Acts 13:22

Act_13:22-23

He raised up David.

David

David is one of the grandest men in the Bible, and his character is more fully portrayed than that of any other with one exception. The sweet singer of Israel was royally dowered with charms of the person, with gifts of the mind, and with susceptibilities of the heart; and, from a youth up, he was as one who is well beloved, and therefore rightly named. He was great in all the faculties of his soul, and has not been placed higher in the esteem of the Church than his virtues have warranted. It has been questioned how he could be called a man after Gods own heart, and his crimes have been sketched with nauseating fulness. But the Church no more defends them than he did or the Bible.

I. Why then are his sins so fully presented?

1. That we may see how full of infirmity are the best of men.

2. That we may see how efficacious grace is to overcome them.

3. That we may see how bitter is the sorrow of the truly penitent, and how wide is the door of mercy.

II. Why is he called a man after Gods own heart?

1. David was chosen by God.

2. As thus chosen he would more strictly observe the revealed will of God.

3. David was a man of fervent piety, of swift repentance, and of the deepest spiritual aspirations.

4. He was large-hearted, true as a friend, affectionate as a father, and ever ready to be reconciled with his foes--to forgive and forget. In these attributes of a fatherly heart he resembled God.

III. Three inferences from his history.

1. This life is not an encouragement to commit sin or to continue in sin, but an encouragement to those struggling to be delivered from their sins.

2. Any one may be called a man after Gods own heart, if his life is marked by the same religious fervour, by the same sincere penitence, and by the same deep longings after God by day and by night.

3. We must seek after likeness to God in our moral nature--in our likes and dislikes. (Homiletic Monthly.)

The ability to see the beautiful

How much easier it is to see defects than to see beauties, in anything at which we look. No art education is requisite to the perceiving of a broken arm or a nose, on an ancient Grecian statue, or of the weather stains on its marble surface; but it does require a trained eye and a cultivated taste to recognise the lines of beauty, and the tokens of power, in a discoloured and a battered fragment of a master work of art. And so it is in the reading of a book, or in the observing of a character: the ability to perceive that which is worthy, and that which is admirable, is higher and rarer than the ability to perceive errors and flaws. No teacher or scholar has been too stupid to see Davids faults. Only here and there has one been noble enough, and clear-eyed enough, to recognise the exceptional high qualities, and the transcendent attractions of character, which lift David above his fellows. And so, again, this truth is continually being illustrated. Let him who would have the credit of superior ability be careful not to criticise or to condemn too freely; for that is a sure mark of inferiority. The power to point out beauty and worth, where others would pass it by, is, in itself, a proof of excellence. Why can not all aim at that higher standard? (The Sunday School Times.)

A man after Mine own heart.--

The sins of the saints

1. We all know of the frequency with which testimony is given to Gods affection for David. Speaking of him to his successors, He always holds him up to their admiration (1Ki_9:4). And the writer of the Chronicles sums up the life of any monarch who had turned into devious ways in such words as those of 2Ch_28:1.

2. Now, God did not choose the Psalmist-warrior as we choose our friends, by a sort of self-blinding; discerning in them gifts and graces which to all other eyes they obviously lack. God will never prefer a man to hold such a position in His thoughts as David held, without some just cause of esteem. The assertion that God takes an unworthy man into His preeminent affection because He wills to do so tarries in it its own contradiction, God, like man, has to obey the law of His nature, and that law is that He can only choose what is right and good. Even the passage, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated, must not be interpreted to mean that He loved the less worthy and condemned the better. Otherwise we strip God of His noblest attributes, and make Him inferior to man in the moral equities of reason and conscience; and, in the words of Bacon, It were better to have no opinion of God at all, than such an opinion as is unworthy of Him, for the one is unbelief and the other is contumely. Plutarch saith well to this purpose: Surely, saith he, I had rather a great deal men should say there was no such man as Plutarch, than that they should say there was one Plutarch who would eat his children as soon as they were born, as the poets speak of the god Saturn.

