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.