My new book: The Key of David and God’s Eternal Kingdom

How did David become a warrior, king, and psalmist to a nation? What was it about David that God loved so well? Did David bring Israel into the Iron Age? And what really happened with Bathsheba? Psalms that David wrote at specific times in his life give us glimpses into his thoughts as we read them along with his story. Beyond that, this is the fascinating account of how David closed the gap between the Old and New Covenants to become the key to an eternal kingdom.

“Diana Symons Book ,The Key of David, is a book inspired by the Lord. It is well researched giving it depth of biblical truth with impressive insights into King David’s life, kingdom and revelations into divine worship. But most of all it speaks to how God can find “a heart after God” in a flawed and imperfect believer. I am in the process of re writing a book and in reading Diana’s book it allowed me to have a breakthrough in understanding the person God is searching for who knows and can reveal His heart. This is a powerful book and one that will give you unique insights not only into King David life and ministry but into the heart of God himself.”

Dr. Daniel J. Griffiths
Professor of Biblical Studies at Northern California Bible College

Somehow David had a way of grasping New Testament teaching in an Old Testament world. In Psalm 86, he said, Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life for I am godly. First of all, if he hadn’t said he was poor and needy, we might have felt that calling himself godly was a little rich. But David understood that repentance brought him God’s forgiveness. When he was forgiven, he was pure before God. What ensured that godliness was his humility.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. Poor in spirit is just as David expressed it, poor and needy. David’s humility allowed him to step into the kingdom of God that Jesus described ahead of his time.

This is an important lesson. Godliness without humility is pedantic and often works-based. Jesus modeled humility for a reason. He was born in a barn. He grew up working as a carpenter. He washed his disciples’ feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:15-17)

Being poor and needy is a way to growth in the Lord. It is a hunger to know more of Him, to understand the ways of His kingdom, and learn the things that we need to let go of to do that. Once we stop being hungry for God we stop being humble before Him, and that’s a dangerous place to be.

Jesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8) He wouldn’t have said that if it wasn’t possible for us, but so much of living in the kingdom is intentional. It doesn’t always just fall into our laps.

We all know our sins. We know when we’ve screwed up. The question is, what will we do about it? Sometimes we feel so badly about what we’ve done, or thought, that we confess it right away. But there are other sins that we don’t think are that bad, or we’re just not ready to let go of them. You can’t have a clean heart if you hold onto sin.

“Confession is good for the soul” is not just a nice saying, it shows us the way to life. Jesus promised us abundant life. We will never experience that until we lay down everything to Him – both good and bad. Repentance cleans us up. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you those things you need to deal with. Just do it. You can’t move on until you do.

When you have a clean heart before God, the weight of guilt will fall away. You remove anything that blocks your heart from hearing Him. We are still human, so sin will always be something to deal with, but that’s the trick. Deal with it. Repent like David did, immediately and with your whole heart. Then you can stand before God washed in the blood and pure in His eyes. It’s a wonderful feeling.

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

There’s so much in this psalm to learn from. It’s simple and straightforward, and so easy to pass by. Let’s look at this.

Don’t follow people who live ungodly lives. Surround yourself with people who will build you up, not tear you down. You may work with them and live next door to them, but you don’t need to laugh at their crude humor or seem impressed with their sinful life. Be helpful, be kind, but don’t follow them.

Meditating on the law was meant to focus the person on God and keep them safe from sinful influences. The law said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your strength. Just doing that would keep you from straying into dangerous areas. The intentional effort it takes to do that comes back in blessing.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The intentional focus to meditate on the things of God yields strength of soul. God sees that and loves it. He prospers the one who will keep faith strong. Planted by streams of water is refreshing and life-giving.

In our busy, worrisome life today, it’s so easy to overlook the simple things that God intended for our help. Be intentional. Think about the goodness of God and remind yourself to do it as often as possible. See what happens when you do.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matt 7:12) The Golden Rule is one of those scriptures as familiar as John 3:16. For many of us, it’s part of our religious DNA. And for many of us, it’s one of those teachings that roll off us like water off a duck’s back. Because it’s so familiar, we stop thinking about it. It’s just something that we know.

This forgetfulness is something Jesus is not amused with. Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:4) Doing for others what we want them to do for us was not a new command. It came out of Leviticus 19. God’s been saying that for a while. So why is it so hard to do, because yes, it’s hard to do.

When we’re sitting in church, the Golden Rule sounds right. We should treat others the way we want to be treated, but then we go home. We get on the freeway and go to the grocery store and, hardest of all, we live with family. The business of real life takes ahold of our perspective and all thoughts of that kindness flit away somewhere.

The good news is that kindness is a fruit of the Spirit. When we see that we are lacking in this area, all we need to do is ask for His help. The Holy Spirit has equipped us with everything that pertains to life and godliness. He provides. It’s our job to ask. This won’t be a one-time request. It will be one that we ask over and over, because we need to. It’s important to God so it’s really important to us.

It takes mindfulness to treat others the way we want to be treated. It’s not convenient. But of all the laws and the teachings of Jesus, this is the one He said to remember. Let’s be careful to treat others well.