We need no more to make us happy than to have God for a Father to us.
If He is our Father,
we must be dutiful children,
or expect His chastisements,
which are an article of the covenant and which flow from His father-love.
II Samuel 1
1 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;
2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains.
3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
4 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying,
5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in?
6 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.
7 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?
8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:
9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
10 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 beforetime,
11 And as 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.
12 ¶ And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
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:
15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
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?
19 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?
20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.
21 For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them.
22 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.
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, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods?
24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.
25 And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said.
26 And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee.
27 For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.
28 And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:
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: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.
II Samuel 1 – J. Vernon McGee
2 Samuel 7:1-17 – The Glorious Future of David’s House
Always do better for the cause of God than for yourself. You have no right to dwell in cedar, while God’s Ark is under curtains. Also, beware of giving directions or advice, unless you have first consulted God. You may be as good as Nathan, but, if you speak apart from the divine Spirit, you will probably be compelled, on the following morning, to eat your words.
David’s intention was good, but neither was he the man nor was that the time for temple-building. See I Chronicles 22:8. The sword could not yet be exchanged for the trowel, but in the meantime the will was accepted in lieu of the act. It was then God’s turn to pour out a perfect avalanche of blessing, which must have made David forget those weary years of waiting and wandering. Do not be anxious about the future. Use your life and all its resources for God, and he will care for you. No tongue can exaggerate the goodness and mercy which God lays up for them that trust in Him before the sons of men. And it is because He loves that He does not hesitate to chasten.
2 Samuel 7:18-29 – David’s Humble and Grateful Prayer
The promise made through Nathan was threefold: (1) that David’s house should reign forever; (2) that his seed should build the Temple; (3) that the kingdom of Israel should be made sure. These glowing words were fulfilled in shadow in the literal story of Judah, but in substance in Him whom David foresaw, Acts 2:30. There is only One whose reign is permanent, whose kingdom is without end, and who can bring rest to the hearts of men, Zechariah 6:12.
Take time to sit before God. It is good to kneel or stand; but have moments of reverie, when you shall expose the sensitive plate of your soul to receive His imprint. It is good for us all to take up God’s holy words of promise and turn them back on Himself, saying, “Do as thou hast said” (2 Samuel 7:25). Learn to put your finger on this or the other promise, turning each check into the cash of its daily use for daily thanksgiving. There is no exercise in which mortal man can engage, more strengthening, more prolific of good, more glorifying to God.
2 Samuel 7:25—Do as Thou hast said.
Our Daily Homily – Our Daily Homily – Vol. 2: I Samuel to Job. This is the voice of a childlike faith.
Note what led to these words. Nathan had just unfolded to the king all the purposes of God’s heart towards him. That He would establish his throne, deliver him from his enemies, and set up his dynasty to succeed him this and much else. David’s heart was full of joy and gladness he knew that God would not run back from his word; but he felt none the less the duty of claiming the fulfillments of these guarantees. So it is with all the promises of God; though they are Yea and Amen in Christ, it is requisite for us to put our hand on them; plead them before God; and claim their fulfillment with appropriating faith.
Notice the attitude in which David uttered these words. (2 Samuel 7:18) He “sat before the LORD.” Was not this the position of rest and trust? On another occasion, he lay all night upon the earth (2 Samuel 12:16), in an agony of prayer, because not sure of God’s purpose, and hoping to turn God by the extremity of his anguish. But there is a marvelous alteration in the tone of our prayer, so soon as we can base it on the declared purposes of God. We enter into his rest; we put ourselves in the current of his purposes; we sit before the Lord.
Mark the blessedness of communion with God. It is as a man talks with his friend. We are not retired always to kneel when we pray, or to con over a certain form of words; we can sit and talk with God, catching up his words as they fall on our hearts, and reflecting them back on Him in praise, and prayer, and happy converse. All true prayer originates in the declarations of God’s love, to each of which we answer, Do as thou hast said.