The Messianic prophecy, as we have seen, began at a time long anterior
to that of David. Even in Genesis, we perceived [Pg 131] it, increasing
more and more in distinctness. There is at first only the general
promise that the seed of the woman should obtain the victory over the
kingdom of the evil one;--then, that the salvation should come through
the descendants of Shem;--then, from among them Abraham is marked
out,--of his sons, Isaac,--from among his sons, Jacob,--and from among
the twelve sons of Jacob, Judah is singled out as the bearer of
dominion, and marked out as the person from whom, at length, should
proceed the glorious King whose peaceful dominion is destined to extend
over all the nations of the earth.
Whilst, hitherto, the tribe only had been pointed out, in the midst of
which an imperishable dominion should be established, and out of which
the Saviour was at last to come,--under David another feature was added
by the determination of the _family_. This was done in the prophetic
announcement which the Lord, by the prophet Nathan, addressed in 2 Sam.
vii. to David, when he had adopted the resolution of building to the
Lord a fixed temple, instead of the moveable tabernacle which had
hitherto been used.
Ver. 1. "_And it happened when the king sat in his house, and the
Lord had given him rest from all his enemies round about._ Ver. 2.
_And the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See, now, I dwell in a
house of cedar, and the ark of God dwelleth within curtains._"
The question here is:--To what time is the occurrence to be assigned?
The answer is:--To the time not long after David had obtained the
dominion over all Israel. To this opinion we are led by the position
which the report occupies in the Books both of Chronicles and of
Samuel. The supposition is so very probable, that nothing short of very
cogent reasons could induce us to abandon it. A narrative, in which
David's accession to the throne is followed by the conquest of
Jerusalem, and this by the building of his palace,--and this again by
the bringing up of the ark of the covenant,--and this, still further,
by David's anxiety for a fixed sanctuary, evidently agrees with the
order in which these events followed each other. We can the less
entertain any doubt concerning it, because we are expressly told, that
the wars and victories of David reported in chap. viii. were subsequent
to what is reported in chap. vii.; compare viii. 1. That the conquest
of Jerusalem and the [Pg 132] building of his palace belong to the
period soon after his accession to the throne, is both evident, and
generally acknowledged; but that David's anxiety for a fixed sanctuary
was awakened in him soon after the completion of his palace, is
expressly stated in 1 Chron. xvii. 1. Instead of כי ישב in ver. 1 of
our passage, we find there כאשר ישב, "when," or "as soon as" he dwelt.
We cannot well think of any later period, as David's zeal for the
building of the house of the Lord was closely connected with the
question regarding the duration of his own family, which was so readily
suggested by the fate of Saul, and which must necessarily have engaged
his attention at a very early period. If he obtained the divine
sanction for the building of the temple, that question also was thereby
answered. _Further_,--It appears from ver. 12, that Solomon was not yet
born at the time when David received the promise. The circumstance,
too, that there are so many allusions to it in the Psalms of David,
proves that this promise had been already given to him at the beginning
of his reign.--One circumstance only has been adduced against assigning
to it so early a period, viz., that the event is here placed within the
time when the Lord had given David rest from all his enemies round
about. But there is not one word which affirms that this rest was a
definitive one; while, on the other hand, the contrary is alluded to by
the circumstance that the Books of Chronicles make no mention at all of
David's rest from his enemies, and is distinctly indicated by viii. 1.
In 1 Chron. xiv. 17 it is said, after the account of David's victory
over the Philistines (on which event the Books of Samuel report
previous to chap. vii., viz. in v. 17-25): "And the name of David went
out into all lands, and the Lord gave his fear upon all the heathen."
This previous result was so much the more important, as the Philistines
had been, for a long time, the most dangerous enemies of Israel, and
David himself may have considered it as a definitive one,--may have
imagined this truce to be a peace,--may not have been aware that he had
yet to bear the burden of the most trying wars. Looking, then, to the
passage in Deut. xii. 10, 11--in which the choice of a place where the
Lord will cause His name to dwell, is connected with the giving of rest
from all enemies round about--he might think that the present
circumstance formed a call upon him to erect a sanctuary to [Pg 133]
the Lord.[1] But the issue (compare viii. 1) soon made it manifest to
him, that the supposition on which he proceeded was an erroneous one.
We have a tacit correction of David's mistake in 1 Kings v. 17, 18:
"Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto
the name of the Lord his God, for the wars with which they surrounded
him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. And now the
Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, and there is neither
adversary nor evil occurrence." It was only under Solomon that the
period provided for by Deut. xii. really arrived. (Compare 1 Chron.
xxii. 19.)
Ver. 3. "_And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine
heart, for the Lord is with thee._ Ver. 4. _And it came to pass that
night that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying:_ Ver. 5. _Go
and tell My servant David, Thus saith the Lord, Shalt thou build Me a
house to dwell in?_"
In ver. 5 the question is stated, the answer to which is the point at
issue. In ver. 6, the exposition begins with כי, which refers to the
whole of it, and not merely to the clause which immediately follows.
Hitherto, the Lord has not had a fixed temple (ver. 6), nor has any
such been wished for or desired by Him (ver. 7). By the grace of God,
David has been raised to be ruler over the people (ver. 8), and the
Lord has helped him gloriously (ver. 9), and, through him, His people
(ver. 10). This mercy the Lord had already bestowed upon him, that,
since the beginning of the period of the Judges, it was through him,
first of all, that the people had obtained rest from all their enemies
round about; but to this favour the Lord is now adding another, by
announcing to him that He would make him an house (ver. 11). When David
dies, his seed shall occupy the throne, and be established in the
kingdom (ver. 12). It is he who shall build an house for the Lord who
will establish for ever the throne of his kingdom, vers. 13-16.
