2 Samuel chapter 7. This is a very blessed chapter
in the life of King David and I felt the Lord directed us to
this chapter because it had an effect in David's heart and it
is a call to all of us for consideration of all the Lord has done in our
lives individually. We talk a good story, but I don't
think many realize that the evil of sinful depravity is far beyond
our comprehension. And I wonder if we don't secretly,
silently, and even subconsciously argue with the Lord to some degree
about the direction He has taken our lives and all the things
that's happened in our lives. We can all look back at at least
a handful of events that we wish never had happened. The Lord
don't wish they never had happened. They happened. This chapter begins
with the words, and it came to pass. Again, we're in 2 Samuel
7. And it came to pass. We find that line many times
in God's Word. It does not say it just so happened, as luck would have it, or wouldn't you know, but it
reads, it came to pass. It came to pass because of God's
decree. It was back yonder all the time
in the mind and purpose of God, but in His time it came to pass. And so it is in your life and
in my life. Verse 1 says, And it came to
pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given
him rest round about, from all his enemies." If you're familiar
with the life of David, this is the first time in his life
that he'd had rest from all his enemies. See the word, all, there
in verse 1? Not most of his enemies, but
rest from all his enemies. He still has enemies and will
have many more, but he has rest from them all. I fear that we live our lives
struggling to eliminate all our problems. We're brainwashed with
the religious lie that if you meet the conditions, you can
live a trouble-free life. but what we ought to be doing
instead of struggling to eliminate problems and fight our own battles
we're to trust God who had the first word in it before it came
to pass he was there and it came to pass in his time and he'll
have the last word in it as well also notice in this first verse
That this rest David enjoys is the Lord's doing. David never obtains it in himself,
by himself, but we read the Lord had given him rest. That's the
only way and the only time you'll ever truly have rest. The Lord
had given him rest. But now in a restful condition,
David is about to get religious. There's a big difference between
being spiritual, having a heart for the Lord, and certainly David
did. But there's a big difference
between being spiritual and being religious. David is about to
get religious. and decide, and I quote, to do
something for the Lord. You hear that a lot in the religious
world. Verse 2, the king, David, said
unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar,
but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. He's got 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, Go, do all
that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with thee. That's a temptation
that preachers have, is telling people what they want to hear.
And people are so sneaky, and you're not exempt as to word
your situations to where people will agree and will say what
you want them to say. But hey, Nathan was wrong. He's a good man. He's God's prophet. But he gets a little carried
away here and he tells David to go for it. The Lord is with
you. But the Lord has another message,
a different message for David. And verse 4 says, It came to
pass that night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan,
saying, Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt
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 asked anybody to build me 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 ruler
over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee, whether
so ever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out
of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, likened to 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 it is since the time that
I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused
thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that
he will make thee an house. The Lord says to 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, a
temple. But the Lord is talking about
building David a spiritual house. Now these next verses, beginning
in verse 12, are to be read with the understanding
that they are partly fulfilled in David's son Solomon, the next
king, but partly fulfilled in Christ hundreds of years yet
to come. Verse 12, And when thy days be
fulfilled, 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. That can be Solomon. Verse 13,
cannot be Solomon. He shall build in house for my
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Don't miss the forevers. Nebuchadnezzar
invaded Solomon's kingdom, but all the Nebuchadnezzars in history
have not been able to overthrow Christ's kingdom. It's established
forever. Verse 14, I will be his father
and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children
of men. That's Solomon. Christ could
not and did not commit iniquity. 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. It's not you and it's not me.
David died like all men, all Adam's children, and his sepulchre,
Luke said, is with us to this day. Solomon died and reigns
no more But Christ our Lord lived died rose again And he said I'm
alive Forevermore It's his kingdom and 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. In verse 14, there's an if concerning
Solomon. But in verses 13 through 16 where
you see these forevers, forevers, there's no if concerning Christ. It's a free grace promise to
David. And so that's my thought for
a little bit this morning. I trust you'll stay with me a
little while. I wish we had two hours to deal with this chapter.
