Read the whole history of David and you will find more examples of what was inside him that defiled him. Do not think that David's complaints about his sickness is spiritual. David was a man of flesh even though he sought after God. One thing we can learn from him is he did not give up. He repented and got well again. But he really suffered in body and in soul. He also gave his honest accounts of the causes of his illness and how he finally resorted to spiritual remedies.
1Chronicles 13:11 David was angry (with God) because the Lord's anger had burst out against Uzzah (the priest who was killed when he violated God's holy law). David was probably also angry with himself as he did not follow God's law too when he ordered the moving of the Ark. 13:12 David was now afraid of God, and he asked, "How can I ever bring the Ark back into my care?" He indulged in self-doubt and self-condemnation after the tragedy of the death of a priest in the course of his duty of obeying David' command to bring the Ark on a bullock cart! David consulted before he decided how to move the Ark. But he consulted the wrong persons. He consulted his officials, including the generals and captains. (13:1) He did not consult the priests. He mixed up flesh with spiritual matters. 14:3 Then David married more wives in Jerusalem. He decided to put aside God's matters and pursued his own personal enjoyment. This episode is an example of how David lived his life as a carnal king.
The above recorded a historical event in David's life.
Let us now read some psalms at random and i parts and see what kind of sickness David had suffered in his lifetime, physical and mental (mind and emotion):
Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man. 22:14 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me or dead. Psalm 30:6 When I was prosperous, I said, "Nothing can stop me now!" 7 Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain. Then You turned away from me, and I was shattered. Psalm 31:9 My body and soul are withering away. 10 Sin has drained my strength. 13 I have heard the many rumors about me, and I am surrounded by terror. Psalm 32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Psalm 38:3 Because of Your anger, my whole body is sick; (David first blamed it on God) my health is broken because of my sins. (David soon admitted that his own sins caused the sickness and not God) 4 My guilt overwhelms me-it is a burden too heavy to bear. 5 My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. 6 I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. 7 A raging fever burns within me , and my health is broken. 8 I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from my anguished heart. 10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.
