Psalm 56:8

“You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?”

David refers to God’s book. This is not a reference to the Word of God; for he tells us that the content of this book is David’s tears. He is not the only writer to refer to a book that God possesses. The Apostle John wrote,

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:27

The Old Testament prophet Malachi also refers to this book, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.” Malachi 3:16

These…

1 Kings 2:2-3

“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn.”

Israel is facing some very serious challenges. Their beloved king has grown old and is on the eve of his death, and the nation is divided between two drastically different successors. Surrounded by enemies and struggling with an array of internal conflicts, Solomon is chosen to take the throne and lead the nation. With what amounts to his final words, we read of a charge given by king David to his teenage son,

“I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore…

1 Kings 1:36-37

“Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, ‘Amen! May the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. As the Lord has been with my lord the king, even so may He be with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord King David.’”

As David’s final days drew near, a dark and ominous cloud hung over the nation of Israel. Following in the footsteps of his brother Absalom, Adonijah exalted himself in an attempt to usurp the nation’s throne. He convinced the princes of Israel, as well as the army, to join his rebellion. However, the palace guard, prophets and the mighty men remained loyal to David and young prince Solomon. The nation of Israel found itself once again on the brink of a civil war that would cost the lives of thousands.

In the midst…

Psalm 54:1

“Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength.”

This Psalm is a prayer set to music. In It, David is crying out to God to deliver him from those who are seeking his life to end it. The title of the Psalm gives us insight into the situation he is facing.

‘A Contemplation of David when the Ziphites went and said to Saul, ‘Is David not hiding with us?’”

Because of the jealous rage of King Saul, David was forced to live in hiding. The Wilderness of Ziph provided a perfect hiding place for David and his men. The many caves made it difficult for anyone to pinpoint their whereabouts. That is, until the Ziphites, or inhabitants of that area alerted Saul to David’s location. When news reached David that King Saul knew where he was hiding, and that he was coming…

2 Samuel 24:10

“And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.’”

King David committed a sin by taking a census of the people, rather than trusting in the arm of God as Israel’s defense. His sin was forgiven, but the consequences were grave.

This passage is a vivid illustration of temptation, failure, repentance and results. In the parallel passage in Chronicles we read;

1 Chronicles 21:1

“​ Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.”

The initial cause of David’s sin was giving into temptation. Instead of rejecting unbiblical thinking, he chose to entertain his thoughts, and before long found himself giving in. It is not uncommon for us…

2 Samuel 23:8

“These are the names of the mighty men whom David had…”

David was a man mightily used by God. Although he started his journey walking alone into the valley to fight the giant, he did not remain alone. David’s faith was magnetic, and he was soon surrounded by men of great faith. This chapter tells the story of some of the men who surrounded the king. Among those listed are:

* Adino – He had killed eight hundred men at one time.

* Eleazar – He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day.

* Shammah – He stationed himself in the middle of a field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the Lord brought about a great victory.

* Three mighty men – broke through the camp…

Psalm 52:1

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.”

We live in a world of contrast. On the one hand, we see the fingerprint of God all around us, demonstrating His goodness. Earlier in the Psalms, David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalm19:1 When we see the beauty of creation, the birth of a child, or the love of betrothal, we are struck by the goodness of God.

On the other hand, there is another force clearly at work in our world. David calls it “evil.” and he witnessed its effects all around him. This Psalm was written after Doeg had murdered dozens of men, out of his selfish ambition and lust for gain.

We, too, see evil all around us with the ability to access information from all of the world. We…

2 Samuel 22:35

“He teaches my hands to make war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”

As the sun begins to set on David’s life, he begins to recall how faithful the Lord has been. As king of a nation surrounded by hostile adversaries, he was faced with constant battles. With the poetic expression he became known for, he attributes his success to the Lord.  It was never his strength that led to victory, but the enabling work of God.

Our situation is quite different than David’s. Few of us are facing armed adversaries attempting to take our kingdom and our life. That does not mean we are not engaged in continual warfare. Each of us faces constant attacks from within that attempt to keep us from growing in Christ, or serving Him. It is important that we allow God to “teach our hands to make war.”

It…

2 Samuel 21:22

“These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”

In middle school, I could always be found hanging around with my friend Sean. We spent so much time together, we soon walked and talked the same. Truly, we had a walk; it was more like a strut. If you can imagine two 12 year old kids, 4’10″ tall, weighing in at 80lbs, strutting their way from class to class on the middle school campus, then you have a good idea of what that looked like. My point is, hanging together, we soon became like one another. This principle was true of those who hung around David, and is true of us today.

When we are first introduced to David, he is stepping into a valley to fight a foe that can only be…

Psalm 50:16-17

“But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?’”

One of the strangest phenomenon that I have experienced over the years, is to hear the unbeliever quote the Bible. It fascinates me how those who have read so little of it seem, at times, to consider themselves the authority on what it says. Those who are living a lifestyle which the Bible does not condone, and quite frankly, they know to be wrong, are so quick to pull words from the Bible to justify their behavior.

“Do not judge me” seems to be the anthem of the sinner. We have all heard the Hollywood rhetoric, or political speeches with the token Scripture reference, from a person whose lifestyle is contrary to the teaching of the Word of…