When the prophet Samuel told King Saul that he had ‘done foolishly’ by not keeping God’s command, he said – “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:14). That man after God’s own heart was David.

Yes, David made mistakes – some very serious – during his time of training to reign over God’s people. However, David remained a man ‘after God’s own heart.’ David loved God deeply. He believed that He was the Only True God. He trusted God. He obeyed God – most of the time. David was not a perfect man, but he was faithful to God in many ways.

We can all learn from David’s life. None of us are perfect, but God uses imperfect people who have a ‘broken and contrite heart’ (Psalm 51:17).

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19

Lessons from David

King David left a wonderful legacy of lessons he learned during his lifetime. 2 Samuel includes many of those lessons, but do do the Psalms that David wrote. 19th century pastor Charles Spurgeon wrote a wonderful commentary on the Psalms titled The Treasury of David. Here are a few words from the Preface –

The delightful study of the Psalms has yielded me boundless profit and ever-growing pleasure; common gratitude constrains me to communicate to others a portion of the benefit, with the prayer that it may induce them to search further for themselves.

I agree with Spurgeon and invite you to search the Psalms deeply for the great insight King David and other writers of the ‘songs’ of Israel. I also recommend Spurgeon’s three-volume commentary to you as well. You can purchase the books individually or as a set. You can also read them online.

David’s writings are an open and honest view into his thinking before and after he became Israel’s king. David had great skill as a warrior, musician, poet, and song writer. It’s important to remember that the Spirit of God came upon David when Samuel anointed him king, ‘from that day forward’ (1 Samuel 16:13). David’s writings carry a deep insight into the character of God because the Spirit of God was upon David as he wrote. God also spoke directly to David, as well as through visions and prophets. David was in a unique position to know God intimately and accurately. We benefit from being able to read what he wrote.

There are many areas of ‘Basic Training’ that God has for His people, but I’ve chosen five as examples for this series. This spiritual training, just like military training, is not a ‘cafeteria’ where you can pick-and-choose what you want to learn. They are all necessary for the spiritual warfare that awaits everyone who follows God seriously. King David understood that and exemplified it in his life and in his writings:

  1. Believe in the Only True God (Monotheism)
  2. Fear God and Obey Him
  3. Worship God and Serve Him
  4. Listen to God and Trust Him
  5. Love God and Devote Your Life to Him

You will find 150 Psalms in the Book of Psalms; half of them are attributed to King David. Many Bible translations include a note about the Psalms David wrote. One of my personal favorites is Psalm 1 because it establishes David’s deep understanding about God and differences between the godly and ungodly:

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1

Other Psalms of David that have helped me during my growth as a Christian include –

  • Psalm 2
  • Psalm 5
  • Psalm 8
  • Psalm 11
  • Psalm 14
  • Psalm 15
  • Psalm 16
  • Psalm 18
  • Psalm 19
  • Psalm 22
  • Psalm 23
  • Psalm 24
  • Psalm 25
  • Psalm 27
  • Psalm 29
  • Psalm 30
  • Psalm 31
  • Psalm 32
  • Psalm 34
  • Psalm 36
  • Psalm 37
  • Psalm 40
  • Psalm 41
  • Psalm 51
  • Psalm 53
  • Psalm 59
  • Psalm 61
  • Psalm 62
  • Psalm 63
  • Psalm 68
  • Psalm 69
  • Psalm 86
  • Psalm 95
  • Psalm 101
  • Psalm 103
  • Psalm 110
  • Psalm 122
  • Psalm 133
  • Psalm 138
  • Psalm 139
  • Psalm 141
  • Psalm 143
  • Psalm 144
  • Psalm 145

May we learn the great lessons that David learned and be able to say with him:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Free eBooks

You can download the first 13 chapters of this series here.

You can download chapters 14 – 24 of this series here.

You can download chapters 25 – 30 of this series here.

Next Time

David’s personal reign came to an end with his death, but his influence continued through the wisdom God gave to his son. We’ll look at some of the great lessons we learn from King Solomon in the next part of our special series – Train to Reign.

“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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