DAVID'S HOUSE AND THE HOUSE OF GOD
2 Samuel vii. and 1 Chronicles xxix.
There is nothing in which the narrowness of the human heart is so
manifested as in its apprehensions of divine grace. Legalism is that
to which we are most prone, because it gives self a place, and makes
it something. Now this is the very thing which God will not allow. "No
flesh shall glory in His presence," is a decree which can never be
reversed. God must be all, fill all, and give all.
When the psalmist inquired, "What shall I render to the Lord for all
His benefits?" the answer is "_I will take_ the cup of salvation." The
way to "render" to God is to "take" yet more largely from His
bounteous hand. To be a thankful, unquestioning recipient of grace
glorifies God far more than all we could render unto Him.
The gospel of God's grace comes to man as a ruined, guilty, helpless
being. Hence God must be the great Actor in redemption. By His counsel
alone it was planned; through His mercy alone it was accomplished in
"the one offering of Jesus Christ once for all;" and by the Spirit's
power alone is the sinner quickened into life and believes the
glorious and peace-giving tidings of salvation.
Now, this stops man's mouth altogether as to his own righteousness. It
excludes boasting, for we cannot boast of what we are but the unworthy
recipients. How happy should all this make us! How happy it is to be
the subjects of such grace--grace which blots out all our sins, sets
the conscience at rest, and sanctifies all the affections of the
heart! Blessed forever be the Fountain from which this saving grace
flows to guilty sinners!
The 7th chapter of 2 Samuel is full of instruction as to the great
principle of grace. The Lord had done much for His servant David; He
had raised him from the depth of obscurity to an exceedingly high
elevation, and David felt this, and was disposed to look around him
and survey the precious mercies which, in rich profusion, strewed his
path.
"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, that the king said
unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the
ark of God dwelleth within curtains." Observe, "David _sat in his
house_." He was surrounded by his own circumstances, and thought it
needful to do something for God; but, again, he was in error as to his
thoughts of building a house for Jehovah. The ark was within curtains,
truly, because the time had not yet come for it to find a
resting-place. God had ever moved in the fullest sympathy with his
people. When they were plunged in the furnace of Egyptian bondage, He
was in the burning bush; when they were treading their long and dreary
journey across the burning desert, His chariot traveled in company
with them all the way. When they stood beneath the frowning walls of
Jericho, He was there as a man of war, with a drawn sword in His hand,
to act for, and in sympathy with, them. Thus, at all times, God and
His Israel were together. While they toiled, He toiled, and until they
could rest, He would not rest. But David desired to build a house, and
find a resting-place for God, while there were both "enemies and evil
occurrent."
This could not be. It was contrary to the thoughts and counsels of the
God of Israel. "It came to pass _that night_, that the word of the
Lord came unto Nathan, saying, Go and tell My servant David, Thus
saith the Lord, Shalt thou build Me a house for Me to dwell
in?--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." The Lord would not allow
another sun to rise without correcting the error of His servant. He
sets before him His own past actings toward Israel and toward himself;
He reminds David that He had never sought a house or a rest for
Himself, but had wandered up and down with His people in all their
wanderings, and been afflicted in all their afflictions. "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 a house of cedar?"
What lovely, what soul-stirring grace breathes in these words! The
blessed God came down to be a traveler with His traveling people. He
would set His foot on the sand of the desert, because Israel was
there; He caused His glory to dwell beneath a covering of badgers'
skins, because His redeemed ones were in militant circumstances.
Jehovah sought not a house of cedar; it was not for that He had come
down to visit His people in the hour of their affliction in Egypt; He
had come down to _give_, not to _take_; to dispense and minister to
His people, not to exact from them. True, when the people had put
themselves under a covenant of works, at Mount Horeb, God had to test
them by a ministration which was characterized by the words "_do_" and
"_give_;" but had they only walked in the power of God's original
covenant with Abraham, they would never have heard such words uttered
in connection with the terrific thunders of Mount Sinai. When God came
down to redeem them out of the hand of Pharaoh, and out of the house
of bondage; when He bore them on eagles' wings, and brought them unto
Himself; when He made a way through the sea for His ransomed to pass
over, and overwhelmed the hosts of Egypt in the depths; when He
showered down manna from heaven, and caused the refreshing stream to
gush from the rock; when He took His place in the pillar of fire by
night, and the pillar of cloud by day, to guide them through the
trackless desert; when He did all these things for them, and many
more, surely it was not on the ground of anything they could _give_ or
_do_; but simply on the ground of His own everlasting love, and the
covenant of grace made with Abraham. Yes, this was the ground of His
acting toward them. What _they_ did was to reject His grace; trample
on His laws; despise His warnings; refuse His mercies; stone His
prophets; crucify His Son; resist His Spirit! Such were their actings,
from the beginning, the bitter fruits of which they are now reaping,
and shall reap, until they are brought, humbly and thankfully, to bow
to His covenant of grace.
