Words From A Humble Heart

I Samuel 18.23

David was a man after God's Own Heart
1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.


Last week we saw that God's heart is reflected in Jesus' words in Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Gentle and humble in heart.

A few weeks ago we looked at what a humble heart was, comparing Saul to David.

We are given Jesus' words in Matthew 12:34-35 For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

Samuel had to be reminded that man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. God saw humility in David's heart.

Looking this morning at these words of David this morning show us his humble heart: 1Samuel 18:18, 22-23 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’” They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.”

David's words show his humility, his humble heart

Jesus, Son of God, Son of David, Our Example
We read in Philippians 2:5 Let Christ Himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For He, Who had always been God by nature, did not cling to His prerogatives as God’s equal, but stripped Himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, He humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death He died was the death of a common criminal.
Philippians 2:7-8 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.


1. High Honor was not something David sought after or felt worthy of.

A servant is not higher than his master.
Christ is the took on the form of a servant.
There is no higher honor than being a servant of Jesus'.

David was content to be a servant of the king. He was Saul's armor bearer. He played the harp for Saul. Before he was brought into Saul's service he was taking care of the family's sheep.

1 Samuel 17:12-15 Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul’s time he was very old. Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second, Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. David was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

He killed Goliath but sought no notoriety for himself. He was tending the sheep the hours before he killed Goliath. Interesting that made him ready to be used by God to do that!

Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Greatness in Christ's Kingdom is based on our willingness to be a servant.

Greatness is not based on a "high" position. There is nothing higher in God's kingdom than to be a servant. That is what Jesus was.
Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.

David never honored himself, neither did Jesus, neither should you.
When you look at the Psalms you see David's low view of himself. He understood he was a sinner, that his only hope was the LORD, and that humbling himself was wise.

David maintained this humility even after he became king.
2 Samuel 7:18-21, 25-27 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said:“Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.

A humble person's prayers give them away. So does the proud. Luke 18:10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector...
Their words tell what is in their heart.
A humble person is all concerned about the LORD and in awe that the LORD is concerned about him.

Psalm 8:1, 3-4 O Lord, our Lord,How excellent is Your name in all the earth,Who have set Your glory above the heavens! When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?


2. He was poor.

He knew it.
He admitted it.

David did not try to make himself out to be something that he wasn't. He did not pretend. Be who you are!

It is not a pleasant thing to be around someone who is poor and yet pretends to be rich.
Proverbs 12:9 Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

There was no pretense with David. What you saw is what you got. He was and is forever a shepherd! We remember him best as the shepherd boy who killed Goliath.
Even after he became king he was remembered this way, as a shepherd.
Psalm 78:70-72 He chose David his servantand took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought himto be the shepherd of his people Jacob,of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;with skillful hands he led them.

He was poor in spirit.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "

David gives us an example here.
reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms, destitute of wealth, influence, position, honor
lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches, helpless, powerless to accomplish an end, poor, needy, lacking in anything as respects their spirit
destitute of wealth of learning and intellectual culture which the schools afford (men of this class most readily give themselves up to Christ's teaching and proved them selves fitted to lay hold of the heavenly treasure)

Jesus did not go to the Yeshivas in Jerusalem to find disciples, He went to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, His first followers were followers of John the Baptist, broken men, repentant men

David did not allow success to spoil him.
Only the poor in spirit can do that. Pride will puff up a man to a position where he thinks all kinds of crazy things. If not dealt with it will be his downfall. David never got away from his need of the LORD as his Shepherd.

He understood where his help came from.
Psalm 121:2 My help comes from the Lord,the Maker of heaven and earth.

1 Samuel 17:45-47 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Notice "our hands"

As I get older I am seeing the need to be connected with the whole Body of Christ. I see my dependence upon the body of Christ.

3. He was not well known. (At least he did not view himself that way.)
He was okay with that.

1 Samuel 17:55-58 As Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to Abner, commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is that young man?”Abner replied, “As surely as you live, Your Majesty, I don’t know.” The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is.” As soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the Philistine’s head. “Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”

It is good that David didn't pride himself in his playing the harp for Saul. Saul didn't remember him when David reached his moment of great victory over Goliath. It didn't bother David.

He lived in the wonderful freedom of being honest with himself. He could have said, "I am the one who played the harp for you when you were tormented. I was in the palace with you! Don't you recognize me?!!!"
God help us! How we desire to be noticed. How we want people to know who we are.
Be like Jesus. He didn't care what the crowds were saying. His focus was on pleasing His Father in Heaven.

Making ourselves nothing
No reputation. Do not concern yourself with what others think about you. This can trip us up. Let them think what they want. David did.
Jesse sent him down with food and to see how things were going with his brothers.
1 Samuel 17:28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
What are you doing here, you shepherd? There was jealousy over David's previous experience with Saul and even further back to Samuel's anointing David rather than him! I am sure when Samuel thought that Eliab was the one whom he was to anoint, Eliab picked up on this. Perhaps he thought of course it will be me. i look like a king, I am the oldest. Look at the way Samuel is looking at me! Then it turned out to be David, then David was brought to Saul to play. Then David became Saul's armor bearer.

All this and David described himself as "the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem." Proverbs 25:6 Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,and do not claim a place among his great men.

We are children of God through faith and that is all we are! These terms that are flying around today inside of Christendom are dangerous: leadership, great leaders, great churches, great ministry, great pastor. It is scaring me. It is sickening. You will not find any of them in the New Testament. On the contrary... You find a bunch of spiritual shepherds and sheep!

When it comes to serving Christ as a pastor this is what you will find...

1 Peter 5:1-6 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Check out our own words these days. Do not talk about yourself.
Proverbs 27:2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
Then be embarrassed when they do!

David did not know what was up ahead. We see now it was a decade of pain and suffering before he became king. Saul's final ten years were spent hunting down David in his first years of being anointed.

What was the preparation of the son of Jesse for
the songs like unto which none other have ever
sounded on this earth?

The outrage of the wicked, which brought forth cries for God's help. Then the faint hope in
God's goodness blossomed into a song of rejoicing for His mighty deliverances and manifold mercies.
Every sorrow was another string to his harp; every deliverance another theme for praise.

Being a humble man he had nothing to lose, so he submitted.

To wait for God, and to suffer His will, is to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings, and to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. So now, if the vessel is to be enlarged for
spiritual understanding, be not affrighted at the wider sphere of suffering that awaits you. TheDivine capacity of sympathy will have a more extended sphere, for the breathing of the Holy Ghost in the new creation never made a stoic, but left the heart's affection tender and true.
--Anna Shipton

A person who has the right relationship with God lives a life as natural as breathing wherever he goes. The lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing. - Oswald Chambers

Humble yourself like David did. Pray that prayer he prayed,
Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.