2 Samuel chapter 7, and last week
we looked at the first 17 verses in this chapter. Tonight I want
us to begin in verse 18 and go through verse 21. 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. I know that we're all aware that
God's word warns believers against many sins, sins that all of God's
children we must guard against. And one of those sins is pride. pride. I was just thinking in
that sixth chapter of Proverbs where the scripture says, six
things that the Lord hate, A7, the first one mentioned is a
proud look. Have you ever noticed that both
the Apostle James and the Apostle Peter wrote the same thing about
pride? In their epistles, they wrote
the same thing about pride. James, in chapter 4 and verse
6 of his letter, said, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to
the humble. And then Peter, in 1 Peter 5
and verse 5, he said the same thing, for God resisteth the
proud and giveth grace to the humble. The opposite of pride
is humility. And not only did both James and
Peter warn believers, and that's who those letters were written
to, they were not written to unbelievers, they were written
to believers. And believers are warned against
pride. But not only do both of those
letters, both of those apostles warn us against pride, for God
resisteth the proud, But they both also say that we are to
humble ourselves. Humble ourselves. James said,
humble thyself in the sight of God. And Peter wrote, under thyself,
under the mighty hand of God. Keep your places here, but turn
with me to Isaiah just a moment. Isaiah chapter 66. We'll read the first two verses
here in Isaiah chapter 66. Thus saith the Lord, the heaven
is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house
that you build unto me? And where is the place of my
rest? For all those things hath mine
hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. But
to this man will I look. even to him that is poor and
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." Humility, the opposite
of pride. The first one of the Beatitudes
in the Sermon on the Mount, you know, is blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now in these
verses that we read here in 2 Samuel chapter 7, I believe that we
may see an example of a believer humbling himself under the mighty
hand of God, a believer humbling himself in the sight of God. And that's the way I want us
to look at these verses tonight. There are five things that I'll
point out in these four verses. First of all, Notice in verse
18, 2 Samuel 7, again in verse 18, David went before the Lord. Now, last week, we saw in verse
1 that David was sitting in his house. Remember? David was sitting
in his house. And I pointed out to us that
his house was a king's house. We can imagine what kind of a
house a king would have, and his house, which was a king's
house, was built by a king. So we can just imagine what kind
of a house, a mansion, it must have been. But tonight, we see
now, he goes in and sets, the scripture says, before the Lord. Now, obviously, this means that
he went into a tent. Because that's where the Ark
of the Covenant was. It was in the tent that he had
pitched there in Jerusalem, behind curtains, he said. So first of all, think of that
as a means of humbling oneself. He goes from a mansion to a tent. Goes from a mansion to a tent. Now some of the commentators,
they do not believe that we are to understand this verse, verse
one, verse 18, rather, as telling us of David's bodily position. That is, when we read here that
David sat before the Lord. Matthew Henry, in his comments,
would have us to understand this to mean not his bodily position. We're not to think of him sitting
there. You know, when you come before a king, you don't sit
in his presence. You stand or you kneel. And Matthew
Henry said we should understand this, not of his bodily position,
but the time he spent. In other words, he comes before
the Lord, the Ark of the Covenant, and he begins to meditate. He's
not in a hurry. But he's there to meditate and
think about what he had just heard, the message which he had
just been given by the prophet, Nathan. You know, the scriptures
point out, usually, that men, when they're praying or worshiping,
are either kneeling or standing, but not sitting. In the New Testament, we read
of the Lord Jesus Christ praying on his knees, praying standing,
and praying falling on the ground. We'll also read of Peter and
Paul. When they prayed in the book
of Acts, they kneeled. They kneeled as they prayed. John Gill did point out there
is one example in the scripture of a man who was sitting while
he prayed and that was Moses. When he was sitting on that rock
and Ben was on one side and her was on the other side holding
his hands up. But that's the only time that
we read of a person sitting when they're praying. And especially
in the presence of a king, a magistrate like this. I remember reading
in John Bunyan's life when he was first converted, this was
of course before he had written any of his works, but the pastor
he had was dying and he was in his bed and members of the church
would go there and visit him and they would kneel at his bedside
and pray. You know, kneeling down, you
have a tendency maybe to go to sleep. And that pastor, John
Bunyan, said he wouldn't let them get off their knees. He'd shake them or something,
you know. But I just point that out. The main thing is that David
got alone, got alone in the presence of God. We're talking about a
person humbling himself. You know, Our Lord said this
about prayer. He said, when you pray, enter
into thy closet and shut the door. And that doesn't mean that
we do not pray in public and pray in other places, even pray
in silence on your job or wherever you might be. I'm not saying
that. But there needs to be a time
when we get along with the Lord, when we're before him. and we
are meditating and thinking about who it is that we are speaking
with, who it is that we are praying to. And I believe that's the
first thing we see here in this passage, David went before the
Lord. A second thing, also in verse
18, David acknowledged his unworthiness. Who am I, O Lord God? What is
my house that thou hast brought me hither to? He acknowledged
his unworthiness. And this is not false humility. I don't see that at all. This
is not false humility. You know, some people, they just
try to show how humble they are. And you say, I agree with you. And they get mad at you. You
understand what I mean? They tell you how humble they
are. and how undeserving they are, and you say, that's true,
I agree with you. They don't take that so well.