3. Now, this representation of Gods preference for David seems not to be justified when you turn to his life. Of course in estimating the man we must take into account the morality of his age, his moral superiority to the contemporary sovereigns, and the temptations kings were subject to, and we ought not to judge him by the light of these later times, but by the light that was given to him. But our purpose is not to extenuate or minimize Davids sins, but to vindicate Gods joy in him. Doubtless there were in Davids life hours of nearness to God, times of serenest reliance, and trust, and joy in God, and faithful service, and prompt obedience. But there were also in this same mans life depths of infamy. What, then, was this something that dwarfed the glaring defects of the life? We shall understand this if we consider--

I. The proper way to estimate the sins of the saints. It is our custom to fix our eyes on any virtuous or vicious action we have found out in a mans life, not caring to inquire whether it is the expression of virtuous or vicious principle. Now, we ought to a great degree to overlook the outward details, be they blemishes or merits, and estimate the man by the principles on which he is deliberately endeavouring to mould his character--by the moral spinal column that in the main holds his life together. Neither Noahs act of drunkenness nor Moses murder of the Egyptian on the one hand, nor Balaams truthfulness nor Judas penitence or remorse on the other, should depreciate or exalt them in our eyes, as neither of these actions or mental states are traceable to vital principle. Now, Davids sins, gross and coarse though they were, were accidental; they belied the principle on which he was painfully endeavouring to mould his character; and so God, who looks upon such frailties with larger, other eyes than ours, making allowance for us all, forgave and overlooked the casual blemishes, the life in the main being faithful and true. His sins brought awful retribution upon him, for Gods forgiveness only cancels the alienation between the human and Divine mind. What he sowed, that he reaped; but, when the anguish of penitence filled his spirit, the enmity which the sin had established between his mind and Gods became a thing of the past, and David was restored to the grace and favour from which he had temporarily lapsed. For there was in this man a soul that, often plunged in the mire, refused to abide there, and ever strove to rise up and take its flight to a serener and purer atmosphere. If I do the sin I would not, the sin which is not in keeping with the moral habits I am faithfully endeavouring to acquire, then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. And if I delight in the law of God after the inner man, and see another law in my members warring against this law in which I delight, and by which I aspire to live, and leading me into great and grievous sins, then, though with my flesh I serve sin, with my mind I serve God, and I claim to be judged to be what I am in my aspirations and hopes.

II. We shall understand Gods love and praise of David if we reflect that love and praise are due, not necessarily to the man who lives most virtuously, but to the man in whose life the moral struggle has been most faithfully maintained. There are many men virtuous because it is constitutionally easier for them to be virtuous than not. Purity that springs from a heart that keeps pure because it never warms, can lay no claim either to human or Divine admiration. There is nothing meritorious in automatic goodness. But there is something great and heroic in the life of the man who has had all his days to fight with moral infirmities and passions, and who, though often conquered and crushed, has risen again with resistance in his heart and defiance on his lips to renew the contest. This is what I find in Gods love for David, and in the way Scripture always refers to him. No more difficult life problem has been given to mere man than was given to him to solve. Look under what trying conditions he contrived to keep his heart subject to the fear of God. One day we find him a shepherd lad, the next the hero of Israel, and in rapid succession court musician, kings son-in-law, the freebooter of the wilderness, the leader of outlaws, the mercenary soldier, the monarch, the exile, and finally the monarch again. And this leads me to conclude with a question which has often perplexed us--the unequal distribution of moral natures, one man receiving from God a nature prone to goodness, another a nature prone to evil. We have men with constitutional infirmities saying, God has given me a nature that prevents me ever being a saint; why should God punish me for not being that which the rigorous necessities of the nature He has given me makes it impossible for me to be? I am not responsible for my nature. It is my fate. Yes; and Davids life was lived and is written to be your answer, and throw light upon your case. There is your nature: easy to be brought within the power of goodness or difficult, it is your work. Others with a milder task set before them may march from moral victory to moral victory. But if you have not left the evil within you to govern you, but have resolutely essayed to drive it out, and subject your lower nature to the sovereignty of your higher, God will pronounce His Well done upon you. Failure is no sin, faithlessness is; and, judged by this standard, there may be more of the grace of God, more of the divinest moral energy, more conscience, reason, and love admitted into the heart, and shaping the life of a man fighting, like David, against the infirmities of his flesh and the savage bias of his nature, though the fighting be unsuccessful, than in the heart and life of many a saint to whom goodness comes easy. (J. Forfar.)

