Psalm 32:5
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.”And you forgave the guilt of my sin.” David was keenly aware of his propensity to sin.He knew that the weight of his guilt would smother him sooner or later if he didn’t bring it before the Lord in earnest repentance and so that is what he learned to do. David never tried to run from God in his sin. He realized he was a sinner, and in fact he had many large moral failings in his life, but whereas most people try and run and hide from God because of the shame of their sin, David instead ran towards God. That has been a big lesson that David has taught me in my life. It is much better to run towards God than to run away from God when we blow it, or fall short. Many times we pretend to ourselves that maybe God won’t know about that little sin or care about that one, but the bottom line is that all sin weighs us down, and God is there to set us free from it. He doesn’t keep a list of degrees of sin, because being a Holy Being He simply cannot be in the presence of any sin in His Kingdom. That is why He sent His Son Jesus to die for those who accept Him as Savior, so that we can be washed clean by the blood of the Perfect Lamb of God, and therefore be presentable to Him in Heaven. Repentance is a cathartic experience for us. It makes us free from the weight of our guilt and shame. David knew to run towards God and repent quickly because he knew how liberating it was to be completely forgiven by God. We should be quick to do the same.
Psalm 33:20-21
“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” People put their trust in many things, but the one who rests secure is the one who puts their trust in the Lord as David did. Everything we put our trust in besides God will ultimately let us down in the end, because it is all temporal, however the Lord is eternal. Therefore, when we invest in Eternal Kingdom pursuits, we are investing in things that will never perish. This would include our time, talents and treasures.Most people, including myself on many occasions, settle for trying to find our meaning in lesser things. They are things that may provide a temporary high, or a measure of self-satisfaction but they are fleeting in nature and prone to ultimately let us down. This could include things like money, possessions, career or job status, and our health and fitness. While none of these things are their own is bad, they can all change quickly and thus leave us shaken if we put too much emphasis on them. But God is the One thing who will never let us down, who will never change, and who loves us unconditionally. While others may praise us or befriend us during the good times, that may change when things turn south. Our health can decline despite our best efforts to delay the inevitable. Our careers can be taken away in a moment through a merger, or a layoff. David realized all of this and so he sought to find his peace and security in the Lord. According to Psalm 33:20-21 above “ he waited on the Lord,” who was his “hope and shield,” and he “trusted in his holy name.” We would be wise to do the same.
Psalm 34:
:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” David certainly had his share of heartache in his lifetime. We all can agree that no one gets out of this life unscathed. Because we live in a fallen, sin marred world, we all suffer the consequences of that in our lives. David had to deal with a few especially painful situations, both of his own doing and not. A jealous King Saul chased after David and sought to keep him from becoming King of Israel for a number of years that David had no part in bringing upon himself. On the other hand, he lost a son because of his affair with Bathsheba, a heavy price to pay for sure. 2 Samuel 12:11-23 gives a detailed account of the suffering David endured as a result of his sinful tryst with Bathsheba.God can remove our sins if we repent in earnest, but the consequences of our sin may last a lifetime. David found this out the hard way. But he also felt the Lord’s presence draw close to him and he learned of God’s forgiveness through Nathan. David shared a truth in Psalm 30:5 that can help us battle through the toughest days of our lives when he penned, “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” David learned to move forward from the painful moments in his life, by focusing on the goodness of God and his promises to always be by our side. We must be able to lean on God and rely on His strength during those moments in our lives that are more than we are capable of handling. We have limits to our strength and what we can deal with as humans, but God has the ability to sustain us through even the darkest nights of our soul with His unlimited strength. We must learn to rely on Him when the storms of life prove bigger than we can handle.
Psalm 35:22-23
“You have seen, O Lord; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me! Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord!” Many times in David’s life he knew he had no chance of winning the seemingly insurmountable battles in front of him unless the Lord showed up in a mighty way. He pleaded with God to be close to him in his distress and to vindicate him by his faith. How often I need that as well. I need to know God is with me and that He is fighting my battles alongside me and helping me to gain the victory. Sometimes our surest way to unlikely triumphs is to lead from our knees. In other words, to humbly come before God in prayer and to let him know that we cannot survive or fight a particular battle without his strength. It is a posture of total reliance and dependence upon God that David knew often. God was faithful to David and He will be faithful to us who call in His mighty name in humble repentance and acknowledgement of how great the chasm is between His righteousness, power and grace and our sinful, limited nature. Then His Mighty power can show up in miraculous ways, as David saw again and again in his life.
Psalm 36:7
“How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”- David knew what it was to feel the love of God. He had experienced it often throughout his life and it had sustained him through many different situations and circumstances. He often fell back on the basics of his relationship with God when things got stressful, which for the King of Israel was probably often, and that was simply reflecting on God’s immense love. 1 John 4:8 says plainly “God is love,” and David knew that full well. He had also many times learned to ‘take refuge in the shadow of your wings,” as Psalm 36:7 alludes to above. That meant that David knew when he needed protection, either spiritually, emotionally, or physically that God was the One who could best provide that cover of protection over him. Everything else was shifting sand. David learned to trust in God and to experience his love firsthand. We can do the same. It just requires intentionality on our part to seek God in all things, and He promises to respond. Matthew 7:7 says ““Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” God always keeps His promises, so if we want to feel his love, we must simply take the first step and ask, seek and knock and He will respond. He wants to protect us and comfort us in the storms of life.