By bringing all these past ways of God in review before David, the
Lord taught David his mistake in seeking to build Him a house. "Shalt
thou build Me a house? whereas, etc.... Now, therefore, so shalt thou
say to My servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee
from the sheep-cote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My
people, over Israel: and I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest,
and have cut off thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a
great name, like unto the name of the great that are in the earth.
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, 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 a house." David is
here taught that his own history, like that of his people, was to be a
history of grace from first to last. He is conducted, in thought, from
the sheep-cote to the throne, and from the throne into the ages of the
future, and sees the whole course marked by the actings of sovereign
grace. Grace had taken him up; grace had set him on the throne; grace
had subdued his enemies; grace was to bear him onward; grace was to
build up his throne and his house to all generations. It was all
grace.
David might justly feel that the Lord had done much for him: the house
of cedar was a great thing for the shepherd of Bethlehem; but what was
it when compared with the future? What was all that God had done,
compared with what He would do? "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. He
shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever." Thus we see, that it was not merely his own
short span of forty years that was to be characterized by such actings
of grace; his house too was spoken of "for a great while to come,"
even forever.
Reader, to whom, think you, are we directed in all these promises made
to David? Are we to regard them as fully actualized in the reign of
Solomon? Surely not. Glorious as was the reign of that monarch, it by
no means corresponded to the bright picture presented to David. It
was, in one sense, but a passing moment, during which a bright gleam
of sunshine flashed across Israel's horizon; for hardly are we
conducted to the lofty pinnacle on which Solomon was elevated, when
the chilling words fall on the ear, "_But Solomon loved many strange
women_," etc. Hardly has the cup of exquisite delight been raised to
the lips than it is dashed to the ground, and the disappointed heart
cries out, "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."
The book of Ecclesiastes will tell us how far short the reign of
Solomon came of actualizing the magnificent promises made to David in
this 7th chapter of 2 Samuel. In that book we trace the yearnings of a
heart that felt an aching void, and was ranging through creation's
wide domain in search of a satisfying object, but ranged in vain. We
must, therefore, look beyond the reign of Solomon to a greater than
he, even to Him of whom the Spirit in Zacharias speaks, in that fine
prophecy in Luke i.--"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath
visited and redeemed His people, and hath raised up a horn of
salvation for us in the house of His servant David; as He spake by the
mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began;
that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all
that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to
remember His holy covenant, the oath which He sware to our father
Abraham." Again, in the angel's address to Mary, "Behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David;
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom
there shall be no end." Here the heart can repose without a single
check. There is no doubt, no hesitation, no interruption, no
exception. We feel that we have beneath our feet a solid rock, the
Rock of Ages, and that we are not, like the writer of Ecclesiastes,
constrained to lament the absence of an object capable of filling our
hearts, and satisfying our desires; but rather, as some one has
observed, like the bride in Canticles, to confess our entire lack of
capacity to enjoy the glorious object presented to us, who is the
"fairest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely."
"Of His kingdom there shall be no end." The foundations of His throne
are laid in the deep recesses of eternity; the stamp of immortality is
upon His sceptre, and of incorruptibility upon His crown. There shall
be no Jeroboam then, to seize upon ten parts of the kingdom; it shall
be one undivided whole forever, beneath the peaceful sway of Him who
is "meek and lowly in heart."
