2 Samuel 7:18-29
Matthew Henry, the famous Bible expositor, was
once accosted by thieves and robbed of his
pocketbook.
He wrote these lines in his diary:
Let me be thankful,
first, because I was never robbed before;
second, because, although they took my purse,
they did not take my life;
third, because, although they took my all, it was
not much; and
fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who
robbed.
There’s always something to thank God for.
In the first 17 verses of 2 Samuel 7 we read of David’s
desire to build a temple for the Lord. God told David no
you can’t build it for me, but your son will build it.
God also promised David that he would make his name
great and that He would make him a house and establish
his kingdom.
Our text for this Sunday before Thanksgiving is the
second half of 2 Samuel 7. It’s David’s prayer of
thanksgiving to God.
2 Samuel 7:18-24
After God told David that he could not build the temple,
David went into the tent and sat before the Lord and
asked Him some questions. These questions show us
David’s humility.
The Humility of David’s Prayer
David realized that God could have chosen anyone but he
chose David to rule over all Israel.
Who am I, O Lord God
This should be the prayer of every believer. None of us
deserved or earned God’s mercy and grace, yet He freely
gives it.
Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still weak, at the
right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person – though
perhaps for a good person one would dare even to
die – but God shows his love for us in that while we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
David realized that he is not worthy of God’s love, but
God shows it anyway.
And that is something we should be thankful for all year
long.
David continues by asking God about his house.
And what is my house, that you have brought me thus
far?
David remembers God’s faithfulness while Saul was
desperately trying to kill him.
David remembers what God told him about his house.
Earlier in chapter 7 God promised to make David a
house.
Not a physical one, but to give him a kingdom forever.
David realized God’s power and that what God has done
for him already is a small thing to God.
He realized that God has made a promise and that God
will certainly keep His promise.
And what more can David say to you?
He’s speechless.
Humbled in God’s presence even after God told him no.
How long has it been since you sat before the Lord
absolutely overwhelmed with God’s goodness,
especially when God has just said no to us about
something? Wayne Barber
It’s this humble attitude of thanksgiving that we should
emulate every day.
We must remember that God is good and nothing that
He does can change that. Even if he does
something that we don’t like or agree with or
understand.
God is always working things for His glory.
It’s important to point out that three times in verses
18-21 David refers to himself as God’s servant.
It’s another display of humility.
David is offering a humble prayer of thanksgiving to God
for all the great things He has done for him.
David transitions his prayer from what God has done to
how Great God is.
The Greatness of God
David says – Therefore you are great, O Lord God
When we think of all God has done it should remind us of
how great God is.
What has God done in your life that you are thankful for?
David says – There is none like you.
Reminds me of the song with the same name
There is none like You,
“No one else can touch my heart like You do,
I can search for all eternity Lord
And find, there is none like You.
David says – There is no God besides you
This is a reminder of Moses’ words in
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the
Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might.”
David understands that God is the only God and nothing
else is worthy of worship.
David asks – Who is like your people Israel?
David is reminded of the way God called Israel to Himself
and redeemed His people and rescued them out of Israel.
He is reminded of how God chose Israel and became their
God.
Let’s look at the final words of David’s prayer of
thanksgiving.
2 Samuel 7:25-29
The Boldness of David’s Prayer
David comes boldly before the throne of grace with
confidence as the author of Hebrews writes.
David asks God to confirm forever His promise from
earlier in the chapter.
God clearly told David that he was going to make his
name great and to make him a house.
When God makes a promise He always keeps it.
David is boldly asking God to do what He said He would
do.
David knows that when God keeps His promise to David
the world will see it and magnify the name of God.
We should make sure to be bold witnesses when we see
God keep His promises and share them with people in the
world who don’t trust in God.
David finds Courage to Pray
We should always have courage to pray when we are
praying for God’s will. We should have confidence
knowing that God will always keep His word.
David was confident that he had heard from the Lord.
He also knew three things
The Lord was truly God
The Lord’s words were true
The Lord’s promises were good
APPLICATION
Pray Humbly
We definitely don’t deserve all that God has given us.
We should come humbly before God thanking Him for
rescuing us out of the pit that we were in.
We ought to pray like the tax collector who wouldn’t even
look toward the temple, but asked God for mercy.
Pray Boldly
We ought to look deeply at God’s word for His promises
and then pray them back to Him. We can rest assured
that when God makes a promise He will surely keep it.
As David wrote in
Psalm 37:3-4 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell
in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight
yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the
desires of your heart.”