Monday Club Sermons 2 Samuel 7:11-16 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies… I. THE RELIGIOUS USE OF PROSPERITY. In the hour of his greatest success the heart of the king was upon a plan for the building of God's house. In his times of trial he had called upon God, and now in his triumph he did the same. The question as to the comparative helpfulness of adversity and prosperity in fixing the heart on sacred things admits of but one answer; if it fails in the one condition, it proves to have been a deception in the other. II. THE SUBJECTION OF MATERIAL PROSPERITY TO THE SPIRITUAL. The supreme idea of David was to build a house for the Lord. This old-fashioned idea is the right one for to-day — the best belongs to God. It is also true that our gifts are largely in material form. The cup of cold water, the loaf of bread, the new garment for the needy — these are made sacred in Christ's name. Practical religion means more than mere prayer, so-called. The cup of cold water in the name of a disciple of Christ, for aught we can see, is a factor in a real prayer. The gift of a garment to one shivering with cold is itself a factor in the religion that prompts one to say, "Be ye warmed." The gift in Christ's name is really the expression of our prayer to Him for His blessing upon the one on whom that gift is bestowed. III. THE DIVINE VETO ON HUMAN PLANS. The resolution of many an ode, like David, may seem to be best even to the best men, and yet be out of God's plan. But one great purpose of one great master mind can ever succeed. King David never even dreamed that his plans would miscarry; and Nathan the prophet declared "the Lord is with thee." Every prophecy has been a special revelation. Not because a recognized prophet spoke was it certain that he would declare the mind of God. Nathan spoke without inspiration, and made a mistake. Disappointment filled the king's heart upon the Divine decree, but his royal hands were-stayed. His plan was not Divine. Scarce a man since but has winced under the Divine veto. We make splendid plans, but under the veto those plans become mere castles in the air. The same shadow darkens the palace and the cottage alike. We plan for health, and the veto brings sickness; we plan for success, and the veto brings failure; we plan for long life, and the veto brings death. It is ever so, and ever shall be; disappointments will never cease until from the heart we shall all say, "Thy will, not mine, be done." IV. THE DIVINE LEADERSHIP IN OUR PERSONAL HISTORY. What was true in David's life is true in every life. We live under the Divine sovereignty. A personal God deals with His children. Events no human brain has foreseen shape our lives. The experience of the past gives hope for the future. He who has been with us in the days of youth will be with us in the valley of shadows. The future of each life brightens in our assurances of the Divine help in the past. This is the law. Because God had been with David in his struggles all the way, therefore He would be with him in all the days to come. V. THE GREAT COVENANT. The Divine promises are better than our fears. To the disappointed king there came a covenant message of surpassing power. The disappointment arose because in this day of his greatness he was not permitted to carry out his chosen designs. The disheartened king heard the prophet's message that Jehovah needed no house; but a greater declaration was awaiting his attention. It was a far-off vision the prophet has seen: "The Lord telleth thee that He will make thee an house." This whole theme reveals the ever-recurring fact of the true spiritual meaning that lies beneath all Scripture history. Four thousand years before the star shone over Bethlehem, the expectation of the Messiah was cherished by the friends of God. The promise to Abraham was not of seeds, as of many, but of one "which is Christ." Jacob could bless his sons without discerning Shiloh. Moses' choice took into account "the reproach of Christ." So in our text, David plans for a house that shall bear Jehovah's name; and immediately there is revealed to him the covenant, no man can break, that the anointed shall spring from his line; and further yet, that the importance of the spiritual kingdom far exceeds any importance of the earthly. This was the great consolation of the centuries that Messiah's kingdom should appear in the earth. They lived and they died in so grand a hope, founded upon the unshaken revelation of the Word of God — a word of the everlasting covenant. (Monday Club Sermons.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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 an house. |
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