Such are God's promises to the house of His servant David. Well might
the astonished recipient of such mercies, when speaking of all that
had been done for him, exclaim, "And this was yet a small thing in
Thy sight, O Lord God." What was the past when compared with the
future! _Grace_ shone in the past, but _glory_ glistened in the
future. "The Lord will give grace and glory." Grace lays the
foundation; glory garnishes the superstructure. This is true of all;
it is true, in an eminent degree, of the Church, as we learn from the
epistle to the Ephesians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the
heavenlies in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before Him in love ... to the praise of the glory of His _grace_,
wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved ... that in the
dispensation of the fulness of times ... we should be to the praise of
His glory." And again, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great
love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies in
Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
Here we have grace and glory set forth most blessedly: grace securing,
on immutable principles, the full forgiveness of sins through the
precious blood of Christ, and full acceptance in His beloved Person;
glory in the distance, gilding with its immortal beams the ages to
come. Thus it is that the word of God addresses itself to two great
principles in the soul of the believer, viz., faith and hope. Faith
reposes upon the past; hope anticipates the future; faith leans upon
God's work already accomplished; hope looks forward with earnest
desire to His actings yet to be developed. This puts the Christian
into a deeply interesting position; it shuts him up to God in
everything. As to the past, he leans on the Cross; as to the present,
he is sustained and comforted by Christ's priesthood and promises; and
as to the future, he "rejoices in hope of the glory of God."
But let us inquire what was the effect produced upon David by all this
burst of grace and glory on his spirit? One thing is certain, it
effectually corrected his mistake in seeking, as another has said, to
exchange the _sword_ for the _trowel_. It made him really feel his own
thorough littleness, and the greatness of God in His counsels and
actings. "Then went king David in, and _sat_ before the Lord, and he
said, _Who am I_, O Lord God?" It is impossible to convey, in human
language, the deep experience of David's soul, as expressed in his
attitude and inquiry on this occasion. First, as to his attitude, "_he
sat_." This gives us the idea of the most complete repose in God,
without a single intervening cloud. There is no doubt, no suspicion,
no hesitancy. God, as the almighty and gracious Actor, filled his
soul's vision, and hence, to have entertained a doubt would be calling
in question either God's willingness or ability to do all that He had
said. How could he doubt? Impossible! The record of the past furnished
too many substantial arguments in proof of both the will and ability
of God to admit of a doubt on the subject.
And truly blessed it is thus to realize our place before the Lord--to
allow the heart to dwell upon His wondrous ways of grace--to sit in
His presence in the full, unclouded sense of His pardoning love. True,
it is hard to understand why it should be so--why He should set His
love on creatures such as we. Yet so it is; and we have only to
believe and rejoice.
But observe his inquiry, "_Who am I?_" Here we have the hiding of
self. David felt that God was all, and self nothing, when he sat
before the Lord. He no longer speaks of his actings, his house of
cedar, his plan of building a house, etc. No; he expatiates on the
actings of God, and his own little doings sink into their proper
nothingness in his estimation. The Lord had said, "Shalt thou build Me
a house?" And again, "The Lord telleth thee that He will make thee a
house." In other words, the Lord taught David that He should be
superior in everything, and that He could not, therefore, be
anticipated in building a house. This might seem an easy lesson; but
all who know anything of their own proud, self-righteous hearts, know
that it was far otherwise. Abraham, David, Job, Paul, and Peter
experienced the difficulty of hiding self and exalting God. This is,
in fact, the most difficult lesson for a man to learn; for our whole
being since the fall is set upon the very opposite, viz., the
exaltation of self, and the setting aside of God.
It is needless to adduce any proofs of this; Scripture and experience
alike demonstrate the fact that man seeks to be somewhat; and this
cannot be attempted without setting aside the claims of God. Grace,
however, reverses the matter, and makes man nothing, and God
everything. "Is this the manner of man?" No, indeed, it is not the
manner or law of man, but it is the manner of God. Man's manner is to
set himself up, to rejoice in the works of his own hands, to walk in
the sparks of his own kindling; God's manner, on the contrary, is to
turn man away from himself, to teach him to look upon his own
righteousness as filthy rags, to loathe and abhor himself, and repent
in dust and ashes, and cling to Christ, as the shipwrecked mariner
clings to the rock.
Thus was it with David when he sat before the Lord, and, losing sight
of himself, allowed his soul to go out in holy adoration of God and
His ways. This is true worship, and is the very reverse of human
religiousness. The former is the acknowledgment of God by the energy
of faith; the latter is the setting up of man in the spirit of
legalism. No doubt, David would have appeared, to many, a more devoted
man when seeking to build a house for the Lord than when sitting in
His presence. In the one case, he was trying to do something; in the
other, he was apparently doing nothing. Like the two sisters at
Bethany, of whom one would seem, in the judgment of nature, to have
been doing all the work, and the other to have been sitting idle. How
different are God's thoughts! David sitting before the Lord was in a
right position, rather than seeking to build.
