David’s life is well documented, being laid before us in the books of Samuel and Chronicles. In the history books, we see it as a life marked by both unprecedented triumph and great tragedy. Both extremes furnished David with a mind sensitive to the hand of God that he might exclaim, “I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness” (1 Chron. 29:17).
The Psalms also provide much information about David. In fact, it is the Psalms which give us an in-depth picture of the heart of the man. A brother once described the Psalms as the yearnings of the inner man; how true this is when we examine David’s life.
Psalms of David
Of the 150 recorded Psalms, seventy-six can be positively identified as written by David. Of these, seventy-four are equated with David’s name in the Psalter and the remaining two are linked by the Spirit in the New Testament. Psalm 2 is quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts 4:25, “Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said…” Psalm 95 is referred to by Paul in Hebrews 4:7, “Again he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, today, after so long a time…”
It is quite possible that many other unnamed psalms are the work of David. For instance, Psalm 105 is identical to the words of David recorded in I Chron. 16:8-22 and Psalm 96 is found in I Chron. 16:23-32. Psalm 132, though grouped as one of Hezekiah’s songs of degrees, has all the markings of a Davidic psalm. Psalm 66 has been linked to the period in David’s life when the ark was brought back to Zion and David conducted himself as a priest — compare verses 13-15 with II Sam.6:13-14, 17-18. In addition, Bro. Edward Whittaker provides strong reasons for David being the writer of Psalm 119, (see “For the Study and Defense of the Holy Scripture,” page 90, published by the Testimony).
David’s life in the Psalms
Every aspect of David’s life is documented in the book of Psalms. We can listen to David’s thoughts as he walked down the valley of Elah toward his encounter with Goliath: “Man is like unto vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away…Rid me and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children” (Psa. 144:4-7). We can hear him pouring out his soul in anguish because of his sin with Bathsheba: “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest” (Psa. 51:4). We can share his grief of mind as he is driven from Jerusalem by his son Absalom: “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up…” And we can rejoice in his confidence, expressed at the close of his life, when he said, “Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David and to his seed for evermore” (Psa. 18:50). All this can be found in the Psalms, written for our learning and admonition.
For convenience we have divided the life of David into six parts. While we cannot be dogmatic, we have identified certain Psalms with each period.
Part 1 — David the Warrior: Psalms 8, 144.
Part 2 — David the Fugitive: Psalms 59, 56, 34, 57, 63, 52, 54, 17, 31, 7, (140, 141), 142, 35, 13.
Part 3 — David the King: Psalms 30, (2, 14), 15, 24, (53), 68, (96, 105), 110, 60, 122, 131, (132), 133.
Part 4 — David the Sinner: Psalms 51, 32, (38).
Part 5 — David the Exile: Psalms 70, (61), 41, 3, (62), 109, 69, 5, (38), 39, 55, 64, 23, 4.
Part 6 — David the Elder: Psalms 18, (20), 65, 72, (37).
(Psalms shown in parenthesis are suggested with less certainty.)
The Fugitive Years
Duration
It is difficult to establish just how long David spent being a fugitive. We know that he was 30 years old when he began to reign in Hebron over the house of Judah (II Sam.2:8-10); this would be shortly after Saul’s death.
At the time of Goliath’s challenge, David would be in his late teens, not old enough to be in Saul’s army with his brethren, but of an age where he was strong enough to fight with a lion and a bear: let us say 18 years of age.
We can only surmise how long he spent in Saul’s court, but it couldn’t have been more than two years. This leaves us with approximately 10 years during which David was hunted like an animal “in dens and caves of the earth.”
David was destined to become Israel’s king. It was no secret that God had sought Him a man after His own heart; therefore, his spiritual qualities would likely come under tremendous scrutiny. In order to prepare him for this great responsibility David would require more than a strong arm and a fearless disposition, he would need compassion, a keen understanding of the human mind and considerable association with the ways of man. All these would be acquired during the fugitive years.
Beginning of Saul’s hostility
It is necessary, in order to appreciate the various comments contained in the Psalms for this period, to capture the mood of the times in which David lived.