David's zeal for the house of the Lord is thus acknowledged (compare
Ps. cxxxii. 1), and so also is the correctness of his supposition, that
the building of the fixed temple is intimately [Pg 134] connected with
his being raised to be ruler over Israel. The first answer of Nathan
remains correct; it is only more distinctly and closely defined and
modified. David is to build the house,--not, however, in his own
person, but in his seed, and after the Lord has begun to fulfil His
promise, that He would make him an house.
But why was it that David himself was not permitted to build the house
to the Lord? In this passage we obtain no answer. In Solomon's message
to Hiram (1 Kings v. 17) an external reason only is stated--viz., that,
by his numerous wars, David had been prevented from building a house to
the Lord. There was a deeper reason than this; but the heathen could
not comprehend it. It is contained in the words which, according to 1
Chron. xxviii. 3, David spoke to the people: "And God said unto me,
Thou shalt not build an house for My name, because thou hast been a man
of war, and hast shed blood;" and in the words of the Lord which,
according to 1 Chron. xxii. 8, David repeated to Solomon: "Thou hast
shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars; thou shalt not build
an house unto My name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth
in My sight,"--a disclosure which David could have obtained only at a
later period, and as a supplement to the divine communication which had
been made to him through Nathan. For it is only after the revelation in
2 Sam. vii. that David had to carry on his most bloody wars. We must
not, by any means, entertain the idea that these words express anything
_blameworthy_ in David, and that the permission to build the temple was
refused to him on account of his personal unworthiness. David stood in
a closer relation to God than did Solomon. His wars were wars of the
Lord, 1 Sam. xxv. 28. It is in this light that David himself regarded
them; and that he was conscious of his being divinely commissioned for
them, is seen, _e.g._, from Ps. xviii.: it was the Lord who taught his
hands to war (ver. 35) and who gave him vengeance, and subdued the
people unto him, ver. 48. The passages 1 Chron. xxii. 8, xxvii. 3, do
not, in themselves, contain one reproachful word against David. On the
contrary, the words, _in My sight_, in the former of these passages,
rather lead us to suppose that David is, in his wars, to be considered
only as a servant of the Lord (_Michaelis_: "_In My sight_--_i.e._, who
am, as it were, the [Pg 135] highest judge, and the commander"). The
reason is rather of a symbolical character. How necessary soever, under
certain conditions, war may be for the kingdom of God,--as indeed the
Saviour also says that (in the first instance) He had not come to send
peace, but a sword,--it is after all only something accidental, and
rendered needful by human corruption. The real nature of the kingdom of
God is peace. Even in the Old Testament, the Lord of the Church appears
as the Prince of Peace, Is. ix. 5. According to Luke ix. 56, the Son of
Man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. In order to
impress upon the mind this view of the nature and aim of the Church,
the Temple--the symbol of the Church--must not be built by David the
man of war, but by Solomon, the peaceful, the man of rest, 1 Chron.
xxii. 9.
Ver. 6. "_For I have not dwelt in any house from the day that I brought
up the children of Israel out of Egypt even to this day, and have
walked in a tent and in a tabernacle._ Ver. 7. _In all that I have
walked among the children of Israel, have I spoken one word with any of
the tribes of Israel whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying.
Why build ye Me not a house of cedar?_"
According to several interpreters, these words are intended as
a consolation to David for the delay in building the temple, and
convey this sense: that God did not require the temple, that the
building of it was of no consequence,--as sufficiently appears from
the circumstance of His not having hitherto urged it. But such a view
would ill agree with the great importance which David continues, even
afterwards, to ascribe to the building of the temple,--with the grand
efforts of Solomon towards it,--and with the exulting words which are
uttered by the latter, in 1 Kings viii. 13, after the work has been
accomplished: "I have built Thee an house to dwell in, a settled place
for Thee to abide in for ever." A comparison of 1 Kings viii. 16-20
furnishes us with a clue to the right interpretation. In that passage,
the period before David is contrasted with that during which David
lived. (Compare the עתה, _now_, in ver. 8.) Hitherto, everything in the
government had borne a provisional character, and, hence, the sanctuary
also. But now that, after the unsettled state of things under [Pg 136]
the Judges and Saul, _the definitive government_ has been called into
existence with David, to whom the Lord will make an house, the
_definitive sanctuary_ also shall be built,--only, that it shall
not be founded by David, but by his seed.[2] The words, _I have
walked_--literally, I have been walking, I have continued walking--_in
a tent and in a tabernacle_, indicate not only that the Lord dwelt in a
portable sanctuary, but also, that the place of this sanctuary was
oftentimes changed, from one station to another in the wilderness, then
to Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob and Gibeon. This changing of the place of the
tabernacle is still more distinctly pointed out, in the parallel
passage in 1 Chron. xvii. 5: "And I have been from tent to tent, from
tabernacle to tabernacle;" _i.e._, I went from one tent into the other,
_e.g._, from the dwelling-place of Shiloh into that of Nob,--a mode of
expression which pays no attention to the circumstance whether or not
the tent was materially the same. Instead of, "With any of the tribes
of Israel," we find in 1 Chron. xvii. 6, "With any of the judges of
Israel,"--a parallel passage which very well explains the main text.
The tribes come into consideration through their judges, who, in the
Book of Judges, always appear as judges in Israel, and procured a
temporary [Pg 137] superiority to the tribe from which they
proceeded.[3] The שבטי, which has been doubted, is rendered certain by
1 Kings viii. 16. (Compare, moreover, Ps. lxxviii. 67, 68.)--The reason
why no such word came to any one of these tribes is, that the
superiority of none of them was permanent; the election of all of them
was merely temporary. The continuance of the tent-temple was intended
to indicate that the state of things was, in general, provisional only,
and that a new order of things was at hand. The creation of a settled
sanctuary was to be coincident with the establishment of an abiding
kingdom, to which the grace of God was vouchsafed. It was an evil omen
for Saul that the erection of a fixed sanctuary was not even mooted
under him. The close of Ps. lxxviii. likewise points out the intimate
connection of the kingdom and the sanctuary.