It must, however, be observed, that while grace leads us away from our
own actings, it does not hinder real acting for God. Far otherwise. It
only hinders self-importance. It does not abolish service; it only
puts it in its right place. Hence, when David learnt that he was not
the man, nor his the time to lay aside the sword and take up the
trowel, how readily did he acquiesce! How readily did he draw forth
his sword from its scabbard, and take his place once more on the field
of battle! How ready was he to be the militant servant to the end, and
allow the curtain to drop upon him as builder! How ready was he to
retire, and allow another to do the work!
In chapter viii. we find David smiting, slaying, taking, and thus
earning for himself a still more extensive fame as a man of war, and
proving how effectually he had learnt the Lord's lesson. Thus will it
ever be with all who have learned in the school of God. It matters
little what the character of service may be, whether building the
house, or subduing the foes of the Lord. The true servant is ready for
anything. David came forth from amid the holy repose of the Lord's
house to fight the Lord's battles, in order that he might clear the
ground for another to lay the foundation of that house, which his
heart had so fondly desired to build. Thus David was the servant
throughout. In the sheepfold, in the valley of Elah, in the house of
Saul, on the throne of Israel, he maintained the character of a
servant.
But we must pass to other scenes, in order to learn other and deeper
principles in reference to David's connection with the house of God.
He had to learn, in a remarkable manner, where the foundation of the
Lord's house was to be laid. Let the reader turn to the 21st chapter
of 1 Chronicles and read it. It is parallel with 2 Samuel xxiv., and
furnishes the account of David's fall in numbering the people. He
became proud of his hosts, or rather the Lord's hosts, which he would
fain regard as his. He desired to count his resources, and, alas! he
had to learn the emptiness thereof; the sword of the destroying angel
mowed down seventy thousand of his boasted numbers, and brought home
to his conscience, in terrible solemnity, his grievous sin in
attempting to number the Lord's people. However, it had the effect of
eliciting much of the sweet, self-renouncing grace that was in David.
Hear his touching words, as he exposes his own bosom to the stroke of
judgment: "And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the
people to be numbered? even _I_ it is that have sinned and done evil
indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? Let Thy hand, I
pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not
on _Thy_ people, that they should be plagued." This was precious
grace. He learned to say, "Thy people," and was ready to stand between
them and the foe.
But there was mercy in the midst of wrath. By the threshing-floor of
Ornan the Jebusite, the angel of judgment sheathed his sword. "Then
the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should
go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing-floor of
Ornan the Jebusite." Here, then, was the place where mercy triumphed,
and caused her voice to be heard above the roar of judgment. Here the
blood of the victim flowed, and here the foundation of the Lord's
house was laid. "At that time, when David saw that the Lord had
answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he
sacrificed there. For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in
the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt-offering, were at that
season in the high place at Gibeon: but David could not go before it
to inquire of God: for he was afraid, because of the sword of the
angel of the Lord. Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God,
and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel. And David
commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of
Israel: and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of
God." Blessed discovery! Thus impressively and solemnly, and
effectually, was David taught the place where the Lord's house should
be built, and its deep significance! The Lord knows how to lead His
people, and to instruct them in the deep secrets of His mind. He
taught His servant David by the instrumentality of judgment first, and
mercy afterwards, and thus led him to the place and its meaning where
He would have His temple built. It was by his necessities he learnt
about the temple to God, and he went forth to make preparation for it
as one who had learnt God's character by his own deep failure.
"This is the house of the Lord God"--the place where mercy rejoiced
against judgment--the place where the blood of the victim flowed--the
place where David had his sin blotted out. This was very different
from going to build on the ground of his dwelling in a house of cedar,
as in 2 Samuel vii. Instead of saying, "Lo, I dwell in a house of
cedar," he might say, "Lo, I am a poor, pardoned sinner." It is one
thing to act on the ground of what _we_ are; and quite another thing
to act on the ground of what _God_ is. The house of God must ever be
the witness of His mercy, and this holds good whether we look at the
temple of old or the Church now. Both show forth the triumph of mercy
over judgment. At the cross we behold the stroke of justice falling
upon the spotless Victim, and then the Holy Ghost came down to gather
men around the person of Him who was raised from the dead. Just as
David began to gather the hewed stones, and the materials for the
joinings of the house, the moment the place of the foundation was
settled. The Church is the temple of the living God, of which Christ
is the chief corner stone. The materials for this building were all
provided, and the place of its foundation purchased, in the season of
Christ's trouble; for David represents Christ in His sufferings, as
Solomon represents Him in His glory. David was the man of war;
Solomon, the man of rest. David had to grapple with enemies; Solomon
was able to say, "There is neither enemy nor evil occurrent." Thus do
these two kings shadow forth Him who, by His cross and passion, made
ample provision for the building of the temple which shall be
manifested in divine order and perfectness in the day of His coming
glory.
