Understanding the Difference Between David's Experience and Ours
David's experiences, as recorded in the Psalms, offer profound insights into the life of faith, yet understanding the differences between his context and that of contemporary believers is crucial for proper interpretation. While David's personal struggles and triumphs resonate across time, certain aspects of his experience are unique to his role and the covenantal period in which he lived.
One significant aspect of David's experience is his direct and often immediate interaction with God in response to prayer. Matthew Henry notes that David "had experienced God's goodness to him in answer to prayer: He has heard my voice and my supplications" [1]. This intimate relationship is characterized by God inclining His ear to David, signifying a readiness to listen and respond [1]. David's prayers were not merely petitions but expressions of a deep, personal seeking after God, "with his whole heart" [3]. This directness of divine engagement is a recurring theme, fostering David's confidence and inspiring his resolutions to live righteously [1].
David's life was also marked by significant "great and sore troubles," both external and internal [7]. John Gill describes these as "very grievous and hard to be borne, and were very trying and afflictive" [7]. These included persecution by Saul, familial strife involving Ammon and Absalom, and the curses of Shimei [7]. Such trials tested David's faith, yet he consistently turned to God, demonstrating a "meek and submissive spirit" even when facing the consequences of his own sins [10]. Augustine highlights David's strong faith, noting that even after being assured of forgiveness, he did not accuse the prophet or murmur against God when threatened consequences still followed [10]. This capacity to endure severe affliction while maintaining trust in God's forgiveness and sovereignty is a hallmark of David's spiritual journey [10].
A key difference between David's experience and that of believers today lies in the nature of revelation and the established covenant. David lived under the Old Covenant, where God's communication often came through prophets, direct divine interventions, and the Law. His understanding of God's will was primarily mediated through these means. For instance, his seeking of precepts was tied to his desire to "know and do my duty" according to God's word [5]. The New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ, provides a more complete and final revelation of God's will and character, primarily through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, as recorded in the New Testament. While David experienced God's presence, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer, as promised in the New Covenant, offers a different dimension of intimacy and guidance.
Furthermore, David's role as king of Israel placed him in a unique position of leadership and covenantal responsibility. His actions had national implications, and his prayers often reflected the well-being of the entire nation. His experiences of divine judgment and blessing were often tied to his public office. While contemporary believers are called to leadership in various spheres, none hold the specific covenantal headship over a nation that David did. This difference means that while the principles of faith and obedience remain, the scope and nature of the consequences of one's actions may differ.
David's reflections on the world's vanity also offer a point of comparison. He observed "an end of all perfection" in worldly achievements and human capabilities [2]. He saw the strongest overcome, the swiftest overtaken, the wisest befooled, and the fairest deformed, concluding that "poor perfection which one sees an end of!" [2]. This realization of the transient nature of earthly perfections is a universal truth that resonates with believers in all ages. However, David's perspective was informed by his direct observation of historical figures and events within his own lifetime, providing concrete examples of this vanity [2]. Modern believers, while acknowledging this truth, often encounter it through different cultural and societal manifestations.
The concept of the heart's inclination is another area where David's experience provides a foundational understanding. David prayed, "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies" (Psalm 119:36) [4]. John Calvin interprets this as an acknowledgment that the human heart is "perverse, and naturally indulges in rebellion against the Divine law, until it be turned" [4]. This prayer highlights the need for divine intervention to align the heart with God's will, a truth that remains constant for all believers. Calvin emphasizes the "antithesis between the rebellious movement of the heart, and the correction by which it is subdued to obedience" [4]. David's experience of seeking God with his "whole heart" [3] and his desire to "seek thy precepts" because he loved them [5] demonstrates a heart that has been inclined by God. This internal work of God, enabling a love for His law and a desire to obey, is a shared experience across covenants, though the means and understanding of this inclination have been further clarified through New Testament theology.
Despite these differences, many aspects of David's spiritual life serve as enduring models for believers. His profound delight in God's word, which he described as "sweet to his taste, sweeter than honey" [9], exemplifies a spiritual appetite that all believers are encouraged to cultivate. Matthew Henry notes that this "spiritual taste" provides an "inward savour and relish of divine things" [9]. This deep satisfaction in God's word, surpassing any worldly gratification, is a universal aspiration for those who seek to grow in faith [9].
David's confidence in God's willingness to hear prayer is also a timeless lesson. While some might question if God's readiness to hear David was unique, Calvin argues that God's "kindness and readiness to hear others is malignantly interpreted, if their example does not inspire us with stronger confidence in his promise" [6]. God's declaration is not to incline His ear to "one or two, or a few individuals, but to all who call upon his name" [6]. Thus, David's experience of answered prayer serves as an encouragement for all believers to approach God with confidence, knowing that He is attentive to the supplications of His people [6].
Finally, David's struggles with faith and certainty, though not explicitly detailed in the provided excerpts, are implicitly acknowledged in the broader theological tradition. Calvin notes that even believers can experience "disquietude" and "tremble, overcome with terror" due to violent temptations, which might seem inconsistent with the certainty of faith [8]. This suggests that even figures like David, despite their profound spiritual experiences, likely grappled with the human condition of doubt and fear. The resolution of such difficulties, according to Calvin, is necessary to maintain the doctrine of faith's certainty [8]. This shared human experience of faith amidst struggle connects David's journey to that of every believer, highlighting the ongoing need for God's grace and strengthening.