Ver. 8. "_And now, thus shalt thou say unto David My servant: Thus
saith the Lord, of hosts, I took thee from the sheep-cote,_[4] _from
behind the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel._ Ver. 9.
_And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all
thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a great name like
unto the name of the great men that are upon the earth._ Ver. 10. _And
I gave room unto My people Israel, and planted them, and they dwell in
their place, and they shall no more be frightened, and the sons of
wickedness shall afflict them no more as heretofore._"
Seven divine benefits are here enumerated,--one in ver. 8, which forms
the foundation of all the others, and three in each of the two
following verses,--in ver. 9, what the Lord has given to David,--in
ver. 10, what, through him, He has given to Israel. These benefits are
so many symptoms that a _definitive_ order of things has now taken the
place of the _provisional_ one, and that, hence, the moveable sanctuary
will now be soon followed by the settled one. In the first member of
ver. 10, there is an enumeration of the benefits which the [Pg 138]
people have already received through David; in the second and third
members, an enumeration of the benefits to be constantly bestowed upon
them through him. A commentary upon it is formed by Ps. lxxxix. 22-24,
in which it is said of David: "With whom My hand shall be continually.
Mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact upon him,
nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I crush his enemies before
him, and will smite those who hate him."
Ver. 11. "_And since the day that I commanded judges over My people
Israel, I have given thee rest from all thine enemies. And the Lord
telleth thee, that the Lord will make thee an house._"
The first part of this verse comprehends all the benefits formerly
enumerated;--the second adds another, which, however, is closely
connected with the previous ones. The circumstance that the Lord first
gave rest to David, and, in him, to the people, was a sign of his
election which could not but manifest itself afterwards in the care for
his house. The promise, "The Lord will make thee an house," was to
David an answer to prayer, as is shown by Ps. xxi. 3, 5, lxi. 6,
cxxxviii. 3. Even the thought of building the temple was a question put
to the Lord, as to whether He would, in harmony with His past conduct,
give a duration to his house, different from that of the house of Saul.
Ver. 12. "_And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with
thy fathers, I shall cause thy seed to rise up after thee which shall
proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom._"
The הקים does not signify the beginning of existence, but the elevation
to the royal dignity. זרע, _seed_, denotes the posterity, which,
however, may consist of one only, or be represented by a single
individual. In the parallel passage, 1 Chron. xvii. 11, the words run
thus: "Thy seed which shall be of thy sons," _i.e._, who shall be one
of thy sons (Luther). The truth of the promise, "I shall establish his
kingdom," became manifest, _e.g._, in the vain machinations of
Adonijah. That the fulfilment of this promise must be sought in the
history of Solomon, in whom the difference between the house of David
and that of Saul first became evident (instead of, "I establish," in
ver. 12, we find, in the second member of ver. 13, "I establish for
ever"), is seen from 1 Kings viii. 20, where Solomon says, "And the
Lord hath performed His word which [Pg 139] He spake; for I am risen up
in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the
Lord promised." (Compare 1 Kings ii. 12: "And Solomon sat upon the
throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly.")
Ver. 13. "_He shall build an house for My name, and I establish the
throne of his kingdom for ever._"
The general establishment which was spoken of in ver. 12 precedes the
building of the temple; the eternal establishment mentioned in ver. 13
follows the building of the temple, or is coincident with it. It is
evident, that the first clause of the verse refers, in the first
instance, to the building of the temple which was undertaken by
Solomon. (Compare 1 Kings v. 19, where Solomon says, "Behold, I purpose
to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake
unto David my father, saying. Thy son whom I will set upon thy throne
in thy stead, he shall build the house unto My name.") We shall not,
however, be at liberty to confine ourselves to what Solomon, as an
individual, did for the house of the Lord. The building of the house
here goes hand in hand with the eternity of the kingdom. We expect,
therefore, that the question is not about a building of limited
duration. If a building of only a limited duration were meant, such,
surely, might have been erected long ago, even in the period of the
Judges. The contrary, however, is quite distinctly brought out in 1
Kings viii. 13, where, at the dedication of the temple, Solomon says,
"I have built Thee an house to dwell in, a fixed place for Thee to
abide in _for ever_." If, then, with the eternity of the kingdom of
David's house the eternity of the temple to be built by him be closely
bound up, the destruction of the latter can be only _temporary_, and
the consequence of the apostasy and punishment of the Davidic race,--of
which vers. 14 and 15 treat. Or, if it be definitive, it can concern
the _form_ only. If the building of the temple fall into ruins, it is
only the Davidic race from which its restoration can proceed; the local
relation of the royal palace to the temple prefigured their close
union. Hence, the building of the temple by Zerubbabel was likewise
comprehended in the words, "He shall build an house for My name." It
was impossible that the second temple could be reared otherwise than
under the direction of David's family. But we must go still farther.
The essence of the temple consists in its being a symbol, an outward
[Pg 140] representation of the kingdom of God under Israel. The real
import of our passage then is,--that henceforth the kingdom of David
and the kingdom of God should be closely and inseparably linked
together. As the third phase, therefore, in the fulfilment of our
prophecy, John ii. 19 must come under consideration: λύσατε τὸν ναὸν
τοῦτον, καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐγερῶ αὐτόν. (Regarding the sense of
this passage, and the symbolical meaning of the tabernacle and temple,
compare "_Dissertations on the Genuineness of the Pent._" vol. ii. p.