David’s life as a fugitive began in I Samuel 19:10 when he fled from Saul and sought refuge in his own house, and it didn’t end until Saul’s death in chapter 31. His difficulties began earlier than this, however, with his victory over Goliath.
With David triumphant over Goliath, the men of Israel and Judah arose in pursuit of the demoralized Philistines (I Sam.17:51-52). The nation had a new champion. Upon king Saul’s return from the slaughter, the women broke out into singing, shouting “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Sam. 18:7). This incited Saul to an outburst of jealous rage, “They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?” (v. 8). Then comes the divine commentary: “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward” (I Sam.18:9).
Initial attempts on David’s life
Saul made three attempts on David’s life while in the palace.
The first occurrence came the day after the victory over the Philistines; Saul’s mind was disturbed and David played the harp in order to soothe him. There was a javelin in Saul’s hand and he cast it at David with a view to smite him to the wall (18:11).
The second attempt was more subtle. Saul made David a captain in his army and then offered his daughter to him for his wife. But there was an ulterior motive: “For Saul said, let not mine hand be upon him, but let the Philistines be upon him” (v. 17). The price for being son-in-law to the king was set at 100 foreskins of the Philistines. David’s eagerness, not only to have Michal to wife, but also to win the favor of Saul, moved him to double the spoil and he returned with a full tally of 200 foreskins (v. 27).
The third occasion came after another stunning defeat of the Philistines: Again David was attempting to soothe the king’s tormented mind and again Saul “sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin” (19:10). Realizing his danger, David fled for his life.
Saul’s anger increased
Saul’s jealousy was to grow with a furious intensity as the following scriptures illustrate:
“And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s enemy continually” (19:29).
“And Saul sought (David) every day, but God delivered him not into his hand” (23:14).
“See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself’ (23:23).
Saul took 3000 chosen men out of all Israel “and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats” (24:1). Such was the determination of Saul.
Rash accusations
Saul manifested numerous outbursts of anger: he accused Jonathan his son of being “the son of a perverse rebellious woman” and forthwith attempted to kill him with a javelin (20:30,33); he railed on his men, accusing them of conspiring against him and failing to feel sorry for him (22:8); and he vented his frustration on Nob, a city of priests no less, by slaughtering men, women and children by the edge of the sword (22:18-19).
David flees from Saul
At first Jonathan was not convinced of his father’s intention to kill David. “If I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?” (20:9).
But David knew different: “As thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death…And David arose, and fled that day for fear of Saul” (20:3; 21:10).
As the years went by, Saul’s determination continued: “And David saw that Saul was come to seek his life…” (23:15). “And I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it” (24:11). “And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul…” (27:1).
Other enemies
Saul wasn’t David’s only enemy. There were others who would be happy to see him out of the way. Saul had his spies everywhere.
On two occasions the Ziphites betrayer his location to Saul (I Sam. 23:19; 26:1). On the first occasion, Saul encourages them to “take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you” (23:23).
Doeg was another spy. What was an Edomite doing in the house of the Lord (21:7)? The men of Keilah of the tribe of Judah, his kinsmen, determined it was more expedient to deliver David into Saul’s hand than suffer the king’s wrath (23:7,12).
Nowhere was it safe and even when he sought refuge inside enemy territory, in the land of the Philistines, his circumstances proved very unstable (21:10-15; 27:all; 28:1).
The following map illustrates the movements of David during the fugitive years. In 1 Samuel 27:7 we are told that David spent a year and four months in the land of the Philistines; why highlight this time period? Perhaps it was unusual for David to spend so much time in one place. This reminds us of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it is said, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Matt. 8:20).
In dens and in caves
Throughout the Psalms David reveals his innermost thoughts, his dangers, his fears, his sorrows, his expectations and most of all his confidence in the Almighty. There is an unwavering faithfulness displayed by David during the fugitive years.
“Because of his strength will I wait upon thee: for God is my defense. The God of my mercy shall prevent me: God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies” (Psa. 59).
“0 taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (34:8).
“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (63:8).
“Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul” (54:4).
“I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living” (142:5).
It is no wonder that God gave testimony of David saying, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will” (Acts 13:22).
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