Scripture
Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel.
~2 Samuel 23:1, NKJV
Quote
The greatest of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.
~William Booth
A few years ago, I might not have written this blog but I have grown in my love for the Psalms to the extent that I cannot be silent. What was David’s greatest legacy? I reading through the Chronicles of the kings and I came across the listing of David’s sons [I Chronicles 14:3]. I am very curious about David’s family but I cannot find any information other than what is in the bible. The Chronicler said, “He married more women and had more sons and daughters.” Notice that daughters is plural. The only daughter mentioned in scripture is Tamar but obviously, she had sisters. There are 21 sons found in scripture if you count the unnamed child born to David and Bathsheba. The baby died and to my knowledge, no name was given to the child. But there is no listing of his sons born to concubines; the bible simple says he had other sons and daughters born to those who were not legally his wife. My legacy could very well be my children or a child or grandchild. Ruth’s legacy was a great grand child. However, this is not true with David, none of his children made his name greater. Solomon was a flash in the pan, he started great but he disgraced his father’s memory by worshiping idols, detestable idols like Chemosh and Molech. Solomon was such a disgrace that the Jews cut him out of the family tree and inserted his brother Nathan. As I have read and studied the bible, my appreciation for David grows but that is in spite of the fact that he was not a good husband or father.
Just think about David’s greatness; his accomplishment is different fields. He was a renowned musician. He wrote the most popular poem in history. He was a military genius, a commander who never lost a battle. He was a ruler, the shepherd of Israel. He became the standard by which all other rulers to follow were measured. He was a prophet. Peter used Psalm 16 in his sermon at Pentecost and calls David a prophet. The Psalms are filled with Jesus. Psalm 22 is a description of the crucifixion. Next to Isaiah, David has more prophecy about the Messiah than anyone. He was a theologian. His doctrine is sound. He is mentioned is scripture more times than any other figure other than Jesus. If your brain has not shouted WOW by now you must be brain dead. I’m not sure that there has ever been a man comparable to David in all of human history, again with the exception of Jesus.
You know what I think his greatest legacy is: it is not his kids, not even his military victories, not his desire to build a temple–No, I believe it is the PSALMS. Dovie Schochet, a Jewish school teacher and writer said this: King David was not just another figure in history. He lives on to this day. One of King David’s greatest works, and arguably his greatest legacy, was the book of Psalms. During his spare time, King David would study the Torah and sing songs of praise to God. The book of Psalms has been a refuge for the Jewish people in their times of trouble throughout history. Whenever Jews are in distress, they open up the book of Psalms and cry out to God.
I come from a different perspective, I am a born again Christian but I like the fact that orthodox Jews turn to the Psalms in distress. I turn to them daily. I sit in awe as I read these poems. The two aspects of worship are AWE and INTIMACY. You find them both in Psalms. If you are struggling in your prayer life: begin reading a Psalm per day and then use it as a prayer guide. You will be absolutely amazed at the difference these Psalms will make in your intimacy with Christ. I read Psalm 69 yesterday morning and it has Jesus written all over it.
Well today is jam packed schedule wise. We have an observation team coming this a.m. to DBC’s VBS joint worship. Then I plan to meet with some pastors and hopefully get some insights about the SBC. Probably to Huntsville this evening. We need to pray for rain: we have leaves falling. My corn crop may not make it to the end of the week. Billy Ray and Jean got a shower yesterday evening but it stopped at Jeremy’s yard: we stood and watched in rain in the pasture by his house.
This is the first time in 40 years that I have not worked in VBS officially. I do plan to help Holly later in the week. Seth talked me into pitching some baseball last night and it was a challenge. I haven’t had a ball glove on in years. The eye-hand coordination is not what it use to be and bending over to catch a low throw is out of the question.
I hope you have a great week: remember to pray for our pastor {Franklin Graham, America’s pastor} and for President Trump. I think every one in the GP congregation came to the altar for prayer. I didn’t think there would be another fit for me but I guess the LORD knew better. He put me with a group that is like minded except for college football. When it comes to sports, Grace Point is divided but the good news is: sports is not that important and it gets less important every day.