We obey Yahweh not only by obeying the letter of the law but also by expressing awe, reverence, and fear before the Lord. David showed this in 1 Samuel when he spared his bitter enemy, Saul, because Saul was the Lord's anointed (12:1 ff; 26:1 ff). Out of respect for the Lord, David executed the man who assisted Saul in suicide (1:14-16), commended the men of Jabesh-gilead for burying Saul (2:4-5), mourned over Abner, Saul's general (3:31), executed the murderers of Saul's son, Ishbaal (4:10-11), and showed kindness to Saul's grandson, Meribbaal (9:1 ff). David respected God's anointed one even to the point of honoring the entire family of his worst enemy.

Key word    FEAR OF THE LORD
 
Key verse    "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever." —7:16
 
Command verse    "Toward the faithful You are faithful; toward the wholehearted You are wholehearted; Toward the sincere You are sincere, but toward the crooked You are astute." —22:26-27
 
Promise verse    "I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for My people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance." —7:9-10
 
Difficult verse    "The Lord on His part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die." —12:13-14
 
Surprise verse    "Thus David chose the pestilence...[The Lord then sent a pestilence over Israel from morning until the time appointed, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba died.]" —24:15
 
Prayer: Father, may I tremble before You (Is 66:2) and esteem the person of every human being (1 Pt 2:17).