Sources
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 116:1: In this part of the psalm we have, I. A general account of David's experience, and his pious resolutions (Psa 116:1, Psa 116:2), which are as the contents of the whole psalm, and give an idea of it. 1. He had experienced God's goodness to him in answer to prayer: He has heard my voice and my supplications. David, in straits, had humbly and earnestly begged mercy of God, and God had heard him, that is, had graciously accepted his prayer, taken cognizance of his case, and granted him an answer of peace. He has inclined his ear to me. This intimates his readiness an”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:96: Here we have David's testimony from his own experience, 1. Of the vanity of the world and its insufficiency to make us happy: I have seen an end of all perfection. Poor perfection which one sees an end of! Yet such are all those things in this world which pass for perfections. David, in his time, had seen Goliath, the strongest, overcome, Asahel, the swiftest, overtaken, Ahithophel, the wisest, befooled, Absalom, the fairest, deformed; and, in short, he had seen an end of perfection, of all perfection. He saw it by faith; he saw it by observation; he saw an end ”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:10: Here is, 1. David's experience of a good work God had wrought in him, which he takes the comfort of and pleads with God: "I have sought thee, sought to thee as my oracle, sought after thee as my happiness, sought thee as my God; for should not a people seek unto their God? If I have not yet found thee, I have sought thee, and thou never saidst, Seek in vain, nor wilt say so to me, for I have sought thee with my heart, with my whole heart, sought thee only, sought thee diligently." 2. His prayer for the preservation of that work: "Thou that hast inclined me to se”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 39: view, likewise the prayers of the saints correspond. Thus Solomon prays that the Lord may “incline our hearts unto him, to walk in his ways, and keep his commandments” ( 1 Kings 8:58 ); intimating that our heart is perverse, and naturally indulges in rebellion against the Divine law, until it be turned. Again, it is said in the Psalms, “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies,” ( Ps. 119:36 ). For we should always note the antithesis between the rebellious movement of the heart, and the correction by which it is subdued to obedience.”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:45: We may observe in these verses, 1. What David experienced of an affection to the law of God: "I seek thy precepts, Psa 119:45. I desire to know and do my duty, and consult thy word accordingly; I do all I can to understand what the will of the Lord is and to discover the intimations of his mind. I seek thy precepts, for I have loved them, Psa 119:47, Psa 119:48. I not only give consent to them as good, but take complacency in them as good for me." All that love God love his government and therefore love all his commandments. 2. What he expected from this. Five t”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: him for the use of it? By no means. He shows the perpetual efficacy of a pure and pious prayer, that we may be induced in like manner to pray. For the kindness and readiness of God to hear others is malignantly interpreted, if their example does not inspire us with stronger confidence in his promise, since his declaration is not that he will incline his ear to one or two, or a few individuals, but to all who call upon his name. In this ignorance they are the less excusable, because they seem as it were avowedly to contemn the many ”
- Psalms (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Psalms 71:20: Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles,.... Or, "made him to see" (g); that is, to experience. David had his troubles, and these were great, both as to quantity and quality; and very grievous and hard to be borne, and were very trying and afflictive: some outward, such as he endured when persecuted by Saul; and afterwards in his own family, though the incest of Ammon, the murder of him by Absalom, and Absalom's rebellion against him; the curses of Shimei, and the bickerings of the sons of Zeruiah; with many others: and some inward, arising from the corrup”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 57: from the experience of believers, who, in recognizing the grace of God toward them, not only feel disquietude (this often happens), but sometimes tremble, overcome with terror, 290 290 As to the imperfection, strengthening, and increase of faith, see Book 4. chap. 4 sec. 7, 8. so violent are the temptations which assail their minds. This scarcely seems consistent with certainty of faith. It is necessary to solve this difficulty, in order to maintain the doctrine above laid down. When we say that faith must be certain and secure, we”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 119:103: Here is, 1. The wonderful pleasure and delight which David took in the word of God; it was sweet to his taste, sweeter than honey. There is such a thing as a spiritual taste, an inward savour and relish of divine things, such an evidence of them to ourselves, by experience, as we cannot give to others. We have heard him ourselves, Joh 4:42. To this scripture-taste the word of God is sweet, very sweet, sweeter than any of the gratifications of sense, even those that are most delicious. David speaks as if he wanted words to express the satisfaction he took in the”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 4: Augustine — Anti-Manichaean, Anti-Donatist — BOOK XXII. (part 59): might be tried by temporal chastisement. And it is a remarkable evidence of the strength of David's faith, and of his meek and submissive spirit, that, when 298 he had been told by the prophet that God had forgiven him, although the threatened consequences were still permitted to follow, he did not accuse the prophet of having deluded him, or murmur against God as having mocked him with a declaration of forgiveness. This deeply holy man, whose soul was lifted up unto God, and not against God, knew that had not the ”