2 Samuel 7:20

2Sa 7:20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.

Ver. 20. And what can David say more unto thee?] More I would say, but I want words, and am at a loss. But thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant - viz., that I could wish I had the "tongue of men and angels"; and that I could gladly grant thee better service than I am able to do thee.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 7:20-21. What can David say — Either in a way of gratitude and praise — Words cannot express my obligations to thee, nor my sense of these obligations — or in a way of prayer: What can I ask of thee more than thou hast freely done? Thou knowest thy servant — Thou knowest my deep sense of thy favours, and my obligations to thee; and my condition and necessities, what I do or may need hereafter; and as thou knowest this, so I doubt not thou wilt supply me. Thy word’s sake — That thou mightest fulfil thy promises made to me, and thereby demonstrate thy faithfulness. According to thine own heart — Of thy own mere liberality and good pleasure, without any desert of mine. So far was David, though a very gracious man, from thinking his actions meritorious. To make thy servant know them — Thus David expresses the deep sense he had of the extraordinary kindness of God, not only in designing these great things for him and his posterity, but in condescending to make them known to him.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7:20 You know what your servant is really like: God made his promises to David with full knowledge that David had both strengths and weaknesses.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

what can David say more unto thee?--that is, my obligations are greater than I can express.

Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 8

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. What can David say more] How can I express my endless obligation to thee?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant] Words fail, and David appeals to God’s omniscience. Cp. Psa_17:3; Psa_139:1-4; Joh_21:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And what can David say more unto thee,.... In a way of self-abasement, or in thankfulness for such wonderful favours, or in prayer for more and other mercies; he wants words, as if he should say, to express his sense of his own nothingness and unworthiness, and to praise the Lord for all his benefits; and so large are the grants and promises made, that there is no room for him to ask for more:

for thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant; what a sense he has of his own meanness and vileness, what gratitude his heart is filled with, and what his wants and necessities are, which God only can supply, and does abundantly, even more than he is able to ask or think. The Targum is,"and thou hast performed the petition of thy servant, O Lord God.''

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Unto thee. To express his sentiments of gratitude. (Menochius) --- What more can he desire?

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

What can David say more unto thee? either, first, In way of gratitude and praise to thee; words cannot express my obligations to thee, nor my sense of these obligations. Or rather, secondly, In way of prayer, as appears by the parallel place, 1Ch 17:18. What can I ask or desire of thee more than thou hast freely done?

Thou knowest thy servant; thou knowest, either, first, my deep sense of thy favours, and my obligations to thee; or rather, secondly, my condition and necessities, what I do or may need hereafter; and as thou knowest this, so I doubt not thou wilt be ready to supply me accordingly. Compare Mat 6:8,32.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou, Lord. God, knowest thy servant. The Hebrew throughout has Lord Jehovah, except in vers. 22, 25, where it has "Jehovah God," the title of Deity used in Genesis 2. The repeated use Of this covenant and personal name of God is very emphatic; and the appeal to Jehovah"s knowledge of his heart reminds us of similar outpourings of David"s consciousness of his sincere devotion to his Maker, as for instance Psa_17:3.

Unutterable thoughts and feelings known to God.

God"s knowledge of the heart, which is a terror to evil men who think upon it, is often a joy to his servants. "Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee". (Joh_21:17) So David, with his heart toofull for adequate utterance, finds satisfaction in the thought that God knew what his thoughts and feelings were.

I THE FELT INADEQUACY OF LANGUAGE TO EXPRESS THE DEEPEST THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF THE GODLY SOUL. In our ordinary condition we feel not this difficulty. Our expressions are more likely to go beyond our thoughts and feelings, especially when we use forms of devotion prepared by others. But when the soul is deeply stirred, as David"s at this time, we struggle in vain to express fully what is within. It is thus with

1. Our sense of the value of God"s gifts. Christ, God"s "unspeakable Gift". (2Co_9:15) Salvation. Everlasting life. Gifts of God associated with these which are from time to time bestowed special help in temptation, comfort in trouble, guidance in perplexities as to truth or duty, etc.

1. Our sense of the love which bestows them. We can only say, "How great is thy goodness!" "How excellent is thy loving kindness!" "God so loved the world;" "The love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Psa_31:19 Psa_36:7; Joh_3:16; Eph_3:19) Or, as David (ver. 22), "Thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like unto thee.

2. The emotions excited by them. Our gratitude, affection, penitence, humility, confidence, joy ("unspeakable,", (1Pe_1:8) longing for fuller experience of them ("groanings which cannot be uttered,", (Rom_8:26) anticipations of their perfect enjoyment. (2Co_5:2-4) In our times of intense devotion we feel how utterly impossible it is fully to express what is in our hearts.

II THE SATISFACTION WHICH ARISES FROM GOD"S PERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF US. "What can David say more unto thee?" I cannot express what I feel; and I need not labour to do so, "For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant." It is the same thought which St. Paul expresses, when, speaking of the unutterable groanings with which the Holy Spirit intercedes in the Christian soul, he says, "He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit". (Rom_8:27) God knows much more about us than our words express; is not dependent for his knowledge of us on our own account of ourselves. As we cannot by any words conceal from him the evil which is in us, so our deficiencies of expression will not hinder his discernment of the good. Even earthly parents see the meaning which their children try to express in stammering words and broken sentences; how much more does the heavenly Father, who is not at all dependent for his knowledge of us on our words, see beyond the poor utterances of his children, into their hearts! This is

(1) a comfort under the consciousness of imperfect and unworthy utterance in our addresses to God; and

(2) a reason for not labouring too much to express ourselves fully and worthily.

(1) declining to speak to God at all, David did not actually sink into silence because he felt that he could not adequately express himself, and that God knew him (see what follows); or

(2) accustoming ourselves to careless expression before him.

Since

(1) the endeavour to speak aright aids right thought and feeling, these grow in the endeavour to utter them;

(2) in family and social worship our language aids or hinders others; and

(3) we should ever offer to God our best, poor as we may feel it to be. And we may indefinitely improve both in thought and expression by the careful employment of the helps presented in Holy Scripture and uninspired devotional books. Christian poets, too, may much assist us to find suitable, though it may be still inadequate, utterance for our deepest thoughts and emotions.

But it is not a reason for either Finally:

1. David"s emotions on this occasion are at once an example and a reproach to us. For the gifts and promises of God to us, if not greater than those to him, are greater than his understanding of them could be. They stand out to us in the light which streams from Jesus Christ, unfolding into all the precious revelations and assurances of the gospel, and all the happy experiences which the Holy Spirit produces. Yet how seldom are we so affected as to feel language too poor for the expression of the wonder, love, and gratitude which we feel!

2. How sad to be utterly insensible to the goodness of God and the greatness of his gifts to us! G.W.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

David say - Either in a way of gratitude and praise, words cannot express my obligations to thee, nor my sense of these obligations: Or in a way of prayer. What can I ask of thee more than thou hast freely done? Thou knowest - Thou knowest my deep sense of thy favours, and my obligations to thee. And my condition and necessities, what I do or may need hereafter; and as thou knowest this, so I doubt not thou wilt supply me.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

What more can Dovid say to You. What more can I ask for?

You know Your servant. You have supplied me with all my needs as [it says] (Mishlei 12:10) "A righteous man knows his animal's being. "

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.