he saw the great work of Christ, he fell down on his
knees and sang, Depart from me, for I'm a sinful man. I don't
even deserve to be in your presence. That's what David is saying.
Here, who am I, O Lord God? What is my house? that thou hast
brought me hitherto." Most people, when they, quote, join the church,
unquote, they act as if God would be glad to have them and that
they're a real fine addition to God. Let me tell you something,
that's not the way David felt. He said, who am I? Who am I? I'll tell you, any sinner who
thinks he has any inherent or earned right to come before God
is simply deceived and proud and self-righteous. Come like
David. Who am I? He said over in Psalm
130, he said, O Lord, if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities,
who would stand? That's why he's sitting before
the Lord, submitting to God's mercy and God's way in Christ.
Reminds me of Jacob. He said in Genesis chapter 32
and verse 10, he said, I'm not worthy of the least of all the
mercies and of all the truth, which thou has shown unto thy
servant. For with my staff, I passed over this Jordan and now I've
become two bands. I'm a sinner. That's what he's
saying. I'm unworthy. David recognizes even the sinfulness
of his own house. His own descendants. Isaiah said
the same thing when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, and
he said, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. He said, I'm a
man of unclean lips, but not only that, I'm not the only one
in this boat. I dwell amidst a people of unclean lips. Listen,
every one of us born of Adam, we're in the same boat by nature.
We have the same problem. I know there are different people
here tonight. And I know you've gone through
different experiences in your life. Many of you, maybe not
as religious as some, but I'm going to tell you something.
It's the same problem. It's the same issue. For all have sinned
and come short of the glory of God, and by deeds of law shall
no flesh be justified. I was raised in religion. Some
of you were. I'm no more worthy to come before
God and receive these blessings of grace than you are or ever
will be. That's so. My only hope is the
Lord Jesus Christ. My only hope is the grace of
God. I'm telling you, I'm no better than you. You're no better
than me. We're either saved by grace or
we're lost in our sins, and that's simply it. And anybody who gets
to thinking anybody else, read what David said. Who am I? Who
do you think you are? Who do I think I am? That's the
issue. And then he recognizes God's
sovereign power in all this. Look at verse 19. He says, This
was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God. Is anything
too hard for the Lord? Abraham asked. You see, behold,
the Lord's hand, Isaiah prophesied, the Lord's hand is not shortened
that it cannot say, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear.
Think about that. He says, this was 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. He's talking about these
blessings to David's house are eternal. Therefore, we can understand
that it rises above the earthly kingdom and gets into the realm
of an eternal kingdom through Christ, talking of spiritual
Israel. He says, and this is the manner
of man, O Lord. You know, Is salvation for any sinner too
hard? Think about that. You remember
when the rich young ruler came upon the Savior and he said,
what must I do to have or inherit eternal life? And the Lord said,
knowing the man's heart, knowing, number one, the man didn't believe
Christ to be God. Knowing, number two, that the
man thought and imagined that he could get into God's favor
and salvation and heaven based on his work, he hid him right
where he was. And he said, well, keep the commandments.
The fellow said, which? He said, all the second table
of the law, which summarized in love your neighbor as yourself.
He said, I've done that from my youth up. The man was deceived,
just like Saul of Tarsus in Romans 7. Sin deceived me. He thought
he kept that law. He hadn't. None of us have. Love
God perfectly and love our neighbor as ourselves. Perfectly. That's what God requires. That's
what Christ had to do in order to be our spotless Lamb, in order
to be our Savior. So the man was deceived. And
the Lord said, well, let's put it to the test. If you think
you've kept the law perfectly, if you think that that recommends
you to God, here's the test. Sell everything you have, give
it to the poor, and come and follow me. The man went away
sorrowful, for he had much riches. Remember what the disciples asked
after that? They said, if he's not saved, who can be? If that
fellow is not saved, who can be? And our Lord answered, he
said, well, with men, it's impossible. But with God, all things are
possible. Is there any sinner that it's too hard for the Lord
to save? The answer is no. Now, every sinner It's impossible
for you to save yourselves or for me to save myself. But it's
not impossible for God, for He has a way, and the way is Christ.
Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh
unto the Father but by me. But everyone who comes to the
Father comes by Him and through Him. He says, is this the manner of
man, O Lord God? Now, I studied that. Some commentators
say, well, He's saying there that it's impossible with men.