No, that's false humility, isn't it? No, David, when he asked
these two questions, who am I, oh Lord God? And what is my house
that thou hast brought me hither to? It wasn't false humility.
But this, what this is, is always produced by God's sovereign grace. People who do not understand
God's sovereign grace, they think because we believe the truth
about God's sovereign election, that God has chosen his people,
that we must be very proud people. Nothing could be further from
the truth when a person truly comes to understand God's sovereign
election. Nothing will humble a person
like the sovereign grace of God. Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, O Lord? It was not false humility. It
was the product of God's grace in David's life. When David When
Saul, rather, would give David, we've read about this in studies
before in 1 Samuel, but when Saul wanted to give David, one
of his daughters, to be David's wife, you remember, David was
humble then. He was humble then to think that
he would be the son-in-law to a king. In fact, he asked that
question, you know. Look there in 1 Samuel chapter
18, back a few pages. 1 Samuel chapter 18 and verse 23. And Saul's servants spake those
words in the ears of David, and David said, Seemeth it to you
a light thing to be a king's son-in-law? Seem that I am a poor man and
lightly astained? But this He was an humble man
there, but this humility is something even greater because this is
something that is produced in him considering the grace of
God to him. After hearing what Nathan told
him, the message that Nathan brought to him, the Lord had
reminded him. If you look back in 2 Samuel
7 and verse 8, the Lord in that message, that God sent to him
through the prophet Nathan, God reminded him that he had taken
him from the sheep coat. The sheep coat, a keeper of sheep,
a shepherd. God had taken him from the sheep
coat, just think of That is not a real high position by any means,
a lowly position. And now God has made him king. He's king over Israel. He's king
over God's people. David knew that was so. And from
what we've read of David's life so far, he had been a great help
to this nation. Remember when he came upon the
scene, he took some food out to his brothers who were in the
army of Saul. And we see the army of Israel
and the army of the Philistines on either side of the valley,
and there's that giant Goliath. And no one, no one in the army
of Israel would go out against that giant, but David did. He did. Yes, we might think he
was someone. He had been valuable to his nation,
but yet he asked, who am I? Who am I? And then also he asked
that question, what is my house? Now, you know, You know the genealogy
well enough to know that he was of that royal tribe. Remember when Jacob prophesied
over his 12 children when he came to Judah, he mentioned the
fact that from Judah would come the lawgiver. In other words,
the king and the Lord Jesus Christ came of the tribe of Judah, didn't
he? David was of that tribe. And then you read the book of
Ruth and you find out about Boaz and the others that are mentioned
there. When he says, what is my house? We might think, and
rightly so. He was descended from a great
house, from the royal tribe. But yet, notice now, he's before
the Lord. You see, before men, if he was
just setting before men, What we know that he had done in leading
the armies of Israel and defeating the giant, he was someone. Yes,
comparatively speaking, he was from a great tribe, yes, but
not before the Lord. Not before the Lord. Think about
these examples. Everyone's familiar with Isaiah
chapter six when Isaiah, we read there in the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up and his train filled
the temple and the seraphims there crying, holy, holy, holy.
What was the effect on Isaiah? Was he proud? Did that produce
pride? I'm somebody, I've had a vision
here. Nobody else that I read about
had a vision like this. It didn't, did it? No. I am a
man of unclean lips and dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips. In fact, it's been pointed out,
hasn't it? You start reading Isaiah chapter
1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, and I think in
every one of those chapters, maybe you find the prophet saying,
woe is you. Woe is you. But when he sees
the Lord, it's no longer woe is you, it's woe is me. And another example, when Abraham
was in the presence of God, that's when he confessed himself, now
listen, the father of the faithful, the father of all God's children,
he confessed himself to be what? Nothing but dust and ashes. And then look with me at this
example in Job, Job chapter 42. These are his words in this last
chapter, Job 42. Verses five and six, he confessed
unto God, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but
now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor myself and
repent in dust and ashes. So first of all, David went before
the Lord, and then second, David confessed his unworthiness. Now the third thing I point out
to us is David recognized the goodness and the greatness of
God in verse 19. He said, 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? Thou hast brought me hither to. In verse 19. thou hast brought me, the end
of verse 18 rather, thou hast brought me hither to. He recognized
that the Lord had brought him to the throne as great as this
was. Now here, think about it, as
great as that was, and that was great, that was great. Taking
him from the sheep, sheep coat from following the youths to
being the king upon the throne of Israel, that was great. But
David saw that, in comparison to what God told him as a small
thing, a small thing. Why was it so small? Because
as David said, you have spoken of my house for a great while
to come. Let's read that again, verse
19. And this was yet a small thing in thy sight. thou hast
brought me hitherto to the throne, 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. In comparison, that
was a small thing in comparison to what God told him that his
son would reign upon the throne of Judah for a long time And
then, of course, his greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that
he would set upon his throne, and of his kingdom there would
be no end. We read about that in Luke, when
the angel announced to Mary that she was going to have a son.
