Articles
This Church Needs More Davids
Now, if you know the Plant City congregation, you might say we have plenty of Davids already! At present our number includes eight fine men by that name. Some of us have even joked about changing the name on our sign to “The House of David.”
But of course that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m referring to King David of Israel. He was not perfect, but God called him a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). This church, like every church, needs men and women like that. Specifically, every church needs…
● People who love God’s word. David wrote, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:7-9).
● People who long to worship God. “I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before all the gods. I will bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth” (Psalm 138:1-2). “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:1-3).
● People who repent when they sin. “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:1-10).
● People who rely on God in trying times. “Be gracious to me, O God…for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me” (Psalm 57:1-2). “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Psalm 40:1-2).
● People who are determined to live holy lives. “I will give heed to the blameless way…I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not fasten its grip on me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil” (Psalm 101:2-4).
● People with soft hearts ready to accept instruction and correction. On one occasion David’s anger had him intent on committing murder, but a woman spoke kindly to him and changed his mind. He said to her, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodshed and from avenging myself by my own hand” (1 Samuel 25:32-33).
● People who encourage their children in what is right. Though David often failed as a father, his parting instruction to his son Solomon is worth imitating: “Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statues, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies…that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn” (1 Kings 2:3).