This is not the manner of men. He asks it in the form of a question
here, as it's recorded here. But others say it reads this
way literally, that David is saying, and this is the law of
man, O Lord God. And therefore, it would mean
that this is the covenant, this covenant that God had made with
David. You see, this prayer comes right
after the covenant. It's an expansion of the covenant
that God made with Abraham. Remember in Genesis chapter 17
and verse 6, God told Abraham, kings would come out of you,
a generation. And that's an expansion of the
everlasting covenant of grace, God fulfilling his redemptive
history throughout history of the world in Providence. And
so what David is actually saying here is this, this blessing through
the house of David, which would culminate in the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, is God's law throughout the ages. This is God's purpose. In other
words, this is God's charter by which all humanity will be
directed. This is the be-all and the end-all
of all things right here. It's all leading up to this.
And therefore, it's a statement, not a question. The promises
that have just been given will govern, as one man said, the
unfolding of divine history. Everything, in other words, everything
in the history of man on this earth is leading toward the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And David recognized that. Look
at verse 20. He talks about the blessing of
saving knowledge here. What can David say more unto
thee? For thou, Lord, God knowest thy
servant. He speaks first of God's knowledge
of his people. The Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter
2 and verse 19, nevertheless the foundation of God stands
sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and
let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Now that knowledge of God, of his people, is more than just
a recognition of them or an acknowledgment. It's an intimate covenant relationship. It's salvation. Christ said it
this way in John 10. He said, I know my sheep. I know
them. And he knows them intimately.
He knows them savingly. And he said, they'll all know
me. Look over at Psalm 139. The 139th Psalm. Listen to what David says here. The Psalm of David, verse 1. He says, O Lord, thou hast searched
me and known me. He knows the heart. He knows
our thoughts. He knows our motives. He knows
what drives us. He knows what motivates us and
what constrains us. He said, Thou knowest my down-sitting,
mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought
afar off. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue but, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Now, you think about that. That's
a scary thought, isn't it? It is if you don't know Christ.
It is if you don't know Christ. That God would know my thoughts
and my motives and my inner thinkings. That thought that just shot through
your head right now, God saw every bit of it. Heard it loud
and clear as if I'd broadcast it out here on this microphone.
You might be embarrassed if that happened, wouldn't you? But God
knows. So where's our hope? If God knows
me that well, Where is my hope? My hope is in Christ. This is
life eternal. Go on to verse 21 back here in
2 Samuel 7. This is life eternal, that they
might know thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent. He says in verse 21, he says,
For thy word's sake and according to thine own heart hast thou
done all these great things to make thy servant know. Know them. It's God's purpose that we know
Him. Isn't that something? Our knowledge of Him. That's
a promise of the covenant. Jeremiah 31, verse 34, let me
read it to you. They shall teach no more every
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord. In other words, this covenant is not with an earthly, rebellious
people who don't know God. He says in this new covenant,
which is the purpose in time of the everlasting covenant of
grace, the gospel, he says, for they shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more. They're going to know me redemptively. They're going
to know me graciously and mercifully in Christ. What is it to know? How can we know God? Look at
Matthew chapter 11 with me. Christ said it here. This is
that famous passage where he says, Come unto me all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. And listen
to what he says before that in verse 27 of Matthew chapter 11. Now listen to this. He says, All things are delivered
unto me of my Father. It's all in Christ's hands. That's
all things. The whole purpose of this universe
is in Christ's hands. And he says, and no man knoweth
the Son but the Father. In other words, if you're going
to know the Son, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity,
the Son of God incarnate, the Savior, he's going to have to
be revealed to you by the Father. And then he says, but neither
knoweth any man the Father save the Son. You can't know the Father
except through Christ. Without Christ, you don't know
God as Father. You may know Him as a righteous
judge who will damn you for your sins, but without Christ, not
a Father. The only way God can be a loving
Father, as well as a just judge, is through Christ. And so He
says, "...and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him, knowing
him." David is saying here fundamentally, he says, you moved in my heart,
God. You caused me to see the promise that you'd given to me
and to my house. You caused me to know it. It
wasn't natural, common knowledge. It wasn't intellectual pursuits
that got David this knowledge. It was a revelation from God
by his spirit. And he said, as a result of it,
I've entered into the experience of it. You've caused your servant
to know. God is his teacher, to know the
promises, the promises that come from God's heart. That's what
he says here. Did you notice that? Verse 21, for thy word's
sake and according to thine own heart. You realize that when
we preach the gospel and preach the word of God, we're preaching
from the heart of God. That's a revelation of God's
heart right there. Is there anything greater than
that? He sends you those promises that come from your heart in
Christ, so everything begins with God, and He works in our
hearts so that we come to know Him. Brother Ron read in our
study, Psalm 25, you remember where it said there, the secret
of God lies with Him? You know who the secret of God
is? It's Christ. You want to see the glory of
God, the revelation of God, who God is, what He does, why He
does it? Look to Christ. There's the secret right there.
