2 Samuel 7:18-29

An Attitude of Gratitude

Previously we saw the promises of God to David that the Lord Himself would raise up through David’s own son a kingship that would have no end. This king would not be like earthly kings who rise up, fall, and die. This King would take upon Himself the fall, die, and rise up from the grave.

And in that, David hears these promises of God and reflects upon them. David’s attitude is to go into the presence of the Lord in adoration and praise for these blessings. Prayer is both a duty and privilege of the Christian.

“Prayer,” says Thomas Watson, “is the soul’s breathing itself into the bosom of its heavenly father.” The sweet heavenly communion with God the Father comes by means of prayer. Circumstances do not prevent us from diligently prayer to the Lord. We are to “pray without ceasing” and to be joyful in every circumstance.

Glorify God in prayer.

Praising God’s Plan (vv. 18-21)

Pondering God’s People (vv. 22-24)

Praying God’s Promises (vv. 25-29)

[1] Praising God’s Plan (vv. 18-21)

Do you pray? We often try to model our lives after people in the Bible who were great warriors, like Joshua and David. Or who were great orators, like Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Or great godly examples, like Ruth and Esther. But do we model our lives based upon the prayer life of these saints?

As John Flavel writes, “That which begins not with prayer, seldom winds up with comfort.” David was a man of prayer. And so we see David praising God’s plan by a proper posture of prayer.

1.1 The proper posture of prayer (v. 18)

2 Samuel 7:18“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?”

When we come to the Lord in prayer, do we direct it toward our needs and wants right away? Or are we recognizing who we are in light of a holy God? David has the right mindset in view as he begins to pray to the Lord in light of what Nathan had prophesied.

David’s words are fitting, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house.” When we think about the idea of coming to the Lord in general, who are we? We see David’s recognition of who he when coming humbly before the throne of grace.

This is the common theme of those who humble themselves before the Lord. We see it in the life of Jacob in Genesis 32:10“I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.”

Also, in Moses as well in Exodus 3:11“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?””

In the same way, Isaiah recognizes the holiness of God in light of his own sin, Isaiah 6:5“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””

Even Paul, in Ephesians 3:8“To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,”

David, Paul, Moses, Isaiah, and Jacob understood their rightful place before a holy God, one who deserves judgment, who cannot even bear the presence of the Lord. Yet what does he do, he reaches down to sinful humanity and appoints his elect to bear the cross of Christ, to endure sufferings and persecutions, to proclaim the Good News, and He does it all for His own Glory.

We see a proper posture of prayer when we recognize that God is sovereign. God rules and reigns. God is the one who created all things. Nothing came into existence apart from him. This is why when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we recognize God for who he is, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” God is sovereign. We come to a proper posture of prayer only when we realize that first major element.

To come to the proper posture of prayer, we need a new heart. Hence David can proclaim, Psalm 51:10“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Likewise, David was completely humbled that someone like him, a sinner, one whom God knew would commit a terrible sin against Uriah, yet still God promised an eternal household.

David likewise invokes the totality of God in his nature, being, and great works. By praying “Lord God” he is invoking the covenantal name of the Lord, YHWH, and also the God of Genesis 1 who created all things. David’s own prayer is saturated with this formula.

And David’s own prayer reflects upon the variety of graces the Lord has given him in his own life. The Lord Himself called David out of his father’s household. We see David praising God’s plan by a proper posture of prayer and also a proper perception of prayer.

1.2 A proper perception of prayer (v. 19)

2 Samuel 7:19“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!”

Often our perception of God’s glorious grace can be muddied up. We typically perceive the surrounding circumstances of our lives in a “woe is me” mentality rather than a recognition that God works together all things for good. Likewise, David’s perception on the promised grace of God is an extension of his godly posture.

David is elaborating upon the promises of the Davidic covenant as given in 2 Samuel 7.1-17. Again, God promised a “house” or “dynasty” that would be forever. Although the kingship would begin to crumble with Solomon and his many wives, the Kingship would be everlasting through Jesus Christ, the King of kings.

