"The Holy Spirit and David"

When God sent Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel, Samuel surely had some mental image of what the new king would look like and be like. Wow, was he ever surprised after carefully inspecting all of Jesse's sons and having God reject them. Maybe he was feeling kind of desperate when he turned to Jesse and asked, "Are these all of your sons?", to which Jesse replied, "No, there is one more, the youngest, but he is tending the sheep." Jesse sent for him and as David walked into the gathering the Lord said, "Rise and anoint him, he is the one. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers and from that day the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power." 1 Samuel 16:12-13 NIV

Turn the clock forward some 40 years and David wrote:
"Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." Psalm 51:11-12 NIV

For all of his adult life David lived through many challenges, heartaches and failures, always with the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit - until Bathsheba. After turning his back to God for most of a year following his adultery with her and then having her husband executed to try to cover up his sin, David finally came to realize how his attitude and actions had put his and the entire nation's future at risk. I think he also finally came to grips with how he had wounded the heart of God..

David fasted and prayed for the child he and Bathsheba had conceived but God refused to grant his request to spare the baby. I have come to believe he wrote Psalm 51 after visiting Bathsheba to console her upon the death of the child.. I also believe that Psalm 32 should be read after 51 because it is his psalm of praise and thanksgiving for God's forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit had been David's comforter and counselor for almost all of his turbulent life and as he wrote Psalm 51 the very real prospect of life without that huge blessing was foreboding and dark. If God had not forgiven David and through the Holy Spirit restored his joy in God's presence, our world would be missing much that is crucial to our faith.

David didn't know Jesus, nor the beautiful blessing we disciples of Jesus enjoy to have God's Holy Spirit live within us every day. But like David, without that blessed presence, my life would be a meager and futile attempt at life. Over and over again I have come before my Father to plead his forgiveness for one stupid blunder or another and always the Holy Spirit assures me of God's love and forgiveness. HALLELUJAH!