A Poem about King David

Here is a poem I was inspired to write tonight after reading in 2 Samuel.

The Sins of the King

King David sat in his chambers,
in spring when his men were at war.
The breeze danced through the curtains
The moonlight sketched patterns on the floor.

David rose restless, sleep evaded,
And he went out to the rooftop alone.
There he beheld a young woman bathing
Her extravagant beauty in the moonlight shone.

David merely called out to his servant,
And the woman was brought to his bed
The king took her, though she was married
When he could have had anyone else instead.

And after Bathsheba was pregnant,
David wanted to cover his sin,
So the King called for Uriah, her husband,
And his servants brought him in.

Uriah wanted to be with his soldiers
Instead of at home with his wife,
For he couldn’t abandon his fighters
and take comfort in his everyday life.

David could not conceal
The evil that he had done,
So he gave orders for Uriah’s murder
And hid his actions from everyone.

But God the Father saw him,
And He hated what David had done,
So He spoke through Nathan the prophet
And pronounced death to David’s young son.


David pleaded in sackcloth and ashes
Begging the baby’s life to be spared,
But the child died, and David repented
Knowing the guilt he and Bathsheba shared.

But David rose from the ashes
And went on to serve as God’s chosen king!
He poured out his sorrow in prayer,
And took responsibility for everything.

What a bitter price paid for desire--
Loss of life, and grief beyond repair,
Yet when David, the King, looked to Heaven
He knew His Father still was there.

So David was forgiven
And he took Bathsheba as his wife
They had more sons and daughters
And went on to live a life
with heartbreak and with joy.
God, their Father, restored them
But He did not give back their boy.

Instead David declared to his servants
that he was determined to join his son
In Heaven one day with His Father
So the King’s true battle was won!

Lord, help me be like David,
The apple of your eye,
When I’m found to be guilty of sinning
May I turn to Heaven and cry
Out to my Father for mercy
And with sorrow for my sin
So that I, like David, my brother,
One day in Heaven will enter in.

By Jerri Harrington