Of this mans seed hath God … raised … Jesus.--

Christ, the Son of David, more than David

I. According to his spiritual disposition.

1. David a man according to Gods own heart to do all His will (verse 22).

2. Christ, Gods own Son, fulfilling in perfect obedience His Fathers work.

II. According to his career.

1. David ascended the throne through lowliness and hardships.

2. Christ humbled to death on the Cross, exalted to the Fathers right hand (verses 27-31).

III. according to the sphere of his work.

1. David as king over Israel, a shepherd of his people, and a terror to his enemies.

2. Christ as the Saviour of the world, an Eternal Prince of Peace to His people, and a terrible Judge to the despisers (verses 38-41). (K. Gerok.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:22 David was a man after God’s own heart despite his sins (e.g., 2 Sam 11–12).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 13:22. Μεταστήσας, when He had removed him) This is said appropriately (seasonably): for from this it might be understood that the economy of GOD admits of variation.—αὐτὸν, him) The kingdom (dynasty) of Saul presently after expired in the person of his son.—ἤγειρεν, hath raised up) This denotes more than gave; for it signifies firmness.—ᾧ, to whom) Construed with μαρτυρήσας, having testified.—μαρτυρήσας, having testified) as of a thing hidden deeply in the breast.—εὗρον Δαυὶὀ, I have found David) So the LXX., Psa 89:20: εὗρον, I have found, as something rare, and not forced.—τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ, the son of Jesse) 1 Samuel 16—ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου, ὃς ποιήσει πάντα τὰ θελήματά μου) 1Sa 13:14, in LXX., ζητήσει Κύριος ἐαυτῷ ἄνθρωπον κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐντελεῖται Κύριος αὐτῷ, κ.τ.λ.—κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου) according to Mine own heart) Dost thou wish to know what is right, and who is right? Examine the question according to the heart of GOD. We ought to refer all things for decision to the heart of GOD, but the heart of GOD we ought not to judge according to our heart.—ὅς, who) A type therein of Christ.—θελήματα) wishes, which are many, according to the variety of the matters in hand.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_13:22. Μεταστ. αὐτόν] cannot be explained of the death of Saul (Grotius, de Wette, also my former interpretation), because there is no ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν (3Ma_6:12; Polyb. xxxii. 21. 3) or the like added, or at least directly suggested, from the context. The word is rather to be considered as selected and exactly corresponding to the known history of Saul, expressing the divine rejection recorded in 1Sa_15:16 ff., and deposition of this king from his office, according to the current usus loquendi; see Dan_2:21; 1Ma_8:13; Luk_16:4; also in Greek writers.

ᾧ καὶ εἶπε μαρτυρήσας] for whom He also bearing witness has said. ᾧ is governed by μαρτυρ.; and on εἶπε μαρτυρ, comp. Act_1:24 : προσευξάμενοι εἶπον.

εὗρον Δαυΐδ κ.τ.λ.] Psa_89:21 is here quite freely blended with 1Sa_13:14 in the inexact recollection of the moment, and formed into one saying of God, as indeed in Psa_89:21 God is the speaker, but not in Sam. Act_13:14.

εὗρον] God had sought for the kingdom of His people a (so rare) man like David.

κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου] i.e. as my heart desires him. This and the following ὅς … μου is to be left without any more precise limitation (Eckermann, after the older commentators, supposes that it applies to the government of the people; Heinrichs: to the establishment of the theocracy), as the text does not furnish such a limitation, and πάντα τὰ θελ. forbids it. On these last words Bengel correctly remarks: voluntates, multas, pro negotiorum varietate. Comp. Eph_6:6; Psa_102:7; 2Ma_1:3.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 13:22 . μεταστήσας , Luk 16:4 : refers here to Saul’s deposition from the throne, 1Sa 15:16 , cf. Dan 2:21 , 1Ma 8:13 , not as Bethge thinks to his removal from the presence of God, cf. 2Ki 17:23 , nor to his death, Mal 3:1Mal 3:1 ; 3Ma 6:12 . Saul therefore could not have been the bringer of the promised salvation. εὗρον κ . τ . λ .: a combination of two passages, Psa 89:20 and 1Sa 13:14 , and freely referred to as a saying pronounced by God Himself, but the latter part was pronounced by Samuel in God’s name. τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί , but in LXX τὸν δοῦλόν μου . ἄνδρα to mark the dignity (Bethge). κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν , cf. Jer 3:15 . ὃς ποιήσει , cf. Isa 44:28 , Psa 40:8 . The fact that these quotations are thus left in their present shape with no attempt to correct them justifies the belief that we have here St. Paul’s own words. With the first part of the quotation cf. Clem. Rom., Cor [261] , xviii. 1, a striking agreement; see on the one hand as against its dependence on Acts, Wendt, p. 41 (1899), and on the other hand, Bethge, in loco , and Introd. , p. 37.

[261] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I have found David, &c.--This quotation is the substance of Psa 89:20; Sa1 13:14; and perhaps also of Psa 78:70-72.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 22. David - a man after mine own heart] That is, a man who would rule the kingdom according to God's will. Dr. Benson's observation on this point is very judicious: "When it is said that David was a man after God's own heart, it should be understood, not of his private, but of his public, character. He was a man after God's own heart, because he ruled the people according to the Divine will. He did not allow of idolatry; he did not set up for absolute power. He was guided in the government of the nation by the law of Moses, as the standing rule of government, and by the prophet, or the Divine oracle, whereby God gave directions upon particular emergencies. Whatever Saul's private character was, he was not a good king in Israel. He did not follow the law, the oracle, and the prophet; but attempted to be absolute, and thereby to subvert the constitution of the kingdom. That this was the meaning of David's being a man after God's own heart will easily appear by comparing 1Sa 15:28; 1Sa 28:17-18; 1Ch 10:13-14; Ps 78:70, c. Ps 89:20, &c."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. I have found David, my servant. This title was not so much cited in praise of the person, as that Paul might make the Jews more attentive to receive Christ. For the Lord doth testify that his mind was thoroughly set upon David for no light cause, but he commandeth in him some singular thing; and by extolling him so highly, his intent is to lift up the minds of the faithful unto Christ in his person. The place is taken out of the fourscore and ninth Psalm, (Psalm 89:20.) Only Paul putteth in that which is not there to be found, that David was the son of Isai, [Jesse,] which amplifieth the grace of God. For seeing that Isai [Jesse] was a breeder of cattle, it was a wonderful work of God to take the least of his sons from the sheepfolds, and to place him in the throne of the kingdom. By the word found, God meaneth that he had gotten such a man as he would. Not that David had brought to pass by his own travel and industry that he should meet God, being such a one, but the phrase is taken from the common custom of men.

