10 Reasons David’s Called “A Man After God’s Own Heart” (Part 5 David Loved God)
“And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22)
In our previous study of David two of the lessons focused on how David trusted his God. Then 2 more; his reverence and his respect. This week we focus on David, the man after God’s heart in that he loved God. David wrote, – “I will love You, O Lord, my strength” Psalm 18:1.
David is not alone, for it must be exciting for every Christian to meet others who have such great love for God. On the other hand, how tragic it is to meet good people who stand in opposition to God, even to the point of disdain. When we love God more than our own lives we stand on unshakable ground and we’re always looking up to the LORD whenever we slip and fall because of our own weaknesses. Did David sin? Yes of course he did. But even though he sinned; even though he made mistakes, he would always turn to the God of his love for resolve and restoration.
David’s love for God enabled him to understand the magnitude of his sins. Remember when Nathan confronted him about his sin. What was his response? “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). What is sin? Sin is any transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15). If there were no law, there would be no sin (John 15:22), but there is a law. In our times it is the “law of Christ” and for David it was the Law of God (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2). God’s law is a reflection of His Holiness and all sin is transgression of His law, against His Holy nature. In answer to his sin of adultery and murder David professed, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51:4). Loving God doesn’t mean we won’t sin, but if we love God like David did, we will be compelled within to do His will in every aspect of our life. One great aspect of David’s love for God is that it made him concerned for his relationship with God. That drove him to admit his sins rather than to try and hide them. He could have said to Nathan, that wasn’t me, but he chose to do something about it and to seek reconciliation with God. Yes, it was David’s love for his LORD that drove his desire to be right with God. Paul wrote, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27, Emphasis mine). This is a quality each child of God should strive for. It was David’s love for God that grieved his own heart, the very idea that he had broken his relationship with God caused his heart to hurt thus, he would do anything and everything to fix it. For us this too should be a driving force, having such love for the LORD that anything that hurts Him, hurts us.
David loved God because he knew God’s Holy nature. He wrote, “Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy.”, “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool—He is holy.”, and “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; For the Lord our God is holy” (Psalm 99:3, 5, 9). This sincere, warm and heartfelt description is repeated three times and is the thrust of David’s song. David’s heart was made pure within because of his great love for his Holy LORD. We all must seek to rightly perceive this of God and then worthily praise His infinite perfection bowing our heart down to the Holy Creator, and Father of us all.
David knew that to love God meant to love His word. He wrote, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day” (Psa. 25:5), and “The law of the Lord is perfect, [a]converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether” (Psa. 19:7-9).
What’s not to love? Jesus God’s Word by which heavens were made. Jesus the One revealed to Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and the Apostles. The same One through Whom all scripture was inspired. The One Who became flesh two thousand years ago. King David loved God’s Law with all his being and God reciprocated by saying, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). Let’s imitate David’s love for the Lord and our relationship with God will be living and loving, bearing good fruit.
So, how do we go about falling in love with God? We must have Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith that we, “…being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19). The key—faith and obedience. Hearing God’s word (Rom. 10:17) and obeying His commandments (John 14:15, 15:14). Does your soul say, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Psa. 42:1-2). And again, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple” (Psa. 27:4). David loved God’s law for its wisdom and practical value saying, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psa. 119:97), saying “Your testimonies are wonderful; Therefore my soul keeps them” (Psa. 119:129) and saying, “My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly” (Psa. 119:167).
One last reason David loved God was because he found Him faithful and dependable. “For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth” (Psa. 33:4). Truly we should reflect God in that we should be faithful and dependable in the sight of God. Paul wrote, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9). Our fellowship must be one of faithfulness (1 Cor. 4:2).
The love David had for God was like a compass for his soul, keeping him on the right path. In Christ we have that same compass when we love God our Father. Paul said to the church, “3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.” The Word (John 1:1) is our compass. Love it, and it will guard you from the evil one.
There are so many other reasons to Love the Lord our God that if we tried to list them, we’d just be requoting the entire Bible. “10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 1:10-11)
Dave Scarpino
Love
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:13)
Our faithful Creator is worthy to be praised in this assembly. All praise to Him who reigns above in majesty supreme! He gave His Son to die, for all mankind, that He might redeem all. Our blessed Redeemer suffered and died for our sins and is now risen and sitting at the right hand of God as Head of the church. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, knowing that He is the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him. (Hebrews 5:8-9) “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)