We don't. But stay with me a few minutes
for this thought, the humbling effects free grace the humbling
effects of free grace Most people don't believe grace is free They
believe God will be good to you if you be good to him But this
Bible and and God's God's Word God's salvation God himself is
all about free grace So I want the zero in on just three statements
David makes in verse 18, the latter part of the verse, and
we see how God's grace has humbled him. In verse 18, the middle
of the verse, he says first this, Who am I? Oh Lord God. Me, a nobody. Lord, and as you said back in
verse 8, you took me from the sheep coat, following the sheep,
to be ruler over your people Israel. I was just a boy, didn't
know much about the outside world. I was obeying my father. I was
where I was supposed to be, doing what I was supposed to be doing.
taking care of my father's sheep. And you, Lord, came out there
and started doing business with me. I wasn't looking for you. But you came and started inspiring
me to meditate, to write, to sing,
to play music, to trust you, to worship you, to love you. You did that for me, Lord. I didn't do it for myself. I
can think back this morning over my life about all that's happened. Much pleasant and much painful. And all the people the Lord has
brought me to cross paths with, and all the people that's had
influence in my life, either for good or for bad. I've seen so many people come
and go through the years, seen so many go so many ways that
I haven't gone. But I promise you, I cannot pat
myself on the back for not having gone that same way I've seen
so many go. The Lord has sheltered me. He
has kept me. And to put it bluntly, He has
kept me from just being me. It's been Him in me. I, of all
people this morning, should be far more grateful than I am in
the light of how the Lord has dealt with me and cared for me.
I should be the most gracious, and most kind person on earth. And like David, I should ask
every day of my life, who am I? Oh Lord God, that You chose
me for Your own, to be Your child,
and You drew me to Yourself, and You put a new heart in me
to love You. Who am I? Who am I? This true
humility, it's the fruit of God's grace alone. And it has, in a
measure, gripped the heart of every saint of God and brought
us all, at least to some degree, to ask the question, Who am I,
O Lord God? We find this in all the great
saints through the Scriptures. Abraham, in pleading with the
Lord concerning Sodom, he saw God's greatness and he saw his
nothingness. And he said this, I am but dust
and ashes. What about that? This great man
said that. You'd rather say, well, I'll
tell you right now, I'm somebody. Abraham said, I am but dust and
ashes. What is dust and ashes worth?
Nothing. And he said, I'm nothing. Jacob,
on his way home after many years away, his heart is brought to
dwell on all the protection and the blessings of God. And he
said this, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. How long since you've said that?
How long since you've really believed that in your heart?
I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. Me, of all
people, who am I? What about Job near the end of
his trial? He saw God really for who He
is. And He saw Himself. And He testified of Himself.
And here's what He said, Behold, I am vile. Look at me, who thought
I was something. I'm nothing. Behold, I am vile. What about Simon Peter? Depart
from me. For I am a sinful man, O Lord. Why would you want anything to
do with a character like me? Who am I, O Lord God? What about the Apostle Paul?
For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good
thing, O wretched man that I am. Why me, Lord? Who am I, O Lord
God? What about John on the Isle of
Patmos? So humble, so overwhelmed with
the Lord's presence in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, 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 all Israel would ever
guess that he'd be king, but God had it all fixed. And that says it all, but God. That says it all in your life
and in my life, but God. I fear we're way too busy nowadays
claiming to run our own lives, solving some of our problems,
we say. and complaining about the rest,
and handling things we think the truth is we can't handle
anything. We ought to look back, even this
morning, as the old song says, remind me, dear Lord, show me
where you brought me from and what I could have been. And if
left to myself, I would have been. Who am I? Oh Lord God. The second statement,
verse 18, look at the next statement. David says, and what is my house? He starts to think about his
family. What a mess it is. He was a great king. He was a
great Christian. But he wasn't the greatest family
man. David wasn't. And he looked, what a mess I've
made of it. What an awful bunch my house
is. Many of us here this morning
can have thoughts along that line. David had one son, Adonijah. He is so sneaky. He is so untrustworthy. After David's death, Solomon
has him killed. Another son, Amnon, which means
unclean, filthy, obscene, he raped his sister. And two years
later, another son, Absalom, kills him for it. And then there's Absalom, revolted
against his father David, drove him from the throne. He's
a disobedient rebel, he's disloyal, and he winds up hanged by his
hair in an oak tree. Solomon, another son, the king, In all
his wisdom, left to himself, proved foolish indeed. David
knows these children of his. And his question to the Lord
is a big one. What is my house? There's not
one of us, me or my youngest, that's worth anything. We're
an awful bunch. We all deserve to die and perish
in our sins. But you, Lord, verse 19, he says,
have spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come. This morning, don't you know,
we all ought to perish miserably in our sins before sundown this
evening. But like David, You've spoken
of my house for a long time to come, a great while to come. Who am I, O Lord God, and what
is my house? The third statement at the end
of verse 18, that thou hast brought me hitherto. It is God's free and sovereign
grace that's brought me hitherto, that is to this present moment. If you folks only knew all the
religious garbage that has entered these ears in the last 53 years, it's a miracle of God That I'm
not the biggest nutcase on earth. And I guess some of you think
I am, anyway. But I've heard some stuff, buddy. Some wild
stuff. Some crazy stuff. That backs
God in a corner. And lets us tell Him what to
do. No, no. Thank God for His free and sovereign
grace. that has brought me beyond all
that. He's brought me hitherto to this present moment. David is saying, I don't deserve
all the blessings of God I enjoy. I don't deserve the measure of
respect and honor that I have in this life. He's saying, God knows me. You
don't. and His grace continues to flow
in my life like a river, and no one can stop it. Hell can't
stop it. Oh, they can spew and fume and
fuss and cuss, but they can't stop it. David
says, not only am I not worthy, Lord, but look at my sons. I can imagine
the Lord saying to David, It's not your sons I'm looking at.