514 ff.) "House of God" is, in ver. 14 of the parallel text, used of
the Church, and in parallelism with "kingdom of God,"--a sense in which
it occurs as early as in Num. xii. 7.[5] This _usus loquendi_ is quite
common in the New Testament; compare 1 Tim. iii. 15; 2 Cor. vi. 16;
Heb. iii. 6. In the first two phases of the temple of Solomon, the
house consists in the first instance of ordinary stones,--although,
even at that time, the _spiritual_ is concealed behind the _material_;
but in its third phase, the material is altogether thrown off, and the
house is entirely spiritual--consisting of living stones, 1 Pet. ii.
5.--That the expression, "for ever," in the second clause of the verse,
is to be taken in its strict and full sense, is proved not only by the
threefold repetition, but also by a comparison with the numerous
secondary passages, in which the duration of the Davidic dominion
appears as absolutely unlimited. In Ps. lxxxix., for example, where the
promise is repeated, "for ever" corresponds with, "as the days of
heaven" in ver. 30,--with "as the sun" in ver. 37,--and with "as the
moon" in ver. 38. The final fulfilment of this promise is pointed out
by the words of the angel to Mary, in Luke i. 32, 33: οὗτος ἔσται μέγας
(compare ver. 9 here), καὶ υἱὸς ὑψίστου κληθήσεται (compare ver. 14),
καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν θρόνον Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ
βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ
οὐκ ἔσται τέλος.
Ver. 14. "_And I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to Me.
If he commit sin, I will chastise him with the rod of men, and with the
stripes of the children of men._ Ver. 15. _And My mercy shall not
depart away from him, as I caused it to depart away from Saul, whom I
put away before thee._"
[Pg 141]
Wheresoever God is, in the Old Testament, designated as _Father_, there
is a reference to the deepest intensity of His love,--a love which is
similar to that of a father towards his son. (Compare remarks on Ps.
ii. 7.) Sonship to God has this significancy here also, as is shown by
what immediately follows, where, in explanation of it, the promise of
indestructible love is connected with it. But this relationship, in its
highest and closest form, cannot exist betwixt God and a mere man. It
is only when the Davidic family is viewed as centring in Christ, that
the words can acquire their full truth. To this, the quotation in Heb.
i. 5 points: Τίνι γὰρ εἶπέ ποτε τῶν ἀγγέλων, Υἱός μου εἶ σὺ, ἐγὼ
σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε; Καὶ πάλιν· Ἐγὼ ἔσομαι αὐτῷ εἰς πατέρα, καὶ αὐτὸς
ἔσται μοι εἰς υἱόν; The depth of meaning which is contained in these
words appears plainly from their expansion in Ps. lxxxix. 26: "And I
place his hand on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers. He shall
call Me thus: Thou art my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
And I will also make him My first-born, the highest of the kings of the
earth." The sonship accordingly implies the dominion over the world,
which in Ps. ii. 7-9 appears, indeed, as inseparably connected with
it.--If the race of David commit sin, it shall be chastened with the
rods of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. Ps. xvii. 4
distinctly and unambiguously designates corrupt actions--walking in the
ways of transgressors--as "the works of men." (Compare 1 Sam. xxiv. 10;
Hos. vi. 7; Job xxxi. 33, xxiii. 12.) Hence, the rods of men, and the
stripes of the children of men, are punishments to which all men are
subject, because they are sinners, and at which no man needs to be
surprised. Grace is not to free the Davidic family from this common lot
of mankind, is not to afford to them the privilege of sinning. The
mitigation only follows in ver. 15, in which the close resumes the
beginning: "I will be a father to him." But this mitigation must not be
misunderstood by being conceived of as referring to the individuals.
Such a conception of it would be opposed to the nature of the thing
itself, would be in opposition to 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, where David says
to Solomon, "If thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; and if thou
forsake Him, He will cast thee off _for ever_:" and would be against
history, which shows that the rebellious members of the Davidic dynasty
were visited with destroying [Pg 142] judgments. The contrast is rather
thus to be understood: sin is to be visited upon the individuals, while
the grace abides continually upon the race,--so that the divine promise
is raised to an absolute one. The commentary on it is furnished by Ps.
lxxxix. 31 seq.: "If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My
judgments ... then I will visit their transgression with the rod, and
their iniquity with stripes. But My loving-kindness will I not withdraw
from him, nor will I break My faithfulness."--The words from "if he
commit sin" to "children of men" are awanting in the parallel passage.
This omission is intended to make the continuance of the mercy appear
the more distinctly, and to show, as indeed is the case, that the main
stress is to be laid upon it. We cannot for a moment conceive that any
unworthy motive prompted this omission; for the Chronicles were written
at a time when the chastening rod of the Lord had already fallen
heavily upon the Davidic race. There would have been stronger reasons
for adding the words than for omitting them, inasmuch as, under these
circumstances, they were full of consolation. It is just upon these
words that the penman of Ps. lxxiv. dwells at particular length.
Ver. 16. "_And thine house and thy kingdom shall be sure for ever
before thee, thy throne shall be firm for ever._"
The extent to which this prophecy of Nathan bears the character of a
fundamental one, appears from the circumstance that almost every word
of the verse under review has called forth an echo in later times. נאמן
_sure_, _certain_, _constant_, occurs again in Ps. lxxxix. 29, compared
with ver. 38, and in Is. lv. 3. The _sure_ (_constant_) mercies of
David, spoken of in the last of these passages, shall be bestowed upon
the people of the covenant, in the coming of Christ, by which the
perpetuity of the house of David was most fully manifested. The נכון,
_constant_, _firm_, occurs in Mic. iv. 1, and the לעולם, _for ever_, in
Ps. lxxii. 17, lxxxix. 37, xlv. 7, and cx. 4. The saying of the people
in John xii. 34, ἡμεῖς ἠκούσαμεν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς μένει εἰς
τὸν αἰῶνα, refers, in the first instance, to our passage, and all the
other texts quoted may be considered as a commentary.