But the question is, Seeing that David fell so grievously, how God giveth testimony of his continual obedience? We may answer two ways; for God had respect rather unto the continual course of his life, than unto every of his particular actions. Secondly, he did thus set him forth, not so much for his own merit as for his Christ’s sake. Assuredly he had deserved, by one wicked fact, eternal destruction for him and his, and, so much as in him lay, the way of the blessing of God was shut up, that there might nothing but vipers’ seed come of Bathsheba. But that so filthy a fact, in the death of Uriah, (2 Samuel 11:27) turneth to a contrary end by the wonderful counsel of God, because Solomon is born and cometh of that unlooked-for wedlock, which was full of treachery, and, finally, polluted with many spots. And though David sinned grievously, yet because he followed God all the course of his life, he is praised without exception, that he showed himself obedient to God in all things; though (as I have said before) the Spirit carrieth us into a farther thing; yea, the common calling of all the faithful in Christ, the head, is here depicted out to us.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(22) I have found David the son of Jesse.—The words that follow are a composite quotation, after the manner of the Rabbis, made up of Psa_89:20, and 1Sa_13:14. The obvious purpose of this opening was, as in the case of St. Stephen’s speech, to gain attention by showing that the speaker recognised all the traditional glories of the people. It is possible that we have, as it were, but the précis of a fuller statement.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. I have found David, &c.] This sentence is a combination and adaptation from two separate verses out of the O. Test. First, “I have found David my servant,” Psa_89:20, and “The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people,” 1Sa_13:14.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise,.... In Sa2 7:12 raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus; even Jesus of Nazareth, whose name signifies a Saviour, who is the son of David, according to the flesh; the word "Jesus" is left out in some copies, and so it is in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, which only read, "salvation" or "redemption"; the Alexandrian copy, and the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, read, "he hath brought forth unto Israel", &c. the sense is, that as God had promised that the Messiah should spring out of David's loins, so in the fulness of time he had sent him, or caused him to come by the assumption of human nature, or by taking flesh of a virgin, who was of the house and lineage of David; and who was sent, and came first to the people of Israel, though they for the most part slighted and rejected him; however, he was raised up for the mystical Israel of God, all the elect, whether Jews or Gentiles; and that to be the Saviour of them, from sin, Satan, and the law, and every enemy, with a spiritual and eternal salvation, and that both of body and soul; and a very able, willing, and suitable Saviour he is, as well as a perfect and complete one. This Saviour, Jehovah, in his infinite wisdom, found, and in his purposes appointed him to be his salvation, and in his covenant provided and settled him as such; and in the prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of him as the Saviour and Redeemer of his people; and in the fulness of time sent him, and raised him up of David's seed, according to his promise to him. The first promise of a Saviour was made to our first parents, under the character of the seed of the woman; he was next promised to Abraham, that he should be of his seed; and then to Judah, that he should be of his tribe; and after that to David, that he should be of his family; and all this has been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah, who is sometimes called David and David's son. Now it was for the sake of this, that the apostle begins with the choice of the Jewish fathers, and relates so many favours bestowed upon the people of Israel; his view was to lead on to observe this special mercy promised them, and now fulfilled, on which he intended to enlarge in his discourse, as follows.

raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus; even Jesus of Nazareth, whose name signifies a Saviour, who is the son of David, according to the flesh; the word "Jesus" is left out in some copies, and so it is in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, which only read, "salvation" or "redemption"; the Alexandrian copy, and the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, read, "he hath brought forth unto Israel", &c. the sense is, that as God had promised that the Messiah should spring out of David's loins, so in the fulness of time he had sent him, or caused him to come by the assumption of human nature, or by taking flesh of a virgin, who was of the house and lineage of David; and who was sent, and came first to the people of Israel, though they for the most part slighted and rejected him; however, he was raised up for the mystical Israel of God, all the elect, whether Jews or Gentiles; and that to be the Saviour of them, from sin, Satan, and the law, and every enemy, with a spiritual and eternal salvation, and that both of body and soul; and a very able, willing, and suitable Saviour he is, as well as a perfect and complete one. This Saviour, Jehovah, in his infinite wisdom, found, and in his purposes appointed him to be his salvation, and in his covenant provided and settled him as such; and in the prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of him as the Saviour and Redeemer of his people; and in the fulness of time sent him, and raised him up of David's seed, according to his promise to him. The first promise of a Saviour was made to our first parents, under the character of the seed of the woman; he was next promised to Abraham, that he should be of his seed; and then to Judah, that he should be of his tribe; and after that to David, that he should be of his family; and all this has been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah, who is sometimes called David and David's son. Now it was for the sake of this, that the apostle begins with the choice of the Jewish fathers, and relates so many favours bestowed upon the people of Israel; his view was to lead on to observe this special mercy promised them, and now fulfilled, on which he intended to enlarge in his discourse, as follows.