David proved, in the end, that though his _thoughts_ as to the time of
building the house needed to be corrected, his _affection_ for the
house itself was not the less fervent. He says, at the close, "Now I
have prepared with all my might for the house of my God, the gold for
things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and
the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood
for things of wood: onyx-stones, and stones to be set, glistening
stones and of divers colors, and all manner of precious stones, and
marble stones in abundance" (1 Chron. xxix. 2).[22] Thus does grace
put service into its proper place, and not only so, but imparts an
energy to it which ill-timed service can never exhibit. David had
learnt lessons when he sat in the Lord's presence, and when he stood
on the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, which wonderfully fitted
him for making the needed preparations for the temple. He could now
say, "I have prepared with _all my might_." And again, "Because I have
set _my affection_ to the house of my God, I have of my own proper
good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God,
_over and above_ all that I have prepared for the holy house, even
three thousand talents of gold," etc. His strength and affection were
both devoted to a work which was to be brought to maturity by another.
[22] In 2 Samuel xxiv. 24, we read, "So David bought the
_threshing-floor_ and the _oxen_ for fifty shekels of silver." And in
1 Chron. xxi. 25, we read, "So David gave to Ornan _for the place six
hundred_ shekels of gold by weight." In Samuel, only the
"threshing-floor and the oxen" for sacrifice at the time of the plague
are mentioned; while in Chronicles "the place"--the whole temple
hill--seems to be comprehended.
Grace enables a man to hide himself and make God his object. When
David's eye rested on the glittering pile which his devoted heart had
raised, he was able to say, "Of _Thine own_ have we given Thee."
"Blessed be Thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the
victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the
earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and Thou art exalted as
head above all. Both riches and honor come of Thee, and Thou reignest
over all; and in Thy hand is power and might, and in Thy hand it is to
make great, and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, our God,
we thank Thee, and praise Thy glorious name. But _who am I_, and what
is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this
sort? for _all things come of Thee_, and of Thine own have we given
Thee. For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners, as were all
our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none
abiding. O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build
Thee a house for Thy holy name, cometh of Thy hand, and is all Thine
own." "Who am I?" What a question! David was nothing, and God was all
and in all. If ever he had entertained the thought that he could offer
anything to God, he entertained it no longer. It was all the Lord's,
and He, in His grace, had allowed them to offer it all. Man can never
make God his debtor, though he is ever seeking to do so. The 50th
Psalm, the 1st of Isaiah, and the 17th of Acts, all prove that the
unceasing effort of man, whether Jew or Gentile, is to give something
to God; but it is a vain effort. The reply to man, thus endeavoring to
make God his debtor, is, "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee."
God must be the giver, man the receiver. "Who," says the apostle,
"hath _first_ given to Him?" The Lord will graciously take from those
who are taught to say, "Of Thine own have we given Thee," but eternity
will declare God to be THE GREAT FIRST GIVER. Blessed that it should
be so! Blessed for the poor, guilty, broken-hearted sinner, to
recognize in God the giver of all--of life, pardon, peace, holiness,
everlasting glory! Happy was it for David, as he drew near the end of
his checkered career, to hide both himself and his offerings behind
the rich abundance of divine grace! Happy for him to know, as he
handed the plan of the temple to Solomon, his son, that it should ever
be the monument of God's triumphant mercy! The house was, in due time,
to rise in magnificence and splendor from its foundation; the
effulgence of divine glory was yet to fill it from end to end; yet
would it never be forgotten that it stood on that sacred spot where
the devastating progress of judgment had been stayed by the hand of
sovereign mercy, acting in connection with the blood of a spotless
victim.
And, my reader, in passing from the temple of Solomon to that which in
the latter day shall arise in the midst of God's beloved people, how
fully may we trace the development of the same heavenly principles!
Still more, when we pass from the earthly to the heavenly temple, may
we behold the glorious triumph of mercy over every barrier; yea,
rather, the glorious harmony effected between mercy and truth,
righteousness and peace. From amid the brightness of millennial glory,
shall Israel below, and the Church above, look backward to the cross
as the place where justice sheathed its sword, and the Hand of mercy
began to erect that superstructure which shall shine, with everlasting
light and glory, to the praise and honor of God, the blessed Giver of
all.