When I picture David in my mind, the first mental picture is of him dancing in fearless, fervent praise before His Lord (2 Samuel 6:12-14). He was leading a parade down "main street", leaping and dancing, wearing nothing but a linen ephod (whatever that is). I think it's safe to assume that he was scantily clad...
This behavior may make us shake our heads in wonder and maybe even have a sanctimonious response as did one of David's wives, Michal, (vs. 16). It is David's same exuberant love for His God that led him to write Psalm 150.
1
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary!
Praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength!
2
Praise him for his mighty acts!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3
Praise him with the blast of the horn!
Praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4
Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing!
Praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5
Praise him with loud cymbals!
Praise him with clanging cymbals!
6
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
In addition to being a masterful musician (harpist and songwriter) ... and apparently dancer, the Bible tells us that David was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). The Message translation puts it like this: He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him.
Some of the sweetest moments in life come from embraces: holding a newborn loved one, lying in bed with your spouse, holding in your arms a loved one who is insane with grief. In those embraces and in others our hearts beat together. Our spirits commune with one another as we share love with each other. Our hearts beat to their hearts.
When we pray together, even across time and space, our hearts are beating together. It is such a mystical truth that, when we lift up our hearts in prayer together, our united "heartbeats" touch the heart of our Father in Heaven, hallowed be His matchless name!
David was a man who was not without troubles; neither are we. In fact, if you look at God's blessing on your life as an absence of troubles, you will be deceived. David was chased by Saul (Ps. 59 & 63) or frequently defended himself against enemies (Ps. 7) or had to deal with the many ungodly antics of his sons (2 Samuel). Despite his challenges and hardships, we still see his name in the Hebrews 11 roll call of faith and this commendation in Acts 13:22. Why is that?!
No matter what David was experiencing, he almost always ran into the embrace of His God. Often, he wrote a psalm while there. When God was holding David in His arms, David was able to hear the heartbeat of God, in all kinds of situations - - - wonderful ones...and awful ones.
This is one of the greatest things about prayer, no matter what circumstance impels us to pray. We may arrive there frantic, desperate or thankful or joyful or serene. But, no matter what our state when we arrive, He embraces us so that we can feel and hear His heartbeat, so that our hearts can align with His, so that we can discern His will or, if not discerning it, so that we can pray that His will will be done here in the middle of our circumstances.
I'll be honest. There are times when I don't want to pray that His will will be done in a given situation. Or, there are other things the Holy Spirit prompts me to do, and I don't want to do them. Does that ever happen to you? But, the verse in Acts tells us that a key to why David's heart did beat steadily with God's was not just because he crawled up into God's lap; it was also because David was consistently obedient to God's revealed will. The New King James Version puts the end of Acts 13:22 like this: a man "who will do all my will".
"I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. In the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are 10,000 charms." 1
His heartbeat...can you hear it?
Dear Father, thank you for Your all-surpassing greatness, Your perfect knowledge in every situation, Your flawless plan. Thank you for calling us to a life of walking by faith, which has as a perk the permission to run and jump up into your lap on a moment's notice. Thank you for sharing Your heart with us, as we walk in obedience to Your Word, and as we draw near to You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Source:
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LFW6pXC2wk I love this choral arrangement of the old hymn...
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