The Heart of David

I’ve noticed that Ps. 119 is a window into David’s soul. He’s my favorite Bible character. So we are going to dive into a study of his life to go along with the study on Ps. 119.

David often talks about God’s testimonies in Ps. 119. To him, those were Old Testament stories that he learned from. God’s testimonies show how he works in people’s lives. Little did David know that he would be part of “the testimony of the Lord” through the recording of his life and his psalms.

Look at Ps. 19:7 The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. When we study the testimony of the Lord in David’s life, we become wise, if we pay attention to it.

Another reason to study David’s life has come up in this blog several times recently from what the Apostle Paul said about David: Act 13:21-22  And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.  (22)  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Our goal is to see how David was a man after God’s heart, so we will be women after God’s heart.

First, David had the Spirit of God. The prophet Samuel, at God’s direction, went to the house of Jesse to find out which of his eight sons God had picked to be the king:

1Sa 16:5-7  And he (prophet Samuel) said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.  (6)  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he (Samuel) looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him.  (7)  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

1Sa 16:11-13  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.  (12)  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.  (13)  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.

We also have the Spirit if we are saved. But do we live lives controlled by the Spirit? David often did (but not always, we know).

Let’s remember that the Israelites already had a king, Saul. But he was disobedient to God. God had asked him to go to the enemies of God and kill them and the animals. It was God’s way of judging his enemies. But Saul saved some of the animals. When Samuel asked him why he didn’t obey God, Saul said to Samuel, 1Sa 15:20-24  Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.  (21)  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.  (22)  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  (23)  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.  (24)  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

This tells us what God likes and doesn’t like. He wants us to obey him. When we hear a sermon from the word of God and the Holy Spirit touches our heart and tells us we have failed in some area, we need to ask him to forgive us and turn our heart back to him. He would rather have our obedience than our sacrifices or our praise.

And so, God asked the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king. … The key to David’s success from that point on was that the Spirit of God was on him.

That will be our success as a Christian too... the Spirit of God living in us and guiding us.

Rom 8:8-9  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  (9)  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

We can’t live by human reasoning. That is living in the flesh. That doesn’t please God.

Zec 4:6b  Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

We can’t live by our own willpower and our own strength. We must live by God’s spirit, who directs us in our hearts and tells us what is the right thing to do.

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Walk in dependence on the spirit to guide, and then we won’t follow our own natural desires.

Pro 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  (6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.