David declares that God has spoken. We see this formula littered throughout the New Testament as verification that God has definitively spoken and brought it to come to pass. Likewise, David’s proper perception is that if God speaks it, then it comes to pass.

We likewise need to remember that all of the promises of God found in the Scriptures are yes and amen. The objective strengthens the subjective. Meaning, the objective truth found in Scripture bolsters our personal, subjective feelings when we doubt, stray, have anxiety, depression, and so on. A proper perception is grounded in who we are in light of God’s holiness, and how glorious He is, and all that He himself has accomplished.

The very thing God has spoken David says, “this is instruction for mankind.” Instruction comes from the Hebrew word, Torah, which is the teaching or direction which almost always comes from God. The Torah David has in mind is the divine directive to bring about this promise.

Walter Kaiser summarizes thusly, “We call this torah a ‘charter’ because it is the plan and prescription for God’s kingdom whereby the whole world shall be blessed.… It is a grant conferring powers, rights, and privileges to David and his seed for the benefit of all mankind.” (Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Samuel, 100).

As David is sitting coram Deo, before the presence of God, face-to-face, David is giving us, through prayer, a shadow of Jesus Christ to come. Jesus Himself would be the Torah incarnate, if you will. Jesus Himself would provide instruction and teaching to His own people. And the benefits of redemption would not come to Israel only, but to the entire world. All of mankind would benefit greatly from Christ.

We see David praising God’s plan by a proper posture of prayer, a proper perception of prayer and a proper proclamation of providence.

1.3 A proper proclamation of providence (vv. 20-21)

2 Samuel 7:20–21“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.”

The providence of God is the greatest comfort for weary souls, baby Christians, and theologically mature saints. God’s providence is beautiful to behold. God’s works of providence are his most holy wise and powerful preserving and governing of all his creatures and all of their actions.

David recognizes that God is providential in the affairs of human life because God knows His own. To know, is to be intimately acquainted with another. And here, as elsewhere, it is a reference to GOd’s sovereign election. Not only is God all-knowing, or omniscient, in knowing David. But God is all-loving and eternal, having predestined His servant to everlasting life.

Not only has God been the one who called David and who likewise calls His own, but God is the one who has seen it through. David exclaims, “Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.”

God’s promises are everlasting. Numbers 23:19 “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

Psalm 115:1“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”

Psalm 138:2“I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

Matthew 24:35“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Are you one who is praising God’s plan? God’s plan comes to pass. God is the one who brings it to come to pass. Are you leaning upon this? Are you gleaning from the truths of His inerrant word? Glorify God in prayer by Praising God’s Plan (vv. 18-21) and secondly, (2) Pondering God’s People (vv. 22-24)

[2] Pondering God’s People (vv. 22-24)

2 Samuel 7:22–24“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.”

When we pray, we are not merely praying for our own benefit, but should be praying for the benefit of others. Here, David is also calling upon the character and attributes of the Lord God in praying on behalf of His own people. Like Jesus, we see David acting as a mediator.

As with the first main point, we have David starting off this second part of his prayer by praising God.

Hence, we can proclaim with the Psalmist,

Psalm 48:1“Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain,” ;

Psalm 86:10“For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.”

Psalm 96:4“For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.”

Psalm 135:5“For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.”

Psalm 145:3“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.” res the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.”

How beautiful is it when we exalt our God! All of your prayers can start in this manner. God is worthy to be praised because He is a God who acts and works.

Just as David was chosen because there was nothing inherently special or peculiar about him, so also were the people of Israel chosen. And in the same way, you were likewise chosen by God.

These promises extend to believers in the present age as well. God has not forgotten His people. John 1:12“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”

Romans 9:25–26“As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ””

1 Peter 2:10 “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

These great redemptive benefits proclaimed several thousand years ago come to bear on our current condition as those who are in Christ, who share in the unbreakable union with Christ.