It is certainly not the result of mere accident, that the twelve verses
of Nathan's prophecy are divided into two sections of seven and of five
verses respectively, and that the former again is subdivided into
sections of three and four verses. Its closing [Pg 143] words, "The
Lord will make thee an house," are farther expanded in vers. 12-16.
We subjoin to the exposition of Nathan's prophecy, that of David's
prayer of thanks, because, by means of the thanks, the promise itself
is more clearly brought out.
The Lord has done great things for His servant in his low estate, and
has promised things still more glorious, vers. 18-21. By doing such
glorious things to His servant, He has manifested Himself as a faithful
God, in harmony with His revelations in ancient times, vers. 22-24. The
thanksgivings for the promise are followed in vers. 25-29 by a prayer
for its fulfilment, intermingled with expressions of hope.
As the promise was expressed in twelve verses, so are the thanks. These
twelve verses are again divided into seven and five, and the seven into
four and three.
The name of Jehovah occurs twelve times. Ten times is the address
directed to Jehovah. Once He is addressed by the simple name of
Jehovah, six times by that of Adonai Jehovah, twice by that of Jehovah
Elohim, and once by that of Jehovah Zebaoth. The address, Adonai
Jehovah, occurs at the beginning and the close. The third division
first takes up the name of God which is used in the second, and
returns, at the close, to that which is used in the first division. In
the parallel passage in Chronicles, Jehovah occurs seven times, and
Elohim three times.--Ten times the servant of the Lord is mentioned in
David's prayer, and seven times, the house of David. The servant of the
Lord occurs three times in vers. 18-21, and seven times in vers. 25-29;
the house of David twice in 18-21, and five times in vers. 25-29. In
vers. 22-24, where the manifestation of the mercies to David are
brought into connection with the glorious revelations of God in ancient
times, neither the servant nor the house is mentioned.
Ver. 18. "_And King David came and sat before the Lord, and said: Who
am I, Lord Jehovah, and what my house_ (literally, _who_ my house,--the
house being conceived of as an _ideal_ person), _that Thou hast brought
me hitherto?_"
Moses also was sitting in long-continued prayer, Exod. xvii. 12. David,
as a true descendant of Jacob (Gen. xxxii. 10), acknowledges his
unworthiness of the great mercies bestowed upon him. The comparison of
Ps. cxliv. 3 is still more striking [Pg 144] than that of Ps. viii. 5;
for, in the former, the words, "Lord, what is man, that Thou takest
knowledge of him; the son of mortal man, that Thou hast regard to him?"
were uttered in praise of the adorable mercy which the Lord had shown
to his house.
Ver. 19. "_And this is yet too little in Thy sight, Lord Jehovah; and
Thou speakest also to the house of Thy servant of things far distant;
and this is the law of man, Lord Jehovah._"
The word תורה has only the signification of _law_. Gesenius, in
assigning to it the signification of _mos_, _consuetudo_, has no other
warrant for it than our passage. The law of any one is the law which
has been given for him, or which concerns him; compare Lev. vi. 2 (9):
"This is the law of the burnt-offering;" Lev. xiii. 7: "This is the law
for her that hath born;" Lev. xiv. 2: "This shall be the law of the
leper," etc. Hence the law of man can only be the law regulating the
conduct of man. Man is commanded in the law: "Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself;" compare Mic. vi. 8: "He hath showed, O man, what
is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justice, and
to _love kindness_, and to walk humbly before thy God?" The fact that
God should, in His conduct towards poor mortals, follow the rule which
He hath given to men for their conduct towards one another, and that He
shows Himself to be full of mercy and love, cannot but fill him who
knows God and himself with adoring wonder. The words in Ps. xviii. 36
are parallel: "Thou givest me the shield of Thy salvation, and Thy
right hand holdeth me up, and Thy meekness (the parallel passage in 2
Sam. has: 'Thy being low') maketh me great." In the parallel passage in
Chronicles the words are these: "And Thou hast regarded me according to
the law of man (concerning תורה = תור compare remarks on Song of Sol.
i. 10), Thou height, Jehovah God." The essential agreement of the sense
of the parallel passage with that of the fundamental passage, may be
applied as a test to prove the correctness of our exposition. "To
regard some one" is used for "to visit some one," "to have intercourse
with some one;" compare 2 Sam. iii. 13, xiii. 5, xiv. 24, 28; 2 Kings
viii. 29. The words, "Thou height" (God is represented as personified
height in Ps. xcii. 9: "And Thou art a height for evermore, O Lord"),
bring out still more prominently the contrast with human lowness, which
was already implied in the names of [Pg 145] God, Adonai Jehovah, and
Jehovah Elohim, and serves therefore to show still more distinctly the
condescension of God, whose revelation on this occasion was a prelude
to ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο. _Luther_ has introduced into the main text a
direct allusion to the incarnation of God in Christ. He translates,
"This is the manner of a man who is God the Lord;" and adds, in a
marginal note, the following remark: "This means, Thou speakest to me
of such an eternal kingdom, in which no one can be king unless he be
God and man at the same time, because he is to be my son and yet a king
for evermore--which belongs to God alone." But this single circumstance
is sufficient to overthrow this view:--that in the preceding, as well
as in the subsequent context, Adonai Jehovah is always used in the
vocative sense.
Ver. 20. "_And what shall David say more unto Thee?_ (In the parallel
passage: 'As regards the honour for Thy servant.') _And Thou knowest
Thy servant, Lord Jehovah._"
It is not necessary that David should make many words, in order to
express his thanks, as his thankful heart lies open before God. In
Ps. xl. 10, David also appeals to the testimony of the Omniscient
as regards his thankful heart: "I preach righteousness in the
great congregation; lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, Thou
knowest,"--knowest how with my whole heart I am thankful for Thy great
mercy. It is, in general, David's practice to appeal to God, the
Searcher of hearts; compare, _e.g._, Ps. xvii. 3.
