covenant had been returned to its central place in the life of Israel. David’s thoughts began to turn to the future and in particular to the matter of God’s house. David noted that while he was ‘living in a palace of cedar’, the ark of God remained ‘in a tent’. The Lord seemed to suffer by the comparison and David was exercised in his heart about how best to honour the Lord. Nathan the prophet, with whom the king had shared this thought, was impressed by David’s genuinely godly concern and simply