1 Chronicles 17:18

1 Chronicles 17:18 says, What can David speak more to thee for the honour of thy servant? for thou knowest thy servant.  David asked what more could he say to God in order for God to honor him, because God knew him.  There is nothing that we can say to God to justify ourselves before Him.  We will never merit the honor of salvation that God bestows on us.  Verse nineteen adds, O Lord, for thy servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness, in making known all these great things. David said that all the good that God had done for him was because of God's own heart and for David's sake.  Salvation is a free gift from God, because of His loving heart for mankind, His creation, but it is for our good.  Verse twenty continues, O Lord, there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.  David proclaimed God to be unlike any other, and even more than that, He was the only God.  This is still true today and will be forever.  We cannot be faithful to God and still hold on to false gods.  Verse twenty-one states, And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt?  David asked what other nation was as great as Israel, not of their own worthiness, but because God had chosen to work through them.  There is no nation like the Christian nation, and it is without borders, because God has redeemed us and not because of our own worthiness.  Verse twenty-two adds, For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.  David said God made the people of Israel His because of them accepting Him as their God.  It was their acceptance and obedience to God that made them great in the world, and if they failed to accept Him and be obedient, even though they were Israelites by birth, they failed to be great in the world.  We as followers of Christ are a part of the family of God because of our relationship to Jesus Christ, and not because of where we were born or who our parents are.  Verse twenty-three continues, Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.  David asked that God do as He said He would and establish the house of David forever.  This was accomplished when Jesus Crist was born into the house of David, not because of Davd's worthiness, but because of God's choice of him and His promise to David.  Salvation will always be available because of God's work and not ours.  Verse twenty-four says, Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified for ever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.  David asked that the house of David be established forever so that God might be glorified and not David himself.  We as Christians are established as a part of God's kingdom forever, not for our glory, but for His.  Verse twenty-five adds, For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house: therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.  David said because of God's goodness to him, he had found it in his heart to pray to God.  David did not receive as great a gift by being made the earthly king of Israel as we do by having the gift of everlasting life with God through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, so, like David we should pray to God for direction in our lives.  Verse twenty-six continues, And now, Lord, thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant:  Just as God promised goodness to David as long as he was obedient to God, He has promised good to us as long as we are obedient to Him.  This is not to say that if we become disobedient to God at times as Christians that we lose our salvation, but we may lose having God's protective hand on us in this old sinful world.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.  David repeated his request that his house, the house of David, be established forever, and it was through Jesus Christ.  God had made a promise to David, and He fulfilled it, just as He will always fulfill His promises to us.  I believe David was still thinking in physical terms, but God's promise was made in spiritual terms.  We need to look at life in spiritual terms and not just physical ones.