“Great salvation He brings to his king and shows steadfast love to His anointed, to David and his offspring forever” – Psalm 18:50.

ONE OF THE marvels of the life of King David was the way in which God lavished His love on him. The closeness that David gained with God is something we all yearn for as we read through the Psalms. Psalm 18 encapsulates what being the apple of God’s eye entails. In verse 19 we read, “He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.” Those words, “because He delighted in me”, echo with such intensity of longing to be loved in such a way. David certainly made his mistakes, blundered terribly and grievously – enough to have him put to death – but the steadfast love of the Lord attributed to him, ‘a man after my own heart’. Yes, he tasted the bitter consequences of his sin, but what grace, what mercy, what lovingkindness that elevated David to a place of greatness; nothing can be attributed to David’s regal standing but the sheer gentleness of God (verse 35) and how the autobiographical accounts, that make up much of the Psalmody, reveal that.

Hebrews 2:11-12 states, “For He Who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, ‘I will tell of Your name to My brothers in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.’”  Christ is not ashamed to call us brothers (that entails sisters too). Most of us, no doubt, have heard the phrase, ‘Prophet, Priest and King’ and these three offices were pivotal for the theocratic nation, Israel. The Old Testament is explicit in revealing each of their roles. Such offices were the foreshadowing of the Perfect to come – Christ the Messiah Himself. According to the Scriptures we can also add brother that resembles a close family tie and rightly so did Christ become our brother as He stepped into humanity and became literally one of us but without inherent sin. Romans 8:16-17 states, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…” that alone reveals the brotherhood-ship we have in and to Christ and vice-versa through our spiritual union with Him. “Fellow heirs with Christ” is an incredible and inexhaustible reality about us. It is not a concept or metaphor, per se, but a wonderful living fact.

So what does this have to do with David? Let’s go back to the end of Psalm 18:50 – “…to David and his offspring forever” which carries the same connotation with Abraham “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham… ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith.’” (Galatians 3:7-9). Christ is the literal fulfilment of Abraham’s seed and in Christ do we receive all the benefits of salvation. Abraham was the pattern of faith in the midst of all odds against him and it is such a path that is walked by us – belief in the promise, which is Christ Himself, Who Abraham amazingly saw and embraced from afar. Abraham was exactly the same as we are – looking for the City (heavenly dwelling) to come and by faith we too embrace the reality of that coming.

All the covenantal blessings bestowed upon David, as well as Abraham, are rightly ours too; we are all under the same covering of grace. David’s standing in grace wasn’t greater than ours because he was king; it is identical to ours. David’s Rock is our Rock; David’s High Tower is our High Tower; David’s Fortress is our Fortress; David’s Refuge is our Refuge; David’s Stronghold is our Stronghold; David’s Shadow of wings is our Shadow of wings; David’s Deliverer is our Deliverer; David’s Shield of salvation is our Shield of salvation; David’s Strength is our strength; David’s Help is our Help; David’s Shepherd is our Shepherd and David’s God is also our God. David was anointed with God’s ever-pursuing and steadfast love and so are we. 

Does it not make your heart beat faster; does it not cause your heart to long to be nearer to the King of kings? God draws near to those who draw near to Him. David walked that path and by the same grace that way is wide open to us. Unmerited grace is what drew the line between King David and King Saul and David was ever-reliant upon it. Do we want that closeness because as A.W. Tozer said, “We have as much of God as we actually want.”?