Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them great and awesome things by driving out before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods? And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God. And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken. And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.” | 2 Samuel 7:18–29
In the sermon Sunday, I stopped at verse 17 of chapter 7, instead of continuing on to the end of the chapter. The final 12 verses of 2 Samuel 7 are a record of David’s response to God’s promise. In it, he acknowledges:
HUMILITY | Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?
David recognizes that God has blessed him time and time again, for no other reason than his own goodness.
GOD’S MIGHT | Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
All of the things that God does flow from His sovereign control. Seeing how He is working all things together, allows David to see His greatness.
GOD’S GRACE | And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people.
Much like David’s undeserved blessings, he sees in Israel’s history an unmerited favor from God.
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS | And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O LORD, became their God.
Over and over again through history, God has continued to fulfill His promise to Israel, from Abraham all the way up through David.
David takes these reflections and gives them back to God in praise. In humility, because of God’s might, grace, and faithfulness, David can have courage. God has spoken, and so David can be sure.
The same is true for us. There is so much in this world that we cannot know or be confident about. There are many things that feel out of control. Our eternal state and our relationship with God are not among them. We can have confidence that we will dwell eternally in the presence of our perfect king because he has said so and because he is the one who makes it happen. He builds the house and we get to live in it.