Acts 13:24

act 13:24

act 13:24

act 13:24When John had first preached before his coming,.... Or, "before the face of his entrance"; that is, on his public ministry; for John did not preach before the coming of Christ in the flesh, being born but half a year before him; but before he came forth and was manifest to Israel; before he entered upon his work and office, as a prophet and teacher of the people: and this points out the business of John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Christ, and went before his face to prepare his way, who gave notice of his coming, and bore testimony to him; and whose testimony the apostle here produces, as being what the Jews could not well reject and deny, he being of so much probity and integrity, and so great a prophet, as he was accounted by all the people; and whom he prepared for the reception of the Messiah, by first preaching;

the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel: he not only administered the ordinance of baptism, but he preached the doctrine of it, opened the nature and design of it, and required repentance and fruits meet for it, in those who came to have it administered to them: for which reason it is called the baptism of repentance; and this he did publicly before all the people, when the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, came unto him; see Mar 1:4.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

22 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Ver. 22. Fulfil all my will] Gr. θεληματα "all my wills," to note the universality and sincerity of his obedience. We should therefore strive to do all the wills of God, because we have done heretofore all the wills of the flesh, Eph 2:2.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when he had removed him - This was done because he rebelled against God in sparing the sheep and oxen and valuable property of Amalek, together with Agag the king, when he was commanded to destroy all, 1 Sam. 15:8-23. He was put to death in a battle with the Philistines, 1Sa 31:1-6. The phrase “when he removed him” refers probably to his rejection as a king, and not to his death; for David was anointed king before the death of Saul, and almost immediately after the rejection of Saul on account of his rebellion in the business of Amalek. See 1Sa 16:12-13.

He gave testimony - He bore witness, 1Sa 13:14.

I have found David ... - This is not quoted literally, but contains the substance of what is expressed in various places. Compare 1Sa 13:14, with Psa 89:20, and 1Sa 16:1, 1Sa 16:12.

A man after mine own heart - This expression is found in 1Sa 13:14. The connection shows that it means simply a man who would not be rebellious and disobedient as Saul was, but would do the will of God and keep his commandments. This refers, doubtless, rather to the public than to the private character of David; to his character as a king. It means that he would make the will of God the great rule and law of his reign, in contradistinction from Saul, who, as a king, had disobeyed God. At the same time it is true that the prevailing character of David, as a pious, humble, devoted man, was that he was a man after God’s own heart, and was beloved by him as a holy man. He had faults; he committed sin; but who is free from it? He was guilty of great offences; but he also evinced, in a degree equally eminent, repentance (see Ps. 51); and not less in his private than his public character did he evince those traits which were prevailingly such as accorded with the heart, that is, the earnest desires, of God.

Which shall fulfill all my will - Saul had not done it. He had disobeyed God in a case where he had received an express command. The characteristic of David would be that he would obey the commands of God. That David did this - that he maintained the worship of God, opposed idolatry, and sought to promote universal obedience to God among the people is expressly recorded of him, 1Ki 14:8-9, “And thou Jeroboam hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes,” etc., 1Ki 15:3, 1Ki 15:5.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He had removed him; God had taken Saul away by death; for he would not suffer David to hasten it.

After mine own heart; favoured or beloved by me, and obedient to me; my servant, as God speaks of him, Psa 89:20.

Which shall fulfil all my will; and here, that he should fulfil all God’s will, to wit, in governing his people; for he hath a testimonial upon record in God’s word, Psa 78:72. He that is according to God’s heart, fulfils all the will of God, and does nothing by partiality; but if it be God’s will either for him to do or to suffer any thing, he is ready to set his fiat to it; as he daily prays (understandingly) that the will of the Lord may be done.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. After mine own heart—Not as being absolutely conformed to the perfect heart of God, but, as compared with Saul, a king who would reign according to the law of Moses, and in obedience to the commands of God. Paul traces the history of Israel to its culmination in the person of David, the regal type and ancestor of the Messianic king, and then fastens Jesus the Saviour to him by the tie of hereditary and prophetic lineage.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Raised up for raised up unto them, A.V. and T.R.; bare witness for gave testimony, A.V.; my for mine own, A.V.; do for fulfill, A.V.; who for which, A.V. This is not an exact quotation, but the combined meaning of 1Sa_13:14 and Psa_89:21.

The character of David.

when he had removed him," etc. Divine testimony to the character as one of the most wonderful.