Ver. 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._"
In 1 Chron. xvii. 19, the words run thus: "Lord, on account of Thy
_servant_, and according to Thine own heart, hast Thou done all these
great things, to make known all the glorious things." Hence, by the
"word," a promise given to David can alone be intended,--a word
formerly spoken to David, which contained the germ of the present one.
There is, no doubt, a special allusion to the word in 1 Sam. xvi. 12:
"And the Lord said. Arise and anoint him, for this is he." (Compare 2
Sam. xii. 7; Ps. lxxxix. 21; Acts xiii. 22.) _According to Thine
heart_: "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and [Pg 146]
plenteous in mercy," Ps. ciii. 8. _All these great things_,--_i.e._ the
promise of the eternal dominion of his house. גְּדֻלָּה and גְּדיּלָה--words in
which David takes special delight--never mean "greatness," but always
"great things." (Compare remarks on Ps. lxxi. 21, cxlv. 3.) The words,
"To make know," etc., indicate that the _making_ refers, in the
meantime, only to the divine decree.
Ver. 22. "_Wherefore Thou art great, Lord God: for there is none like
Thee, neither is there any God besides Thee, according to all that we
have heard with our ears._"
_Wherefore_--in the first instance, on account of the great things
which Thou hast done unto me. _According to all_, etc., _i.e._, as this
is confirmed by all, etc. Of this David has been reminded anew by his
personal experience. Just as he does here, David, in Ps. xl. 6, rises
from his personal experience to the whole series of God's glorious
manifestations in the history of His people. As to the words, "There is
none like Thee, neither is there any God besides Thee," compare the
fundamental passages Exod. xv. 11; Deut. iii. 24, iv. 35.
Ver. 23. "_And where is there a nation on earth like Thy people
Israel, for whose sake God went to redeem them for a people to
Himself, and make Him a name, and to do for you great things, and
terrible things for Thy land, putting away from before Thy people,
whom Thou redeemedst to Thee out of Egypt, heathen and their gods?_"
We must here compare the fundamental passages, Deut. iv. 7, 34, xxxiii.
29, in which that which Israel has received from his God is praised,
as being without precedent and parallel. In לכם and לארצך the address
is, with poetical liveliness, directed to Israel. _For you great
things_--instead of, To do for them great things, as the Lord has done
for you. The phrase מפני עמך means, literally, only, "away from before
Thy people;" "putting" must be supplied from the preceding לעשית, and
from a comparison of the fundamental passages, Exod. xxiii. 28, 29,
xxxiv. 11; Deut. xxxiii. 27, to which the concise expression refers.
The text in Chronicles, which expressly adds what we have here to
supply, לגרש מפני, "to drive out before," is, in this case also, merely
a parallel passage which, by the addition of a word, serves as a
commentary.
Ver. 24. "_And Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy people_ [Pg 147]
_Israel to be a people for ever, and Thou, Lord, art become their
God._"
Ver. 25. "_And now, Jehovah God, the word that Thou hast spoken
concerning Thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for
ever, and do as Thou hast said._"
Praise and thanks for the promise are followed by the prayer for its
fulfilment.
Ver. 26. "_And let Thy name be magnified for ever, so that it may be
said, Jehovah Zebaoth_ (is) _God over Israel. And the house of Thy
servant shall be firm before Thee._"
_Let Thy name be magnified_, instead of, Give cause for its being
glorified; compare Ps. xxxv. 27, xl. 17.--_Is God over Israel_, _i.e._,
proves Himself to be such, by protecting the house of the king, on whom
the salvation of Israel depends. In Chronicles it is thus expressed:
"Jehovah Zebaoth, the God of Israel, is God for Israel," _i.e._. He
fulfils to Israel what He promised (Jarchi). The prayer for the
establishment of David's house is expressed in the form of confidence,
in the conviction based upon the word of God, that such is according to
the will of God.
Ver. 27. "_For Thou, Jehovah Zebaoth, God of Israel, hast opened the
ear of Thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house. Therefore Thy
servant found_ (in) _his heart to pray this prayer unto Thee._"
(Otherwise, his heart would have failed him; he would have had neither
the desire nor the courage.) Ver. 28. "_And now, Lord Jehovah, Thou art
God, and Thy words are truth, and Thou hast promised unto Thy servant
these good things._ Ver. 29. _And now let it please Thee to bless the
house of Thy servant, that it may continue for ever before Thee; for
Thou, Lord Jehovah, hast spoken, and, by Thy blessing, the house of Thy
servant shall be blessed for ever._"
* * * * *
To whom does this promise refer, which David received through Nathan?
Some Rabbins, and _Grotius_, would fain restrict it to Solomon and his
more immediate posterity. This opinion, however, is refuted by the
single circumstance, that they are compelled to assume merely a long
duration of time, instead of the eternity which is here promised to the
house of David. And that such cannot be the meaning of the words "for
ever," is abundantly confirmed by a comparison with [Pg 148] Ps.
lxxxix. 30, "And I place his seed for ever, and his throne as the days
of heaven." In these words of the Psalm there is a reference to Deut.
xi. 21, where the _people_ of the Lord are promised a duration "as the
days of heaven and of earth." An absolute perpetuity is everywhere
ascribed to the people of God. If, then, the house of David is placed
on the same level as they, its perpetuity must likewise be absolute.
_Further_,--with such a view, it is impossible to comprehend what David
here says in his prayer, regarding the greatness of the promise, and
also what he says in Ps. cxxxviii. 2: "For Thou hast magnified Thy word
above all Thy name." The giving of the promise is there placed on a
loftier elevation than all the former deeds of the Lord.
