Paul summarized his life when he was but a young obscure shepherd. “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” Acts 13:22 David was a mere 17 years of age, and had done none of his famous exploits. But the Lord knew his character and his future. And at the end of his life, he is called the sweet psalmist of Israel. And God makes the incredible promise that he was a king who would have a descendant on his throne forever. And all because he was a man after God’s own heart.
What set David aside like this?
It seems to me that his sin of adultery and murder with Bathsheba and Uriah would have ruined his reputation. Under the law, he deserved to be stoned to death. Today, it would certainly have destroyed his future as king. And it certainly was a significant event. At the end of his life, the Bible says
David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 1 Kings 15:5
A man after God’s own heart? Favor in God’s sight? Did what was right in the eyes of the LORD? Let’s see what is said about David that sets him apart. And let us determine to follow his example.
SCENE ONE: HIS ANOINTING
God had set David aside as being the ONLY man in all of Israel worthy to be the next king. Remember how David had seven older brothers, and Samuel assumed that some of them “looked” qualified? But it was the youngest—the one that no one would have guessed—who was chosen by God.
Just before he anointed David, Samuel discovered that “he was
ruddy and had
beautiful eyes and was
handsome. . . . And
the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. 1 Samuel 16:11-13
A young man introduced him as
skillful in playing, a
man of valor, a
man of war,
prudent in speech, and a
man of good presence, and
the LORD is with him." 1 Samuel 16:18
Multiple times, it says,
“the LORD was with him.” 1 Samuel 16:28
David had success in all his undertakings, for
the LORD was with him. 1 Samuel 18:12
David had skills and natural talent. But most important was this: David was willing to do all of God’s will, as Paul said. In fact, he was the ONLY one in all Israel who was willing to take God at his word one defining day: the day of Goliath.
SCENE TWO: DAVID VS. GOLIATH
It was the epitome of good versus evil, of human strength versus an underdog, and most people know something of the contest because of that. No one else in all of Israel was willing to fight, for days on end, in spite of Goliath’s blasphemy. But young David, who had already been delivered from a lion and a bear in protecting his flock, knew two things: 1) that God is stronger than the biggest man, and 2) that David had developed into a pretty good shot with his sling and a stone. So he chose five stones (just in case), he verbally declared the center of the battle was between Baal and the One True God, and he ran into the battle, using his quickness to counter Goliath’s superior size and strength.
David made it clear that this was a spiritual battle, not a contest between two men. He said,
"You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 1 Samuel 17:45
That was the center of this fight: Goliath defied the living God, and God’s nature told David that it could not succeed. So David had right Motives plus good strategy; have faith and have a plan; it was an effective combination.
SCENE THREE/FOUR: DAVID TRUSTS ANOINTING
Two other moments capture the essence of David’s right heart, a heart after God’s own heart. The first is his resolute belief in God’s anointing. God had anointed Saul as king (unworthy as he was). Saul had developed or been given a vexing spirit, which David helped to calm with his music (he had many exceptional talents, apparently). But eventually, after the Goliath victory, David became more popular than Saul, and Saul was insanely (literally) jealous. So David spent some thirteen years on the run from Saul. Twice he had opportunity to kill Saul. Twice. But both times he refused to lead a rebellion or to lift a hand against the king, because Saul was anointed by God, and David was not going to call into question the anointing of God. Maybe God had removed His hand from Saul and given the king up. Maybe. And certainly God had anointed David as the NEXT king of Israel. But God’s calling and His timing are not always the same, so David was willing to wait his turn. God had not specifically declared that he had removed his anointing from Saul, so David held back. David believed it was more than talent that made a man; it was anointing.
Finally, when David was 30 years old, he was given the kingship of Israel and publicly anointed. But he had multiple men, including a son or two of his, who were impatiently wanting to depose their father. One man came out as David walked along, and the man was yelling insults at David, the king. His bodyguards wanted to kill the man for his mean-hearted words, but David again left the benefit of a doubt, that maybe, just maybe, God had told the man what He was saying to David himself. So David allowed himself to be ridiculed, because he believed that God kept the books.
