(12) Which shall proceed.--The promise here given certainly has immediate reference to Solomon, and it is thought by many that the use of the future shows that he was not yet born. This may be the fact, and if so, the expression will give an important indication of the point in David's reign to which this passage belongs. But the same expression might have been used after Solomon's birth, the future tense being merely an assimilation to the futures of the whole passage, and the point of the promise being that David's son shall succeed to his throne.

Verse 12. - Thy seed... which shall proceed. As the son is to be established in the kingdom and to build the house, he must be Solomon, who plainly, therefore, was not as yet born (see note on ver. 1).

7:4-17 Blessings are promised to the family and posterity of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, who is often called David and the Son of David. To him God gave all power in heaven and earth, with authority to execute judgment. He was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name; the spiritual temple of true believers, to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. The establishing of his house, his throne, and his kingdom for ever, can be applied to no other than to Christ and his kingdom: David's house and kingdom long since came to an end. The committing iniquity cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off.And when thy days be fulfilled,.... The days of his life, which were appointed by the Lord for him to live, and when he had filled up the common term of man's life, as he exactly did; for he lived just seventy years, see 2 Samuel 5:4,

and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; die and be buried; for this is a phrase expressive of death, and the grave the common portion of men:

I will set up thy seed after thee; sons to succeed in the kingdom, as they did for the space of five hundred years; though here it respects one particular seed or son, even Solomon, as appears by what follows:

which shall proceed out of thy bowels; be begotten by him, and born unto him, and has regard to a future son of his not yet born; not Absalom nor Adonijah, nor any of the rest born in Hebron were to succeed him in the kingdom, but one as yet unborn:

and I will establish his kingdom; so that he shall have a long and happy reign, as Solomon had.