This prayer of David is something we also look forward to. When we ponder God’s people and the everlasting kingdom that is to come, it gives us great joy and hope amidst our afflictions. With eternity in mind, we can conquer all of the troubles of life. Hence, we look forward to this very hope in Revelation 21:3“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

There, in that place, God will once again dwell with his people. The fullness of God’s promises will be seen. Our faith shall be sight. What glorious promises of God do we have to look forward to.

Glorify God in prayer by Praising God’s Plan (vv. 18-21), (2) Pondering God’s People (vv. 22-24), and finally, (3) Praying God’s Promises (vv. 25-29)

[3] Praying God’s Promises (vv. 25-29)

Jesus tells us to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” The best prayers are in accordance with God’s own promises. In that David, can proclaim the principle truths of God’s promises toward his people through prayer.

3.1 An eternity-minded element of prayer (v. 25)

2 Samuel 7:25“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.”

David’s prayer has the eternal nature of God’s decrees in mind. He is asking that the Lord confirm for everlasting unto everlasting the Davidic covenant, the very promises God will bring to pass through David’s seed. This we see in Matthew 1:1“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Jesus Himself is the promised King.

Likewise, Jesus gives us the very words to pray, as we have looked at earlier. The preface of the Lord’s prayer is that which has eternity in mind. Matthew 6:9–10“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Do you pray with eternity in mind, brothers and sisters? Do you realize that when you align your hearts and affections with the will of God He will bring what you need to come to pass. Often, it does not appear in ways we wish it to, but David prays that “the word that you have spoken” would be confirmed forever.

A prayer with eternity in mind is a prayer with the promises of God in mind.

3.2 A promise-filled element of prayer (vv. 26-27)

2 Samuel 7:26–27“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.”

David’s prayer was grounded in the scriptural promises of God. As Richard Phillips writes, “The principle is widely observed that without a promise from God, we do not have a prayer to offer him. But when we pray in accordance with God’s Word, asking the Lord to do nothing less than what he has graciously promised to us, we may be as bold as David in presenting our requests: “Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you” (v. 27).” Phillips, 2 Samuel, 162).

And these promises are grounded again in the very words of Jesus Christ. Jesus hears and heeds our prayers. John 16:23“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”

3.3 A faith-filled element of prayer (vv. 28-29)

2 Samuel 7:28–29“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.””

All that David prays is completely in line with the revelation that God gave through the prophet Nathan. But if you think about it, David could not see this come to pass, nor would he actually live long enough to see it. But what did David do? He rested upon the promises of God.

He demonstrates a faithful response. You are God, he says. Identifying the fullness of who God is, a covenant God, a promising God, a faithful God, a true God. Likewise, David identifies that God’s words are true. We see this expressed by Moses in Numbers 23:19“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

So also do we see it in the prayer of Jesus on behalf of His people in the High Priestly Prayer, John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Paul as well gives us clarity on these truths. Titus 1:2“in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”

We need not think for one moment that God’s promises that He will save us, that He will preserve us, that He will sanctify us, that He will glorify us, would not come to pass. Indeed, He promises all these things to those whom He has effectually called.

There is great joy when we come to the presence of God in prayer. David is a living, active demonstration of this very fact. We do not have to be joyful when we pray. We do not have to be elated with joy and happiness. Rather, we receive joy when we come to the Lord in prayer.

We have joy because of what God has accomplished for us. Romans 8:17“and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Joy in prayer is because of what God has done. As Thomas Watson writes, “Who should be cheerful, if not the people of God? They are no sooner born of the Spirit, but they are heirs to a crown.”

Can you like David faithfully rely upon the Lord and His goodness? Do you realize that the God who saved you, who bought you with a price, is the one who is actively working in your lives and hearts? What greater privilege than to come into the presence of the Lord daily, entering into the throne of grace, knowing that through the power of the Spirit, the power of the Mediator Jesus Christ, and through the power of God, He is bringing all things to come to pass and for the benefit of those whom He loves.