Again, John 17, this is life eternal, that they might know
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. Now, all these blessings of grace are freely given to
any sinner who sees his need. That's right. Now, I've seen
people say, well, you know, I want to be saved, but I'm not ready.
Well, let me ask you some questions on that. How ready is a drowning
person to grab the life preserver? I mean, if you see somebody out
there drowning and you throw them a life preserver, do they
say, well, I'm not ready to grab it yet? No, they're just flailing,
aren't they? They just grab it. How ready
is a naked person to be clothed? How ready is a hungry person
to eat? Huh? You ever been hungry and
you're waiting on dinner? You've been ready how long? Well,
now, if you ever get hungry for God's grace in Christ, if you
ever hunger and thirst after righteousness in Christ, you're
all ready. You're ready right now, if you're
hungry for it. How ready is a thirsty man to
drink? You see what I'm saying? What
do you think it takes to make you ready? What do you think
it takes to make you qualified? They asked one old preacher one
time, they said, well, you've talked a lot about God's part
in salvation. He said, what is your part? The preacher said,
well, God did all the saving, I did all the sinning. That's
a good statement. What qualifies a person to be
saved? Well, it says, this is a faithful
saint, Jesus Christ, and worthy of all acceptation, Jesus Christ
came into the world to save, Does that fit you? That's what
David is saying here of himself. And then next he goes to the
great God of all grace. Now, the blessings are great
not only because we're such great sinners, but because God is such
a great God. He says there in verse 22, listen
to it, he says, wherefore thou art great. You see, this is not
just benefits and blessings that we receive, but it's a real relationship
with the true and living God through Christ. That's why we
talk about serving God, because we love Him, because we thank
Him. It's not just trying to get what we can get out of God.
Listen to me. God's already freely given His
people all blessings in Christ. We're not serving Him trying
to get what we can get out of Him. That's not His greatness.
His greatness is a people who would serve Him because they
love Him. I often use the analogy of your
children. Would you rather your children
obey you and respect you because they know that you love them
and that you provide for them and that you'll protect them
and preserve them? Or would you rather them obey
you and respect you because they know if they don't, you'd kill
them. Which one would you rather have?
Which one would honor you more as a father or a mother? It's
that kind of child who would obey you because they know you
love them. That love you because you love
them. That's the way God is. That's His greatness. It's in
redemption, you see. And He says here, Thou art great,
O Lord God, for there is none like Thee. The unique God, a
just God and a Savior, he said in Isaiah chapter 45. There's
no other God. There's none else. There's none
to compare him to. He says, neither is there any
God beside thee, according to all that we've heard with our
ears. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
You can't know God without hearing the word. In verse 23, because
God is great, And he's distinct, his people are. Look, verse 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? It's
their redemption, you see, that makes them distinct. It wasn't
their own greatness. In fact, back in Deuteronomy
chapter 7, you can read this, he tells them, he said, why did
I choose Israel? It wasn't because they were great
or greater in number or greater in power. They were the least
of all nations. They were the worst bunch, he
said. They weren't even a nation when he chose them. He made them
a nation. So what is their greatness? He
said it's their redemption. It's their redemption. He redeemed
that nation by power. Now, he redeemed sinners by grace
and power in Christ. And he says, to redeem for a
people to himself, and to make him a name, to make God a name,
for to do for you great things and terrible, wonderful, that's
what it means, for thy land before thy people, which thou redeemest
to thee from Egypt, from the nations of the gods." Look over
at 1 Peter chapter 2 with me. Here's how this applies to believers
today. In verse 9. You see, God is a
distinct, unique, one and only God. Thou shalt have no other
gods before me. There's no other God like him.