And he shall set upon the throne of his father David, and of his
kingdom there will be no end. You see the comparison there
from raising him up to the throne? But then speaking of the fact
that his house, one of his sons, would be the Lord God Almighty
who would come in the fullness of the time. And they asked this
question, is this the manner of man? Is this the way men do
things? And of course it's a question
that demands the answer no. Is this a manner of men to take
someone who is so far beneath them and so unworthy and to raise
them up and to give them everything that David sees that the Lord
had given him? Is that the way men do? And we
know the answer, as I said, is no, that's not the way men do. And I thought about several of
the Proverbs. And I'll just read this one,
but this is the manner of men, what we're going to read here
in the book. This is the manner of men. The poor is hated even
of his own neighbor. Man's poor, people don't want
to associate with him. No, they're afraid he'll drag
them down. No, that's the manner of men. The poor is hated even of his
own neighbor. But, now, here's the contract. But the rich, the rich, he hath
many friends. That's the manner of men, isn't
it? The rich have many friends. Why? Because of their riches. And the poor are hated of their
neighbors. That's the manner of men. Why?
Because they're poor. And there's nothing that they
can receive from them. That's not the manner of God.
God takes the poor. God takes the unworthy and raises
us up, doesn't he? And makes us kings and priests
under our God. Here's the fourth thing. In verse
20, David could say no more. And what can David say more unto
thee? What else can I say? What else
can I say? Lord, I know this is all of grace. It's all of grace. What more
can I say? Lord, you know me. For thou,
Lord, God, knowest thy servant. You know all about me. You know
my thoughts. We'd be ashamed, all of us here
tonight, we'd be ashamed if our thoughts, thoughts that we've
had Maybe even today we're somehow projected behind us on a screen
or something. All of us would be, we have thoughts
and God knows us. That's what David is saying.
God, Lord, you know me. You know what I am. Other men
may not know me. I mean, it's easy to fool other
men, isn't it? Put on a front or something like
that. But God, you know me. You know
me. You know how sinful I am, how
evil I am. What more can I say? What more
can I say? I have to just say it's all of
grace. It's all of grace. Listen to
his words in Psalm 116, verses 12 and 13. What shall I render
unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? You ever thought about
that? You've received his salvation,
if you're here tonight and you know him as your Lord and Savior.
You've received many blessings, loaded you down. The scripture
says every day he loads us with benefits, doesn't it? Just like
Joseph loaded his brethren down with all kinds of things when
they went to fetch their father. God, every day, loaded us down
with benefits and blessings. What shall I render unto the
Lord for all His benefits toward me? And I've looked at this answer,
and I believe this is the right answer. I will take the cup of
salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. I'll accept
it. I'll receive it. I'll believe
it. Unworthy? Absolutely. What more can I say? Sometimes,
and you know this is true, people say, well, why would God choose
me? You'll never find an answer,
and if you do, there's something wrong. That's pride, isn't it? You'll never find an answer as
to why God would choose you, why he'd give his son to die
for you, why he'd shed his blood to wash away your sins. What
more can we say? Well, the psalmist said, I will
take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord.
I'll just take it. It's free. It's free. Paul asked these questions in
1 Corinthians 4, for who maketh thee to differ from another?
And what hast thou that thou hast not received? Now the last
thing, the fifth thing, David knew that the blessings were
for Christ's sake. Notice that in verse 21. For
thy word's sake. Not the written word, but the
living word. For Christ's sake. For Christ's
sake. And according to thine own heart
hast thou done all these great things to make thy servant know
them. For Christ's sake. He is blessed,
David was blessed, and you are blessed tonight if you know Christ
as your Lord and Savior for one reason, for Christ's sake. Not for good that we have done,
no. But as that scripture says in
Ephesians 4, you know this verse, but let me turn and read it.
Ephesians 4 and verse 32. I believe your mother used to
quote this verse to you when you and your siblings would get
in an argument or something going on. And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. Why am I forgiven? Why are you
forgiven? Why is anyone forgiven? For Christ's
sake. For Christ's sake. And only for
Christ's sake. I pray the Lord would bless these
thoughts to us tonight and help us to walk humbly before our
God.