David vs. Job

David:

Hear, O LORD, and answer me,  for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.  Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long (Ps. 86:1-3).

Job:

"If I have walked in falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit- let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless- (Job31:5-6).

Compare and contrast?  Two righteous men, two very different ways of appealing to God: one on the basis of God’s goodness, the other on the basis of his own goodness.  Two very different results follow:

David: “I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Job:  "Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? (Job 40:8) “…I [Job] have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.  Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6).

Next time you read through Job take note of how Job views himself at various points throughout the book.  It’s fascinating.