These two moments show that David was a man after God’s own heart, willing to take or to wait or to lose the kingship, if that’s what God wanted. Amazing!
SCENE FIVE: THE SWEET PSALMIST
Among all of these amazing stories, and more, we see the life of David unfold in the psalms. He wrote about half of the collection of 150 psalms himself, and several of them are directly tied to one of these scenes in his life. He wrote psalms after being restored after his sin with Bathsheba, and after feigning insanity in order to escape the Philistines (that’s right!), and after being delivered from Saul and several other enemies. He wrote about his meditations on the law of God, and on the relationship of all nature with its creator.
Notice how personal is David’s relationship with God. David was constantly turning the moments into poetry of praise, seeing it all through the eyes of a man who was after God’s own heart. Was David aware that he was receiving unmerited favor from God? Yes! And he was in awe of it! His psalms teach us all to see life from the perspective of worship, changing the nature of worship more than anyone before, or since, has done.
"Who am I, O Lord GOD, and
what is my house, that
you have brought me thus far? . . . Therefore
you are great, O LORD God.” 2 Samuel 7:18-29
"The LORD is
my rock and
my fortress and
my deliverer,
my God,
my rock, in whom
I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of
my salvation,
my stronghold and
my refuge,
my savior . . .
he rescued me, because
he delighted in me. . . . “. 2 Samuel 22/Psalm 18
“I will
bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth. . . .
Oh, taste and see that
the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Psalms 34:1-22
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, and
the son of man that you care for him?
Psalms 8:3-4
Your statutes have been
my songs in the house of my sojourning. Psalms 119:54
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin!
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and
renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, and
take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and
uphold me with a willing spirit. . . .
Psalms 51:1-19
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. . . .
steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
Psalms 32:1-11
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for
he is good; for
his steadfast love endures forever!
Out of my distress
I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and
set me free.
The LORD is on
my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Psalms 118:1-29
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is
in the law of the LORD, and
on his law
he meditates day and night.
Psalms 1:1-3
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
Psalms 150:3-6
SCENE SIX: THE TEMPLE
The last act in which David was in tune with the will of God was in planning the temple. Again we see motives plus strategy. David’s motive was that he was living in a house of cedar while God continued to live in a tent, and that didn’t seem right. He was, after all, a man after God’s own heart. And his strategy is a massive and impressive organization of Levites and music and furnishings and more, all to provide God with a permanent home, if you will. Now, you might question whether or not it was the right thing to do. After all, it was God who had said that He didn’t need a permanent home. But it might be fair to say that He appreciated the gift, because He loved the motive for it, and beyond that I’ll leave the details to this debate alone.
The temple in Jerusalem was, no doubt, David’s greatest accomplishment, though actually built by his son, Solomon. Here are David’s final instructions about the temple:
"All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan."
Then David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.” 1 Chronicles 28:19-21
In all his life, David wrote so many lines of worship. It is fair to say that David has influenced modern worship more than Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, John Newton, Don Moen and even Chris Tomlin, combined! David helped to define worship, on a practical level, showing us how to view life through the lens of trust in and love for God. He was, you might say, a man after God’s own heart.
YOUR ENCOUNTER
Choose a psalm of David and put yourself into it. Maybe you want to celebrate your being forgiven by God—Psalm 32. Maybe you need to repent—Psalm 51. Maybe you want to know God better by knowing and loving His written word—Psalm 119. Maybe you are sensing awe of the majesty of the Creator—Psalm 8. Maybe you want to know what consists of truly high praise—Psalm 149. Maybe you want to rest in Him—Psalm 1. Choose one, and say it out loud to God.
Then set that psalm to music. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t need to rhyme. But elevate your words by singing. You know, the psalms were never intended to be merely spoken! Throughout history, it is only in the last couple hundred years that it has become even thinkable to merely speak the poetic words of the psalms. If you have an instrument, try simply using maybe two chords to give yourself support, and sing what comes to mind.
What does singing and meditating on that psalm do for your relationship with God? Talk with someone about it and write about it in your journal.
"But
who am I, and
what is my people, that
we should be able thus to offer willingly? For
all things come from you, and
of your own have we given you.
1 Chronicles 29:10-20