There's none to compare with him. And his people, his people
now, are distinct and unique. Why? Because of their greatness,
their good? No, because of his redemptive
work, his grace in Christ. And he says here in 1 Peter 2,
verse 9, But you are a chosen generation. They're an elect
people. He says you're a royal priesthood,
that is a nation of kings and priests. What that means is that
we are, by virtue of our relationship with Christ, we have a right
and liberty to go into the very holiest of all, the very presence
of God in Christ. He says you're a holy nation.
That's separated. That's separated. That's a distinct
nation. In other words, we're here for
God's use and not for our own purposes. He says you're a peculiar
people. That word peculiar there doesn't
mean you're weird. Now, some of you may be weird,
but that doesn't mean that we're all weird. But we're all peculiar. That means literally purchased.
You're bought with a price. And the price was the blood of
Christ. The blood of Christ. He says
that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And then turn
to 2 Peter chapter 1. Listen to this. Here's our distinction,
you see. Here's our distinction. Verse
4. He says, whereby are given unto
us exceeding great and precious promises given to us in Christ
by His grace through the righteousness of God our Savior Jesus Christ.
that by these promises you might be partakers, sharers, fellow
sharers, fellow shippers, you might say, of the divine nature
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust." That's our distinction right there. Our fellowship is
with the Father and the Son. Now go back to 2 Samuel 7. He
says in verse 24, 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." In the covenant, he says, you'll
be my people and I'll be your God. That's an amazing thing. Nowhere does God distinguish
himself and identify himself and reveal himself more than
in the salvation of a sinner by his grace and mercy in and
by the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know that? Do you know
that that is the greatest manifestation of God's glory that can ever
be found in eternity? I mean that. The salvation of
a sinner. You think about that. You know,
you'd think, you know, and this is the way we think naturally.
You say, well, now, if God would just come down here and part
the Ohio River, like He did the Red Sea, boy, that would surely
show forth His glory, wouldn't it? Or if God would just come
down here and walk across the Ohio River, if Jesus Christ could
come and walk, that would surely show His glory. Or if He'd come
down here and go out to Rose Hill Cemetery and raise a few
from the dead, that would surely show forth His glory. Now let
me tell you something, that's true, that would show forth His
glory and His power if He would do that. But it's not even to
be compared. with the glory of God shown forth
in the salvation of a sinner through and by the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ on the cross, his blood,
he shed his precious blood to wash away my sins. He established
righteousness to enable God to be just and justify the ungodly. In the parable of the rich man
and Lazarus, the Lord Abraham told that rich man, he said,
when he said, send somebody back from the dead to tell my brothers
about hell so that they won't end up here. And he told him,
he said, though one be raised from the dead, they will not
hear. They have Moses and the prophets. And you know what the
subject of Moses and the prophets is? Christ and him crucified. and risen again. Read it on the
Mount of Transfiguration. When the vision of Moses and
Elijah, Moses is the law, Elijah is the prophet, when they met
together with the Lord in that glorious vision, they spoke of
His decease, which He should accomplish at Jerusalem. They
spoke of His death. That was the topic of their conversation. You know why? Because that was
the crux of redemptive history right there. That's the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That's the glory of God. For
in Christ dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you
are complete in Him. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
unto us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. His glory and our redemption
through Christ is at the heart of everything that He does. And
it's totally from and of God Himself. Look at verse 25. Now, let me say this before I
leave that. You know, over in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 10,
in speaking of the death of Christ, it says, "...for it became Him."
It was becoming, befitting to God who He is. "...for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation, Christ, perfect
through suffering." That is, He completed the work through
His suffering. And that was all becoming to God. It was appropriate
to God. It was befitting to God. It was
needful for us, but it was becoming to Him. Isn't that glorious?
Well, look here, verse 25. Here's the third point, the great
covenant of grace. He says in verse 25, And now,
O Lord God, the word that Thou hast spoken concerning Thy servant,
and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as Thou hast
said. This is the covenant of grace.
God spoke and it's done. Over in Hebrews chapter 6, it
says, God confirmed his promise to Abraham by an oath that he
swore. And he said, because God could
swear by nothing greater than himself, he swore it by himself. And that ensures the certainty
and the faithfulness of what God said. God said it, that settles
it. That's what that means. Do you
know there's no replacement for God's Word? I was telling a gentleman
the other day, talking about church, and he'll ask me questions
because he knows I'm a pastor and a preacher. And he's talking
about, you know, this kind of service and that kind of service
and how they feel the Spirit moving and how they rejoice.
