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WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 6
6 July 2008
David, a Man after God’s
Own Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien
Nguyen at the Worship Service, 2:00 pm, June 29, 08)
Text:
Acts 13:22-23
In the Scripture, there is
only one man named “David” which means “Beloved” and is mentioned 1076
times in the OT and 59 times in the NT. David was the second king of
Israel, to whom God gave testimony and said, “I have found David the
son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my
will. Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto
Israel a
Saviour, Jesus”
(Acts 13:22-23; cf. 1 Sam 13:14). David was the best king of Israel and
was regarded as the measure, standard or yardstick for evaluating all
other kings. God appeared to Solomon and promised, “And if thou wilt
walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and
in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and
wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne
of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel”
(1 Kings 9:4-5). The Scripture says about King Abijam, whose “heart
was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father”
(1 Kings 15:3) or about King Ahaz, who “did not that which was right
in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father” (2
Kings 16:2), and so forth.
How did David get the Lord’s
testimony as a man after His own heart? Do you and I want to be a man,
or a woman or a child after God’s own heart? Let us have a look at
David’s life and learn how his heart is for the Lord and His Word, and
His will and His glory.
David, a Man after God’s
Own Heart
David was not only a brave and
mighty warrior (2 Sam 17:7) but also a musician, a poet, and “the
sweet psalmist of
Israel”
(2 Sam 23:1) who composed many psalms in the Book of Psalms inspired by
the Holy Spirit and they are the very words of God preserved for us
today. Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms, “These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). Reading David’s
psalms, we may know his heart and his close fellowship with the Lord as
a man after God’s own heart.
Give Thanks and Praise to
the Lord
A man or a woman after God’s
own heart must be a person who gives thanks and praise to the Lord
always. The holy and righteous God is angry with sinful human beings
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful” (Rom 1:21). Nowadays many still neither
glorify God nor are thankful. They want to promote their self image,
their life philosophy, worldly values or human ideas, ignoring God and
His Word. Many even deny the living and true God of the Scripture as
their Creator and Maker and turn to idolatry, human worship, or
evolutionary theory. How about David? He was not only thankful to the
Lord but also encouraging others to do that, “O LORD my God, I will
give thanks unto thee for ever” (Ps 30:12) and “I will give thee
thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people”
(Ps 35:18), and “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his
mercy endureth for ever” (1 Chron 16:34). David did not lead an easy
life. He kept his father’s sheep diligently and responsibly in his
teens, he ran away from the harm of Saul as a fugitive in caves, in the
desert or in a foreign land, he fought many fights against the enemies,
he suffered a lot from his own sons, and so forth, but he still saw
God’s goodness and mercy and gave thanks to Him. Do you and I want to be
a man or a woman after God’s own heart? Let us give thanks to the Lord
“in every thing” (1 Thess 5:18) and “for all things” (Eph
5:20), “without ceasing” (1 Thess 2:13), and “for ever”
(Ps 30:12) in our private devotion and in the congregation as well, as
doing this we shall magnify the Lord (Ps 69:30).
David also praised the Lord
and encouraged others to do so “I will praise thee, O Lord my God,
with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore” (Ps
86:12; cf. Ps 9:1), and “I will praise thee, O Lord,
among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations”
(Ps 57:9), and “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy
name for ever and ever” (Ps 145:2), and “I will
praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14),
and “I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will
bless thy name for ever and ever” (Ps 145:1), and “O magnify the
LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together” (Ps 34:3), etc.
Even though David was a great king, he humbled himself before his people
to exalt God, his King, saying to Michal, “I will yet be more vile
than thus, and will be base in mine own sight” (2 Sam 6:22). Do you
and I want to be a man or a woman after God’s own heart? Let us humble
ourselves and exalt and praise God always and forever with all our
heart, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Honour and Appreciate the
Lord and His Word and His Will in Worship
David honoured, appreciated
and chose the Lord as his Portion, “The LORD is the portion of mine
inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot” (Ps 16:5; cf. Ps
142:5). He sought and thirsted for the Lord and His presence, “O God,
thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is”
(Ps 63:1) and “When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto
thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek” (Ps 27:8), and “One thing have
I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the
house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the
LORD, and to inquire in his temple” (Ps 27:4), and “My soul
followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (Ps 63:8).
