“What are human beings that you care for them?” These words of David begin and end the book of Psalms in chapters 8 and 144.
David had a right view of Yahweh his Creator and Lord. He spent his early years in the fields tending sheep, pondering the meaning of life. He wrote songs to the Most High, and when God called him to “seek My face,” David responded that he would do just that.
David’s heart was to know his God. He longed for God, yearned to be with God, wanted to spend his time with God in His dwelling place. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob called David to be His, and David accepted that call.
We often think of David as the boy who killed a giant, a king who fought wars and committed adultery and murder. A king who repented, but also a flawed man that some admire and others malign.
Beyond all that he did, however, he was a prophet, a poet, and a singer of psalms. He was a man who thought deeply and felt deeper still, and he understood, as any human can, the human heart.
The Psalms which David wrote speak of human intrigues, the human mind and heart as cunning, and plagued by human ills. He spoke of human plans as futile and human help as worthless – he repeated that as bookends in the Bible’s lengthy psalter.
His conclusion was that it was better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans. Humans can’t fix human problems. Only their Creator can.
In a world that is as troubled as ours, we could learn a lesson from David’s wisdom.
~Selah