Others--as _Calovius_--would refer the promise to Christ alone. But
vers. 14, 15 are decisive against this view; for, according to them,
God will not, by a total rejection, punish the posterity of David, if
they commit sin,--from which the reference is evident to a posterity
merely human, and hence sinful. According to ver. 13, David's posterity
is to build a temple to the Lord,--a declaration which, with reference
to David's plan of building a temple to the Lord, can, in the first
instance, be understood in no other way than as relating to the earthly
temple to be built by Solomon. To this consideration it may be added,
that, in 1 Chron. xxii. 9 seqq., David himself refers this announcement
primarily to Solomon, and that Solomon, in 1 Kings v. 5 seqq., and in 2
Chron. vi. 7 seqq., refers it to himself.
Nor is there entire soundness in the view of those who, following
_Augustine_ (_de Civitate Dei_ xvii. 8, 9), assume the existence of a
double reference,--to Solomon and his earthly successors on the one
hand, and to Christ on the other. Thus _Brentius_: "Solomon is not
altogether excluded, but Christ is chiefly intended." It is true that
these interpreters are substantially right in their view; but they err
as to the manner in which they give expression to it. The promise has
not a reference to two subjects simultaneously.[6] It views David's
house as an _ideal_ unity.
[Pg 149]
The promise is given to the house of David, vers. 11, 16, 19, 25,
26, 27, 29; to his seed, ver. 12. It is to the house of David that
the absolute perpetuity of existence, the unchangeable possession of
the grace of God--a relation to God similar to that of a son to his
father--and the inseparable connection of their dominion with the
kingdom of God in Israel, are guaranteed.
Footnote 1: _Seb. Schmid_ says: "He thought that this duty was imposed
upon him by the Word of God. For, as the state enjoyed peace, the royal
palace was finished, and his family established, there seemed to be
nothing wanting but to build a temple to the Lord."
Footnote 2: In 1 Kings viii. 16, Solomon thus reports what, in 2 Sam.
vii., had been spoken to David, in reference to the house of the Lord:
"Since the day that I brought up My people Israel out of Egypt, I chose
no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house that My name
might be in it; and I chose David to be over My people Israel." The
comment on this passage is given by the parallel one, 2 Chron. vi. 5,
6: "I did not choose any man to be a ruler over My people Israel. And I
have chosen Jerusalem that My name might be there, and I have chosen
David to be over My people Israel." Since David resided in Jerusalem,
the election of David, announced in 2 Sam. vii., implies also the
choice of Jerusalem as the place of the sanctuary. Hence, we must add
to 1 Kings viii. 16, the supplement: "And in connection with this
choice, David (the Davidic dynasty) is to build Me an house at the
place of his residence." The Vulgate translates very correctly: _Sed
elegi._ Solomon then continues, _Ver._ 17: "And it was in the heart of
David my father (namely, before he received this divine revelation) to
build an house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. _Ver._ 18.
And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart
to build an house unto My name, thou didst well that it was in thine
heart. _Ver._ 19. And thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that
shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto My
name."
Footnote 3: _Seb. Schmid_ says: "He rightly considers the tribes and
the judges as one. For the tribes are viewed in the judges who had
sprung from them, and _vice versa_, the judge, in his paternal tribe.
And that the matter is thus to be understood, is clear, because, in
Chronicles, where the judge is spoken of, he is introduced in the
plural: 'Why have _ye_ not built Me an house,' etc.? viz., thou, judge,
with thy tribe."
Footnote 4: That נוה, properly "habitation," "abode," is used here, as
frequently, of the sheep-cote, is shown by Ps. lxxxviii. 70, which is
based upon our passage.
Footnote 5: Michaelis says: "Just as in the preceding verses also, the
house of David did not mean a heap of stones and wood brought together,
but a congregation of people."
Footnote 6: This mistake was corrected by _Seb. Schmid_. He says: "The
promises here given to David have, of course, a reference to Solomon;
but not such as if they were to be fulfilled only in the person of
Solomon, and not also in his posterity, and, most of all, in the
Messiah to be descended from David and Solomon."
There is no direct mention of the person of the Messiah; and yet the
words, when considered in their full import, point, indirectly, to Him.
The absolute perpetuity of the race can be conceived of, only when at
last it centres in some superhuman person. But still more decisive is
the connection in which this promise stands to Gen. xlix. The dominion
which is there promised to Judah is here transferred to David. It is
then to David's race that the exalted individual must belong, in whom,
according to Gen. xlix. 10, Judah's dominion is to centre at some
future period. That David really connected the promise which he
received with Gen. xlix. 10, is shown by 1 Chron. xxviii. 4 (compare p.
91), and also by the name, Solomon, which he gave to his son; compare
ibid. That Solomon also founded his hopes regarding the future upon a
combination of Gen. xlix. and 2 Sam. vii., is shown by Ps. lxxii.,
which was composed by him; compare pp. 91, 92.
But, as respects this combination, David was not left to himself.
He received further light from the source from which the promise
had come to him. Although his mission was not properly a prophetic
one,--although, in the main, it belonged to him to describe poetically
what had come to him through prophetic inspiration, yet prophetic
inspiration and sacred lyric are frequently commingled in him. The man
who is "the sweet psalmist of Israel" claims a נאם in 2 Sam. xxiii. 1,
and, in ver. 2, says that the Spirit of God spake by him, and His word
was upon his tongue. In Acts ii. 30, 31, Peter declares that, by the
divine promise, David received, first the impulse, and afterwards
further illumination, by the prophetic spirit dwelling in him. The
latter declaration, moreover, rests on the testimony of the Lord
Himself, in Matt. xxii. 43, where He says that in Ps. cx., David had
spoken ἐν πνεύματι, _i.e._, seized with the Holy Spirit.
