Psalm 18 – a psalm of David. David acknowledges his dependence on God and God’s mighty power displayed on behalf of one he loves. Just as God cared for David, he cares for us as well.

What does a king need more than anything? What should be at or near the top of a king’s prayer requests? What does a leader need God to give in abundance? I’m sure we could all put together a top five list.

As we get closer to the end of our series on the life of David, we see a series of short vignettes that give us a summary of the kind of situations he faced as king. As we look at these, we’ll get a taste of what a king really needs. And as we trace that all the way to Communion, we’ll see that we are in desperate need of the same.

Enemies. Betrayal. Death staring him in the face. David has declared his faith that God is in control and God is good. But was David’s faith a stoic, passionless, fearless thing? Just the opposite.

This morning we’ll do a deep dive into the prayer and the heart behind David’s faith when everything seemed to be against him. It will be uncomfortable. David expresses fear, terror, distress and the desire to just run away. He was overwhelmed.

Would we even know what to do with such a confession from a godly friend? Do we allow ourselves to feel like this or to confess that this is happening in our hearts? How do we pray when our emotions are this high and our world seems to be coming to an end?

Is it meekness or is it weakness? Is it meekness or is it apathy? Is it meekness or is it fear? Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference!

This morning we continue in our sermon series on the life of David, as the consequences of his sin continue to unfold in heartbreaking ways. David’s son Amnon, who sinned in a horrifying way against Absalom’s sister Tamar, has died at the vengeful hands of David’s son Absalom. David seems to have been weak with both of them. He was furious at Amnon but didn’t seem to take any action. He longed to be reunited with Absalom, but would not take the steps to make it happen. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was apathy. Maybe it was shame and guilt.

Now Absalom is bent on taking David’s throne and taking over the kingdom. David basically lets him do so. Is he living out of fear and apathy again? Is he giving in to weakness? Or is this something different? Could this be meekness?

Jesus Christ was meek. We are called to be the same. What does this look like? How can we show restraint and patience, trusting God to work things out for His glory, when everything around us and in us is telling us to take control and show some strength?

When it comes to life, the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat things. In today’s passage from 2 Samuel 13-14, we see sin at work in King David’s family: deceit, violation, scheming, and murder. At the root is a heart attitude that “takes” from others, rather than gives.

What do we mean when we talk about being “blessed”? Is it a vague sense that life is pretty good at the moment? Or is it something more than that? Can you be simultaneously “blessed” and at rock bottom? King David was. At the lowest, most scandalous point in his life, he looked not at his own circumstances, but at the compassionate, loving, merciful God that had forgiven him. And he was able to consider himself #blessed. Join us as we look at Psalms 32 and 51 today.

In our study of the Life of King David, we have reached a definite low point: David commits adultery with Bathsheba, and kills her husband Uriah in an attempt to cover it up. This week’s lesson shows us the spiral of sin that springs from temptation, and that “temptation hides in lazy places”.

We have a God that is loving and sovereign, and in whom we can trust even in the hardest of circumstances. God does not promise that we will not face hardship, but he does promise to walk with us through the storm.