He delighted in the Lord and encouraged others to do so (Ps 37:4). When
David sinned, he repented right away and asked the Lord not to depart
from him, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy
spirit from me” (Ps 51:11). Many follow the Lord for His material
blessings but do not really appreciate or thirst for the Lord Himself.
Do you and I want to be a man or a woman after God’s own heart? Let us
truly honour, appreciate and thirst for the Lord Himself and His
presence, regarding all things but loss so that we “may win Christ,
and be found in Him” (Phil 3:8-9).
David believed and highly
valued God’s perfectly preserved Word without any doubt or question,
saying, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a
furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Ps 12:6-7),
and “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the
testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple… More to be
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than
honey and the honeycomb” (Ps 19:7, 10), and “In God will I praise
his word: in the LORD will I praise his word” (Ps 56:10), and
“The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published
it” (Ps 68:11), and “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy
law is within my heart” (Ps 40:8). Many nowadays promote human ideas
and “scholarship” and even dare to question and criticize God’s
preserved Word. Do you and I want to be a man or a woman after God’s own
heart? Let us wholeheartedly believe, obey and highly value God’s
perfectly inspired and perfectly preserved Word with our trust and
submission.
David worshipped the Lord
willingly, gladly and reverently in the beauty of holiness, saying,
“But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy
mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple” (Ps
5:7), and “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship
the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Ps 29:2), and “I was glad
when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD” (Ps
122:1), and “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy
name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified
thy word above all thy name” (Ps 138:2). Many worship the Lord
unwillingly without any fear of the Lord or not in the beauty of
holiness. They do not magnify God’s Word in their worship but even bring
worldly entertainments into the worship! Do you and I want to be a man
or a woman after God’s own heart? We must desire and expect to worship
the Lord in spirit and in truth and in holiness gladly and reverently.
Repent of Sins Right Away
and Seek the Lord for Forgiveness
David was not a perfect man as
no man is perfect in this world due to human sinful and totally depraved
nature, but unlike King Saul, who always defended himself and blamed
others for his sins, David acknowledged his sins, sincerely repented and
confessed his sins to the Lord immediately with “a broken and a
contrite heart” (Ps 51:17). Why? It is sin that separated him from
his holy God, and he treasured and appreciated God’s presence so much
that he could not stand living without the Lord, so the only way to
restore the fellowship with the Lord is repentance. David prayed,
“For thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great…
and forgive all my sins” (Ps 25:11, 18), and “For I will
declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin” (Ps 38:18), and
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and
my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only,
have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight”
(Ps 51:1-4). David also acknowledged his sinful
nature and asked the Lord to renew his heart, “Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me… Create in me a
clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps 51:5,
10). Many neither acknowledge their sins nor want to repent and depart
from sins. It is wise to pray like David, “Search me, O God, and know
my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any
wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps
139:23-24). Do you and I want to be a man or a woman after God’s own
heart? We should ask the Lord to search our heart and help us
acknowledge our sins and sinful nature and then sincerely repent and
confess our sins immediately so that nothing may separate us from God’s
holy presence, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1
John 1:9).
Pray to the Lord in All
Situations
Through his psalms, David showed
his good prayer life. He sought and looked
unto God and not men, crying unto the Lord in all situations, “Hear
me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I
was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer” (Ps 4:1)
and “Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and
afflicted” (Ps 25:16) “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in
trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly”
(Ps 31:9), and “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and
cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Ps 55:17), and “I will
cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me”
(Ps 57:2). How about your and my prayer life? To be a man or a woman
after God’s own heart, we are to keep our living fellowship with the
Lord in prayer “without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17).
Conclusion
Dear friends, do you and I really want to be a man or
a woman or a child after God’s own heart? May God help us to be thankful
to Him in all things, praise
Him and worship Him with gladness, holiness
and reverence, believe and keep His
perfectly preserved Word with submission, keep
a living fellowship with Him in prayer in all things, and above all,
honour,
appreciate, and thirst for the Lord as our
Life and Portion and do not let anything even sins separate us from His
presence.
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