It is true that, in a series of Psalms, David is not any more [Pg 150]
explicit and definite than the fundamental prophecy, but speaks only of
the grace which the Lord had conferred upon the Davidic race by the
promise of a dominion which should outlast all earthly things. Thus it
is in Ps. xviii., where, in the presence of the congregation, he offers
those thanks which previously he had, as it were, privately expressed,
for the glorious promise made to him;--in Ps. xi., where, in the name
of the people, he expresses thankful joy for this same promise;--in
Ps. lxi. and in the cycle of Psalms from Ps. cxxxviii. to cxlv.--the
prophetic legacy of David--in which, at the beginning, in Ps.
cxxxviii., he praises the Lord for His promise of eternal mercy given
to him, and then, with the torch of promise, lightens up the darkness
of the sufferings that are to fall upon this house,--Psalms with which
Ps. lxxxix. and cxxxix., which were composed at a later period, and by
other writers, are closely connected.
But there are other Psalms (ii. and cx.) in which David, with a
distinctness which can be accounted for only by divine revelation,
beholds the Messiah in whose coming the promise in 2 Sam. vii. should
find its final and complete fulfilment. Whilst David, in these Psalms,
represents the Messiah as his antitype, as the mighty conqueror, who
will not rest until He shall have subjected the whole earth to His
sway, Solomon, in Ps. lxxii., represents Him as the true Prince of
Peace, and His dominion, as a just and peaceful rule. The circumstances
of the time of Solomon form, in a similar way, the foundation for the
description of the Messiah in Ps. xlv., which was written by the sons
of Korah.
A personal Messianic element is contained in some of those Davidic
Psalms also which refer to the _ideal_ person of the _righteous one_,
whose image we at last find fully portrayed in the Book of Wisdom. In
these the sufferings of the righteous one in a world of sin are
described, as well as the glorious issue to which he attains by the
help of the Lord. After his own experience, David could not have
doubted that, notwithstanding the glorious promise of the Lord, severe
sufferings were impending over his family, and over Him in whom that
family was, at some future time, to centre. But his own experience
likewise promised a glorious issue to these sufferings. The Psalms in
which, besides the reference to the righteous one, and to the [Pg 151]
people, the allusion to the afflictions of the Davidic race, and to the
suffering Messiah, most plainly appear, are the xxii., the cii., and
the cix.
There cannot be any doubt that the Messianic promise made considerable
progress in the time of David. It is, in itself, a circumstance of
great importance that the eyes of the people were henceforth directed
to a definite family; for, thereby, their hopes acquired greater
consistency. _Further_,--The former prophecies were, all of them, much
shorter, and more in the shape of hints; but, now, their hopes could
become detailed descriptions, because a _substratum_ was given to them
in the present. The Messiah had been foretold to David as a successor
to his throne,--as a King. Hence it was, that, in the view of David
himself and of the other psalmists, the earthly head of the
Congregation of the Lord formed the _substratum_ for the future
Saviour. The naked thought now clothed itself with flesh and blood. The
hope gained thereby in clearness and distinctness, as well as in
practical significance.
The slight hint of a higher nature of the Messiah, given in Gen. xlix.
8, forms the main ground for the advancing and more definite knowledge,
which we find in the days of David and Solomon. Grand and lofty
expectations could, henceforth, not fail to be connected with the
promise in 2 Sam. vii. 14, "I will be a father to him, and he shall be
a son to Me," and with the prophecy of the absolute perpetuity of
dominion, in the same passage. In Ps. ii. 12, the Messiah appears as
the Son of God κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν,--as He, in whom to trust is to be saved,
and whose anger brings destruction. In Ps. cx. 1, He appears as the
Lord of the Congregation and of David himself,--as sitting at the right
hand of omnipotence, and as invested with a full participation in the
divine power over heaven and earth. In Ps. lxxi. eternity of dominion
is ascribed to Him. In Ps. xlv. 7, 8, He is called God, Elohim.
Among the offices of Christ, it is especially the _Regal_ office on
which a clear light has been shed. The Messiah appears prominently as
He "who has dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends
of the earth," Ps. lxxii. 8. In Ps. cx., however, the office of the
Messiah as the eternal _High Priest_ is first revealed to the
congregation. He appears as the person who atones for whatever sins
cleave to His people, as their Intercessor [Pg 152] and Advocate with
God, and as the Mediator of the closest communion with God. We have
here the outlines, for the filling up of which Isaiah was, at a later
period, called. The _Prophetic_ office of the Saviour does not
distinctly appear in the Psalms. It was reserved for Isaiah to bring
out into a clearer light the allusion given, on this subject, by Moses,
after it had been taken up again, for the first time since Moses' day,
by the prophet Joel.
It was quite natural that David, who himself was exercised and proved
by the cross, should be the first to introduce to the knowledge of the
Church a _suffering Messiah_. But the doctrine has with him still the
character of a germ; he still mixes up the references to the Messiah
with the allusions to His types. It was from these that David rose to
Him; it was from their destiny that David, by the Holy Spirit, inferred
what would befall Him. Nowhere, however, has David directly and
exclusively to do with a suffering Messiah, as had, afterwards, the
prophet Isaiah.
In all that respects the Psalms, we must content ourselves with merely
a passing glance, lest we encroach too much upon the territory which
belongs to the Commentary on the Psalms. But "the last words of David,"
preserved to us in the Books of Samuel, we shall make the subject of a
more minute consideration, inasmuch as they form a connecting link
between the two classes of Psalms which rest on the promise in 2
Sam. vii., viz., those referring to David's house and family, and
those relating to the personal Messiah. The "ruler among men" whom we
meet in these "last words," is, in the first instance, an _ideal_
person,--viz., the Davidic race conceived of as a person; but the
_ideal_ points to the _real_ person, in whom all that had been foretold
of the Davidic family should, at some future period, find its full
realization. It is with a view to this person, that the personification
has been employed.