King David and the Psalms of Worship

The last verse of the book of Judges ends with, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This statement underscores the problems that Israel was having at the time of the judges. King Saul, Israel’s first king, followed in that same spirit of rebellion and disobedience. Finally in 1 Samuel 15 God rejected Saul as king because of his rebellion and his faithlessness, and told Samuel that He had found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) and had provided for Himself a king among the sons of Jesse, the Bethlehemite.

David was a shepherd boy, keeping the sheep around Bethlehem. They brought him to Samuel and God said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 1 Samuel 16:12. In the next verse it states that the Spirit of the LORD (all caps means the covenant Name of God given to Moses at the burning bush) came upon David mightily from that time forward.

Saul was tormented from being rejected by God and David was sent for because it says that he was “skillful” with the harp (Hebrew yada) and had understanding (Hebrew bayin). These two words, yada and bayin are associated with the word and wisdom of God.

When David sang his songs of worship with Saul, it says that the king was refreshed. The Hebrew word for “refreshed” is ravach, and literally means to breath deeply. David’s worship of God was soothing to Saul and brought him temporary relief. True worship clears the atmosphere around the person who is focused upon the true and living God.

The book of Psalms is the longest book in the Bible and is known as the worship book of the Bible. Most of the psalms were written by David with others written for him. David is a model for becoming a true worshiper of the Father because his heart was set on pursuing and knowing God. Regardless of the situation he found himself in, and David got himself in some serious situations, he could find and focus upon the Lord. This is what it means to be a person after the heart of God, worshiping the Father in spirit and truth.

Keep in mind the psalm that you began your time of worship with today. What did it say about God? Focus on the Lord today and the attribute that was highlighted in that psalm for you today. Pray it back to the Father throughout the day and you may just notice that people around you will begin to breath more deeply! Hallelujah!!!