And we shall read again the words of verse 27. For thy, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house. Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And especially those final words, thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer on to thee. Our theme for our remaining time this evening is a prayerful response. a prayerful response. And that's what we have in the verses that you heard read and you're hearing. It is David's prayerful response to God and the revelation of God of the covenant that God was going to make with David. Now, the context of this chapter, as we know, is that David desired in his heart to build for God a house. Verse two, 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. And Nathan encouraged the king and Nathan said, go do all that is in thine heart for the Lord is with thee. And yet the Lord would not have David build for him a house. Instead, the Lord would reveal to David from verse 12 to 16 of chapter 7, that he would build for David a house, a dynasty. Here God graciously reveals to his servant David, that covenant that he would enter into, that Davidic covenant, which is another administration of that great covenant of grace that God has made with his people. Now, an important point for us to note as we commence is that David's response to God is similar in size to that of the divine pronouncement of God to David. God, from verse four to 16, gives a divine pronouncement. And in the Hebrew text, there is only one word of difference in the size between the gracious pronouncement of God to David and the response of David to God. One word of difference. One writer remarks, it was literally shaped so as to make David's response as thematically important as the divine words themselves. So we're being taught something here thematically. David's prayerful response to God was as important as God's gracious pronouncement towards David. This prayer is a rich example for us in our own praying and how we need such examples in prayer. The hardest element we would all confess of the Christian life is praying. And we are to pray in our praying. And at times it is as if our words do not even penetrate the ceiling. And yet here we have a rich example of prayer. The content of David's prayer before us, it is as a clear glass wherein we see David's heart of gratitude and thankfulness towards God. Prayer is taken up by David with God in response to God's divine revelation. Nathan comes with God's word to David. And within God's word, there is a personal promise given to David that his seed would sit on the throne. And yes, that was fulfilled personally because Solomon sat upon the throne. But also there is an eschatological promise. What I mean is there is an end time promise. There is a greater fulfillment of the promise that is yet to come. And this is the revelation of God to David that causes David to find himself in this prayerful disposition. this response on to God. Look at verse 17. According to all these words, I was according to the revelation of God and according to all this vision. So did Nathan speak on to David. So then we have David's response. David responds in humility, in solemnity and in faith. In a praying frame, David takes to God. He takes to God in thanksgiving, in praise, and in supplication. And it is these three headings that I want us to take to consider this prayerful response of David. We have thanksgiving in prayer, we have praise in prayer, and we have supplication in prayer. Well, firstly, then, we consider Thanksgiving in prayer. We have this from verse 18 to verse 21. Thanksgiving in prayer, verse 18. Then went King David in and sat before the Lord, and he said, who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that thou hast brought me hither to? We read here that David sat before the Lord. Now what is being conveyed to us here is the idea of a tarrying before the Lord, a remaining before the Lord in a prayerful frame. It's not conveying to us necessarily any posture, but that David remained, he tarried before the face of God in prayer. And look at the construction that is used in verse 18. Oh Lord God. And you'll note that God is all in capitals. And we have this unique construction used a number of times in this prayer by David. He uses it again in verse 19. Oh Lord God. He uses it twice in verse 19. He uses it once again in verse 20. And he uses it further on in the prayer. Now, with the context of David's prayer being the covenant God making with him. It is worthy for us to consider this unique construction that David uses as he addresses God. Because we have this unique construction first used in the book of Genesis. And it's used by Abram in chapter 15 and verse 2. And Abram said, Lord God, What will thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed, and lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels. shall be thine heir. And this is the first use of this unique construction in Holy Scripture. And this ties in with David's response. For Abram's response to God here was in a covenantal context. God was making a covenant with Abraham. And here we have God making a covenant with David and David's use of this unique construction ties David's prayerful response into the broader context of God's covenant dealings with his people. What we can say is that Abram was promised a people and a land. and that David's promise consisted in a leader, a king for that people and for that land. So you see the Abrahamic covenant and the Davidic covenant are here linked with this unique construction in David's prayerful response. David sees himself as unworthy of such promised blessings, and he sees himself as being unworthy with any connection with the Abrahamic covenant. Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that thou hast brought me hither to? Now this reminds us of the prayer of Jacob. When the covenant was revealed personally to Jacob, Jacob's response was similar to that that we have here with David. In Genesis chapter 32 and verse 10, how did Jacob respond to God? I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become to banish. This is what David is also saying to God that he is not worthy of God entering into covenant with him. The response was one of prayer. And this prayer was given in the disposition of humility. We are taught here that this is the true response of a sinner in covenant with God. Think about it, dear saints. Isn't this our response? We are sinners in covenant with God. God has graciously condescended to us and entered into covenant with us. Surely this is our response. We are unworthy of such mercy and of such truth towards us in Jesus Christ. A true and worthy response of a sinner in covenant with God. in realization of where God has brought us from onto himself. He has brought us from death onto life. We were aliens and foreigners from the covenants of promise. and the Lord has brought us near and into covenant with himself. Well, we ought to be found in this disposition of humility and of thanksgiving. This is the case here with David. David fully realizes where he has come from and where God has exalted him to. The Lord has brought David to this place. We read of the Lord's condescension, 2 Samuel 7, verse 6. 