"For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
Of all the great leaders of faith found in the Bible, David was singled out and described by God Himself as being "a man after God's heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). What made David so unique and special? He was certainly not perfect. Like us, David messed up; he messed up a lot. His life was filled with fear, failings, suffering, and triumphs. But through it all, David loved God and desired to see Him glorified. David recognized the sovereign Creator's holiness and his dependence on Him. David loved God, and love is a condition of the heart. Love manifests itself through action. Despite David's failings, his heart strived for God.
Why David? As we look closer at scripture, God actually tells us why He singles out David. We find it summarized in Acts 13:16-22, along with a bit of Israel's history:
"Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: 'Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: "I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do."'"
Did you catch that last verse? "David is after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” David loved God and sought to obey Him!
David did not want to be half hearted about it either. In Psalm 119:34, David writes, “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.” Notice this psalm is not a passive statement. When you do something with “all your heart,” it means that you are doing it with passion and focus. David faithfully obeyed God with passion. Obedience solely out of fear or for obedience’s sake is different from obedience out of love. David had a love for God and desire to glorify Him.
Don’t you want to be passionate for God as well and to be that man or woman "after God’s own heart?” I sure do! Yes, we’re going to mess up at times, but like David, we have a loving and caring Heavenly Father to run to in humble repentance. "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end" (Lamentations 3:22).
There is a lot more truths to unpack here, but before we dive into the 23rd Psalm together, I would like to provide some additional background. David's psalms are from the heart. Many are full of requests, complaints, or pleas to God, but Psalm 23 is full of comfort and expressions of delight in God’s great goodness and David’s acknowledged dependence on Him. Psalm 23 is perhaps the most popular of all the psalms; in fact, it might very well be the most beloved chapter in the whole Bible. It’s as common as a nursery rhyme, and many people can quote at least parts of it. However, there is danger in memorizing such a familiar text; we begin to believe that we fully grasp its meaning.
Psalm 23 is profound, and its truths can be applied to everyday life. Countless scholars have written entire books on this psalm, so it’s both humbling and challenging to summarize its content. But my hope is that you will gain a greater appreciation of how much God truly loves you and of the tireless efforts of our Savior to care for you, His sheep, just as He did David.
See you next week—in Psalm 23!