Psalm 37:1-4
“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I love the juxtaposition of these scriptures above where David lays out a stark contrast between the fates of those who are evil and those who trust in the Lord. It is just as relevant today as it was when David wrote it. Many people get upset when they see people who are evil, or who do wrong, seemingly rewarded or “getting ahead” in this life, when they do right and never seem to catch a break. But David brings proper perspective to this situation when he points out that in the end, God gets the last word. In fact, Romans 12:19 says “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. We are not in position as fallen sinners ourselves to be judging others, but God promises He will be the final arbiter of righteousness and justice. Circumstances and situations can change in an instant, and those who seem to be flourishing in their evil and wickedness can instantly wither away. In fact, Psalm 37:35-36 says “I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.” We must learn not to judge others who seem to be winning by their evil, because we know in the end, God will bring all things under His throne of righteous judgment. Until then, we should learn to pray for those who are evil, because their demise is hidden from their sight. They deserve our pity more than our scorn. God promises to uphold his people and to protect them through the storms of life. One of my favorite promises in scripture are the passages in Psalm 37:25-28 that says “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.” I say a big amen to that promise of God!
Psalm 38:18-22
“I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. Many have become my enemies without cause[b]; those who hate me without reason are numerous. Those who repay my good with evil lodge accusations against me, though I seek only to do what is good. Lord, do not forsake me;do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.”- I love this Psalm and verse because David is pouring out his heart to God in a petition of desperation. He is repenting of his sin, while at the same time asking for protection against all his enemies that have risen up against him. Sometimes, our lives can feel like that- like a Tsunami is coming against us and all we can do is get down on our knees or our face and pray. When we come to the end of our own strength, many times that is when we truly encounter the supernatural strength of God. John 14:12 promises that because Jesus left us the Holy Spirit to indwell in believers when He returned to Heaven that we have access to the enormous powers of the Creator. “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”- What a promise! But we have to claim it. Like David above we must admit our sins and cling to the promises of God to protect us. We must petition His Spirit’s power to intercede for us, or we couldn’t survive. When life gets hard, we must always remember how much God cares. He cares so much He sent His Son to die for our sins. We can gain enormous power through that loving mindset.
Psalm 39:4-5
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” King David was aware that his life was like a vapor in the span of eternity set forth by the Lord. That mindset can lead to great anxiety if we are not careful. Everyone wants to understandably pack as much into their allotted years as possible, but that can lead to great strain in our life. We need to be sure our outlook is based more on God’s Eternal Kingdom and see this life as just a beginning, a first step into what we shall become. Our bodies will return to dust, but our souls will live on for eternity. The Apostle Paul wrote extensively about this in 1 Corinthians 15. Verses 42:-44 say “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” We can take a lot of stress off of ourselves if we focus on eternity, rather than the here and now. Our outlook will determine our outcome. David was always wise to cry out to God when he needed wisdom or reassurance. We would be wise to follow in his footsteps and do the same.
Psalm 40:1-3
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” David always returned to a place of praise when God heard his pleas and came to rescue him. He learned wisdom through his many tests and trials in life, and he learned that God was the only solid foundation on which he could safely and firmly stand. In Matthew 7:24-25 Jesus says”Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” God and His Word found in the Bible is the only sure thing we can stand on in this life. Everything else is shifting sand. All the media, all the things that vie for our attention are lesser things that are either untrue or will never satisfy. David learned the value of wisdom, which comes from God alone, above all else and he knew that God was worthy of all of his praise. Many times when things are very hard, the last thing we want to do is praise God. However, when we can mature in our faith to the point that we praise Him even in the midst of our storms, that is a position from which God can do amazing things in and through us.
Psalm 41:1
“Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.”- One of the attributes of David that was very much aligned with the character of God was that he had compassion for those who were down and out in this world. David saw great value and derived much pleasure from helping the poor and needy and that in turn honored God and brough favor upon him. I believe God loves it more than almost anything else when we stop and take time to help those who are in greatest need around us. In our own backyard, in our local community, we have many who are dealing with homelessness and addiction. It is not ok to simply pretend the problem doesn’t exist or to pretend we don’t see them. We can’t do everything, but we can and we must do something. In fact in Matthew 25:34- 40 Jesus gives us a directive that those who help the “least” of those on earth are helping Him directly and will be rewarded for their service “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” We would be very wise indeed to have compassion become an ever increasing part of who we are in Christ Jesus. He was the most compassionate man who ever lived and He gave us a clear set of expectations on how we should try our best to emulate His example. King David was a compassionate man, and in so doing, he pleased his God who so loved him.