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 a tabernacle. This teaches us somewhat of the condescending mercy of God. God has condescended to tabernacle with his people. And yet, while we're told here that God has condescended down onto his people, we are told how God has exalted David. Verse eight, now therefore, so shalt thou say unto my servant David, thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the sheep to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I was with thee, whether so ever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in all the earth. Just as we're told God condescended, next we're told that he exalted David. A shepherd boy is now king over Israel. King David. There was thanksgiving for what God had done, but also for what God was going to do. What was God going to do? Verse 19. And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God, but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. A great while to come. not only a great wine, but great and wonderful things, dear saints, to come for the house of David. Now, it is important for us to notice at this point a number of words in this chapter that form the backdrop of this whole narrative. And we don't have the time and scope now to look at every single one. But we have the house, the word house, kingdom, and throne. And these words, house, kingdom, and throne, they form, as it were, a backdrop to this whole narrative between David and his God. David desired, didn't he, to build a house for God in verse two. In verse 11, we're told that God would build David a house Verse 11, also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And there is significance in this word that is used. What is being conveyed is not just a fabric building that God was going to build for David, but it was a dynasty. This was the house that God was going to build for David. A dynasty would come wherein his seed that would be the true son of David would sit on a neverlasting throne and an everlasting king. A dynasty from which would come the promised seed. You see, this had a personal significance with Solomon that followed, but also this end time significance, this covenant fulfillment that was to come. We have here a further revelation of the covenant of grace. Cast your minds back to Genesis 3, 15, where we read of that promised seed of the woman who would bruise the head serpent. The seed in the garden is the same seed who was now promised to David. The seed in the garden was to be the true son of David. We see the continuity here, don't we? Of God's covenant administrations, his dealings with his people. There was much then for David to be thankful for, in the promises of God. So much so, he literally says to God, what more can I ask for? Verse 20. And what can David say more unto thee? For thy Lord God knows thy servant. Literally what David's saying, Lord, what more can I ask for? You have given me it all. He was without one. In this prayer of thanksgiving, there was a deep sense of God's favor towards him. And for this, he was thankful and he was glad. And that is the right disposition to have, isn't it? When we are conscious, when we have a sense of God's favor towards us, well, our response ought to be thanksgiving and prayer. Not only did David know that God's heart was towards him, but God, in David's response, sees a heart of thankfulness in his servant. What is our response unto God? Remember, the true response of a sinner in covenant with God Do we have a deep sense of God's favor toward us in Christ? The mercy of God that we have experienced? Then we ought to have this prayerful response of David, thanksgiving unto God. But secondly, we have praise in prayer. Verse 22 to 24. Verse 22, wherefore thou art great, O Lord God, for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. What a way to start praise and prayer. Thou art great. An exclamation of praise to God for his greatness. It's as if David, in considering what God has done and will do for him, now bursts forth in praise to one who is able and willing to do all that he has promised. And this is significant. Many a man will promise us many a thing. Many a false god will promise their adherents many a thing. But our God, He is both able and willing to grant unto us that which He has promised. Thou art great. Why is God great? Have we ever asked ourselves this question? Why is God great? Well, dear saints of God, it is to God alone that the law of incomparability applies. This law of incomparability belongs to God alone. God in his incomparableness, we could say, is absolute. God is great in being and in name. There is none like unto our God. Let's put these two things together, being of God and the name of God. Think of Exodus 3, 14. I am that I am, a name of God. But it teaches us something about the greatness of the being of God. What does it teach us? It teaches us that God is self-existent. He has no need of anything outside of himself. God is wholly independent. He is self-existent. He has life in himself. He is self-satisfied, self-sustaining. He needs none. Wholly independent. And if we think just on this name, I am that I am, these are the thoughts that should come to us. And they should help us in our meditating upon the greatness of our God, which will help us in our praying. But God is also greatness, great in his works. We read this in verse 23, God is great in his goodness and his power. Verse 23, and what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, the goodness of God, redeeming a nation that was unworthy, the goodness of God, redeeming sinners that are unworthy. and to make him a name and to do for you great things and terrible for thy land before thy people, which thou redeemest to thee from Egypt, from the nation and their gods. Here we have also the greatness of God's power. It was by the power of his arm, the might of his arm, that he brought his people out of bondage in Egypt. And in so doing, in the 10 plagues, the power of God exposed those false gods and idols of the Egyptians. David by word and by experience confesses the greatness of God. What do I mean? He had heard of God's great exploits. The word had been brought down to him. He had heard how God had redeemed the people out of Egypt, but also his experience. He knew God. He knew the power of God's saving grace in his soul. He knew, we could say, the life of God in his soul. He knew that his God was great. The incomparableness of God has been a confession in the prayerful praises of the church throughout the history of the church. We read in Exodus 15, we have the song of Moses, and in verse 11, we read, who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? What do we have, dear saints? The incomparableness of God being used in prayerful praise unto God. Also, we have the greatness of God, His incomparableness recorded for us in the song book of the church, the Psalms. We sing regularly of the incomparableness of God. Psalm 73, verse 25. Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. The Psalm is setting before us here in both heaven and in earth. There is none who is comparable unto God. We have the same Psalm 76 verse one, Psalm 99 and verse three. Do we then employ such praise in our praying? Do we acknowledge God's greatness? do we know of such greatness with God? Not that we have just heard it, but have we experienced it? Paul, in his praying for the Ephesian church, he tells them how he prays for them in Ephesians chapter one. And one of the things that he mentions is that they would know the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe according to the working of his mighty power. What a need this would be to our praying, dear saints. If we were to know his exceeding greatness, we would pray with David, thou art great. You know, every believer experiences this exceeding greatness of his power. It is the same power that was wrought in Christ at the resurrection that is wrought when a sinner is brought from death to life. Therefore, we ought to know of this exceeding greatness of our God. If we have experienced the exceeding greatness of his power towards us, Why? Our praying should be transformed. We would, as one once said, we would begin to pray in our praying. Do we pray in our praying? Do we pray, thou art great, O Lord. Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry remarked, and I quote, The nearer any are brought to God, the more they see of his glory. And the dearer we are in his eyes, the greater he should be in ours. You see what he's saying? As we are brought nearer to God by his grace, we do see God's glory. And as we come to this knowledge of how dear we are in God's sight, how we are the apple of God's eye, the greater he should be in ours. Why? Because that is the right and the prayerful response of a sinner in covenant with God. So that was praise in prayer. But thirdly, we have supplication in prayer. Verse 25 to 29. Verse 25, And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his spouse, establish it forever, and do as thou hast said. David, in supplication, now exercises boldness of faith in his praying unto God. We note the imperatives in verse 25. We read, establish it forever. The meaning conveys to us a causative. It is to cause it to be established. And do as the has said. You see the boldness David is exercising, the confidence that he has in prayer. Oh Lord thou art great. Cause it to be established. Do it as thou hast said. The Lord has said it. What is David now saying to the Lord? Now substantiate the things spoken. Now it is of course important for us to acknowledge that this was in no way a display of irreverence before God. You know, we do have today within broader evangelicalism a so-called boldness in public prayer. A boldness in public prayer that is best categorized as just being bold. As a child would be bold toward a parent. That's what much of the boldness and praying is at this time. It is rather brash and hasty in the presence of the almighty God. But David's boldness, David's boldness is one with much reverence. Well, you may say, but how do you know this? Well, in verse 26, we read, and let thy name be magnified forever, saying, the Lord of hosts is the God over Israel, and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. David's boldness in praying is directed by a belief in God's promises, and also a desire for God's glory. Look what he says in verse, let thy name be magnified forever. It is David who has just been given the promise that he would have a seed upon the throne forever. And yet he says unto God, let thy name be magnified. Let God have the glory. The record of David's supplication is very beneficial for us. We should really note the faith and simplicity that is found in David's supplicating here of God. David's prayer here becomes very logical. He uses, as it were, a very basic syllogism in his praying, and it is a good model for us to follow. And when I speak of a syllogism, of course, I speak of something that has a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion to help one in prayer. What's David's major premise here? Verse 28, he says, thy words be true. The major premise is that God is trustworthy. Thy words be true. Then there's a minor premise. Thou hast promised this goodness. So God is trustworthy. In his trustworthiness, he has promised this goodness. What is the conclusion? The conclusion is that the Lord would bless the house of David. Hence we have the resulting supplication in verse 29. Let it please thee to bless. And dear saints, this is what we ought to do in prayer. We ought to acknowledge the trustworthiness of God, the ferocity of God's word to us. His promises are true. And God has promised things to us. Therefore, we ought to employ these promises in our prayer because God is trustworthy. God has said to us, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. If we are experiencing spiritual desertion within our own soul, if we think that God has forsaken us, what should we do? We should employ this in our praying, this promise. The Lord is trustworthy. The Lord has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Therefore, the Lord hasn't left me. He hasn't deserted me. The Lord is with me. Dear Saints, David knew God, as I have said, by word and by experience. As he heard the word of God from Nathan, It revived his soul. It exercised his faith. It caused him, because there was life in his soul, in his experience with God, it caused him then to rightfully respond to God in thanksgiving and in praise and in supplication. God is great, is good, and his promises are true. We can say that in covenant with God, in covenant living, David exercised faith in the promises of God, and David exercised the promises of God by faith. Let me repeat that. David exercised faith in the promises of God and David exercised the promises of God by faith. One by praying and the other in his praying. You see, it is an excellent model for a believer to follow. It is an excellent response for a believer to imitate as we consider God's mercy in covenant towards us. With all this said and noted, we can conclude that David in supplication to God could boldly say, do Lord, as thou hast said. And dear saints of God, this was the right response. It was a biblical response to the promises of God. A prayerful response that was one of thankfulness, praise and supplication. Well, dear friends, may we continue to have such a response to God in prayer for all that he has done for us and all that he continues to do for us and all that he has promised that he will do for us. all the while framing our praying in the language of the New Testament. And what is that? Lord, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. Well, let us pray.