And I told him this, I said, let me tell you what's missing
from what is mostly called church services or worship services
today. I'll tell you what's missing,
the preaching of the Word of God. In fact, we were talking about
before how some people say, well, we had a glorious service. The
preacher didn't even get to preach. I'll tell you, that's the way
people think. They want to sing. They want to be entertained.
They want to hear jokes. But the preaching of God's Word
gets shoved into the background. That's just something you get
through in order to get to the fun stuff. Well, my friend, there
is nothing. Nothing of worship in any service,
I don't care what you call it, without the truth of God's Word
being preached, without studying God's Word. That's what's at
the forefront here. We're to pray together, we're
to sing the hymns, sing praises, but we're not here to entertain
you. You're not here to entertain me. We're here to preach the
Word. That's what I do on our TV program. I preach the Word.
And somebody's asked me, he said, well, why don't you pray? I do
pray. But I don't have to pray in front of you or in front of
anybody. I don't have to. In fact, the
Lord tells me not to. Read it in Matthew chapter 6.
But you think about it. I know when we come together,
we pray together in corporate worship. And we ought to do that.
I'm not belittling that. But I'm not going to bring singers
on that TV program or anything like that. I'm going to preach
the word because that's what people need to hear. They need to hear
Christ. They need to hear salvation. And that's what David is saying,
this is the covenant, and that covenant, you know the preaching
of the gospel is the preaching of the terms of an everlasting
covenant. Look at it in verse 26. He said,
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. Why? Because God spoke God's
word. He says in verse 27, For thou,
O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed. Now look at your
concordance. If you've got a concordance in
your Bible, look at what that word revealed literally means.
Does it have something like this, opened the ear? That's what it
means. You see, revelation, it doesn't
come by dreams and visions. Or by lightning and thunder and
signs, it comes by the Word being revealed to your ear, spiritual
ears. We know it takes the work of
the Spirit to give us spiritual ears and spiritual eyes. But
that's how it comes, open mine ears. I remember Stephen in Acts
chapter 7, after he preached that message and they rejected
it, he called him, he said, O ye uncircumcised in heart and ears,
Shut your ears up. The Lord said to his disciples,
blessed are your ears, for they hear. Do you hear what I'm saying?
I can't make you hear it, but God can. And that's what he's
saying. He said, Lord, that's revealed
to thy servants, saying, now listen, verse 27, I will build
thee an house. Now I'm talking about an earthly
house. Talking about his dynasty, the kingly dynasty that would
come through the line of Judah, which would culminate in the
King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer
unto thee. I like that language. He found
it in his heart. I want to find that in my heart.
How about you? He says, and now, oh, Lord God,
thou art that God. Not just God and not a God, but
you're that God. You're that God who blesses us
freely in Christ. You're that God who is great
and reveals yourself through Christ. You're that God who spoke
and it's done. And he says, you're that God
and thy words be true. The Bible says, let God be true
in what? Every man a liar. Thy words be
true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant."
Verse 29, "'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.'" See how many times he says, you
said it, you revealed it, you spoke it? "'And with thy blessing
let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.'" You know
what the foundation of all his promises are? And remember this,
when you think about the Word of God, think of it like this.
I've told you this before. When you think about the Word
of God, Christ is the living Word of God. In beginning was
the Word. The Word was with God and the
Word was God. Christ is the living Word. Christ
is also the incarnate Word. John 1.14, the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. The scriptures are the written
word of God. And what do the scriptures testify
of? John 5.39, search the scriptures,
for in them you think you have eternal life, for they are they
which testify me, he said. So any preaching from this written
word, any study of this written word, if it doesn't lead you
to believe in and rest in Christ for all of salvation, all righteousness
and all forgiveness and all glory, you haven't understood it. You
haven't heard it. That's why he taught his disciples
out of Moses and the prophets and the law the things concerning
himself and concerning his death and what he should accomplish
for the salvation and redemption of his people. And then the preaching,
that's the uttered word. And so we preach, we who know
Christ, we preach from the written word and we preach from the written
word, the living word, the incarnate word, we preach Christ from this
word. And that's how we're assured
that what we're saying is true. Let God be true and every man
a liar. Okay.