I All grew out of CONSECRATED GROUND. No evolution explains such a man. The grace of God from a child. Converse with nature in his shepherd life (see Wordsworth"s "Excursion"). Forgetfulness of self. Patience. Courage and fortitude. But all led up to Divine anointing.

II Fashioned by PROVIDENTIAL DEALINGS. Sufferings in the school of affliction. His discipline in conflict with Saul.

III A MINGLED CHARACTER. Great faults beside great virtues. Tempted by luxury. Yet illustrating in his recovery that same grace which had raised him to the height. Goodness and severity of God. Our David is perfect. R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Having removed him - Hence they might understand that the dispensations of God admit of various changes. I have found David, a man after my own heart - This expression is to be taken in a limited sense. David was such at that time, but not at all times. And he was so, in that respect, as he performed all God's will, in the particulars there mentioned: But he was not a man after God's own heart, in other respects, wherein he performed his own will. In the matter of Uriah, for instance, he was as far from being a man after God's own heart as Saul himself was. It is therefore a very gross, as well as dangerous mistake, to suppose this is the character of David in every part of his behaviour. We must beware of this, unless we would recommend adultery and murder as things after God's own heart.

1 Sam. xvi, 12, 13.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

said See, 1Sa 13:14; Psa 89:20.

See Kingdom note, Zec 12:8; 1Co 15:28; 2Sa 7:8-17.

(See Scofield "2Sa 7:16").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. “Having deposed him,” i. e., King Saul. Why did God depose Saul and cast him away? Because he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Why was this? Because the Amalekites fought against Israel and did their utmost to keep them out of the promised land. See this grand symbolic truth. You must destroy everything that keeps you from sanctification. Agag typifies inbred sin, which must be utterly destroyed. Saul spared Agag and lost the kingdom and his soul, dying a suicide; so if you do not destroy inbred sin in entire sanctification, you will forfeit the kingdom of God, commit spiritual suicide and lose your soul. Why was David a man after God’s own heart? He was not infallible. He fell in case of Uriah, but God wonderfully restored him. “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all of my wishes.” Would you be a man after God’s own heart? Then you must do the whole will of God. King David was an exception to all the kings of the earth, in the fact that he did not his own will, but the will of God. David’s throne was unearthly, focalizing in heaven. He was simply the executive of the divine administration, sitting on the throne of the theocracy, ruling as God’s vicegerent. Hence the risen Jesus was crowned David’s Successor (as He is his heir) in heaven when He ascended (Act 2:30), and will be crowned David’s Successor on earth when He comes again (Act 2:35).

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes one verse 17

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

22. He raised up unto them David. The Lord called the young shepherd to the throne. A man after mine own heart. The language does not occur in this form in the Old Testament, but is implied in 1 Sam. 13:14. This does not imply that David was perfect, but that he sought to do the Lord's will, instead of showing stubborn disobedience, like Saul. He exhibited nobility of purpose, sought the welfare of the people, and aimed at a purer life.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

22. εὗρον Δαυεὶδ κ.τ.λ., I have found David, &c. This sentence is a combination and adaptation from two separate verses out of the O. Test. (1) ‘I have found David my servant,’ Psa 89:20; (2) ‘The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His people,’ 1Sa 13:14.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22. μεταστήσας] having deposed him (reff.): in this case, by his death, for David was not made king till then. Or perhaps μεταστ. may refer to the sentence pronounced against Saul, 1Sa 13:14, or 15:23, 28, and ἤγειρεν to the whole process of the exaltation of David to be king. But I prefer the former.

ᾧ κ. εἶπεν μ.] The two passages, Psa_89: (88 LXX) 20, and 1Sa 13:14, are interwoven together: both were spoken of David, and both by prophetic inspiration. They are cited from memory, neither τὸν τοῦ Ἰεσσαί nor ὅς … μου being found in them. These latter words are spoken of Cyrus, see reff. That such citations are left in their present shape in our text, forms a strong presumption that we have the speeches of Paul verbatim as delivered by him, and no subsequent general statement of what he said, in which case the citations would have been corrected by the sacred text.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.