Prayer of a King – Psalm 131

By Doug Floyd

He never asked for this. He never sought this power, this recognition, this throne.
Tomorrow David would covenant with the elders of Israel. Tomorrow they would anoint
him as king. Tomorrow the long years of wilderness would finally be over.

He never asked for this. The call came as interruption, as surprise. Over seventeen years
ago, Samuel appeared on his father’s land, requesting to see his sons. After a long day of
prayers and waiting, Samuel summoned Jesse to bring forth the remaining son. David
appeared as a ruddy shepherd boy. Could this young man be the future king of God’s
chosen people? Could this young man carry the weight of shepherding the tribes of
Israel?

From lonely days of song and solitude, this young man was suddenly thrust into years of
political intrigue, battle and dangerous pursuit. He lost everything. He almost lost his life.
He lived as an outlaw, hunted by the king of Israel and his army of henchman. He lived in
caves and in enemy lands. He wandered. He wrestled. He questioned.

It’s funny how a few moments can forever change the whole course of your life. In one
day, his life of peace was turned upside down into tumult, chaos, and struggle. Why
would God call him only to abandon him?

Tomorrow David would be king over all Israel. Today he is a broken man, ruling the tribe
of Judah by God’s grace alone. Broken by the hand of God in a wilderness of suffering
and struggle, he has no presumption about his own greatness.

Even now groups are forming around David. Even now sects are plotting for power and
favor with the new king. In the midst of all the excitement, all the clamoring, all the
anticipation that pulses through Hebron, David slips away into the solace of his chamber
and begins to sing.

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
Ps 131:1; ESV

Assuming the position of a servant, he kneels before the true king of Israel. He looks to
the Creator of the land and the sea and the sky. He sings like a child in the presence of his
Father.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Ps 131:2; ESV
Silence. David rests, Sabbaths before the Lord. He remembers the faithfulness of the
Lord. He remembers the lovingkindness of the Lord. He remembers the story of His
people, delivered from the cruel slavemaster of Egypt to the land of Promise in Canaan.
He rejoices in the goodness of the Lord. He sings on behalf of the people and the land.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.
Ps 131:3; ESV

A knock at the door. David rises and follows his guards, follows his Lord, follows his
people into a period that will change not only Israel, but the whole world.