It's my son I'm looking at. And 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. And he's saying, I don't understand. I don't understand why. Why it is that thou hast brought
me hitherto. Why, Lord, have you put up with
me 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 from eternity
past in God's election, formed in his mother's womb in God's
time. David sees that his life and
his being was no afterthought with God. You need to see that. He said in Psalm 139, my substance
was not hid from thee, 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. You knew all about me before
there was any part of me existed. I fed upon my mother's breast.
You followed me, Lord, into the sheep coat. I was fetched to
be anointed. Samuel said, Call him in. And
the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, anoint him, for this is he. He's the one, little David. And David says, Then, Lord, You
forwarded me to the throne. I couldn't do it. You did it.
2 Samuel chapter 5, So all the
elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron. And 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 he
began to reign, and he reigned Forty years. So David was favored
from eternity. He was formed in his mother's
womb. He was fed upon his mother's breast. He was followed by the
Lord into the sheep coat. He was fetched to be anointed
all in order that his son might be fixed upon the throne. Not his immediate son, Solomon.
That happened, yes. But Christ. the greater David. Luke 1, 32 and 33, And, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou
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. Now the dispensationalists
in our day and time, they want to put that way out yonder somewhere
that Christ is going to inherit the throne of David. Someday
Christ is going to reign. But wait a minute. Where was
the throne of David? David was a people's man, a warrior. He's not a couch potato. He's
out there 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. They
loved him. They honored him. They fought
for him. They died for him. And that's
the very throne Christ inherited. He reigns in the hearts of His
people and He reigns there right now. He who created this earth
with all the gold and silver buried in it, what glory would
it be for Him to have somebody dig up a little of it and build
Him a palace over yonder in Jerusalem? He
is already seated in the hearts of that Jerusalem which is from
above. His church, His elect people, our King Jesus is not
a couch potato waiting on you to get religious enough and spiritual
enough to get close to Him. No, no. He is with you in your
sorrow and in your suffering. That thing that's troubling you
today, that thing that's tearing your heart out, it's Christ in you, the hope
of glory. He'll be with you in the morning
on that job. He'll be with you in that broken relationship He'll be with you in that conflict
in the family. He'll be with you that have no
one but Him. He'll be with you in the loneliness
of that house you live in. He's with you in the bondage
of that habit you can't break, but He can. He's bigger than
any problem you have. He's with you in it all. Don't waste your time looking
for God out yonder somewhere. He sits on His throne, the hearts
of His people. And to think this morning, His
love and His patience with you and with me all these years,
even to hitherto, to this present moment, Oh, 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 sorry
bunch. that thou hast brought me hitherto. Is it coincidence that it is
so happened? No, it's God's free and sovereign
grace that chose before He hung the stars to make you His child. And so our prayer ought to be,
Lord, help us not to take anything for granted. And know that it's your love
that's done all this for us, your blessings upon us that's
made us who we are, what we are, and where we are, and that has
put us in the situations we're in. Help us, Lord, to respond to you in gratefulness,
in obedience and to cooperate with you and
not fight against you in the things you've decreed
for us. Thank God for the humbling effects
of free grace.