Okay, you can go ahead and turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 26. This is a story of two kings. That's what I titled the message tonight, a story of two kings. One is the choice of the people. The other is the chosen anointed of God.

Saul is the king given when the Lord allows the people to have what they want. I say this all the time. I mean it. Lord, don't give me what I want. David is the king given when the Lord provides his people with what they need. Lord, don't give me what I want. Give me what I need. Give me what I need. Give me the king I need. Give me the savior that I need.

The Savior that I hear most proclaimed today is no Savior at all. But the Lord Jesus is a true Savior, a sovereign Savior. One king represents the rebellious lust of the flesh. The other represents the giving of grace in Christ. And one pictures hireling shepherds And the other picture is Christ, the good shepherd. Yes, this book is the story of two kings and what and who they represent. And this is the gospel according to 1 Samuel.

Look at verse one with me, chapter 26. And the Zephites came unto Saul to Gibeah, saying, doth not David hide himself in the hill of Hakela, which is before Jeshama? Now this, if you remember, is the second time that the Zephites ratted David out. They did in chapter 23, did the same thing. And it seems that they want the king of man's choosing rather than the king of God's choosing. And again, we have a picture here of Christ being rejected by his own.

You know, whenever I read that scripture, he came unto his own and his own perceived him not. That's what David here is. These, the Zephites, were descendants of faithful Caleb. You remember Caleb? He's the one that with Joshua said, what are we waiting for? Let's go in and take this land. Giants, what are giants compared to God? And yet here his own descendants hand him over. David was betrayed by his own. And this is a picture that points directly to Christ, the true King, the Lord Jesus comes into his own. and they handed him over for death.

You know, human loyalty is so fickle, but by nature, grace is not found in us. And none of us are gonna bow to Christ unless God changes our hearts. And my, my, Lord, give us new hearts. Give us hearts that beat and pant for the gospel.

Verse two, then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having 3,000 chosen men of Israel with him to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And again, we see man's relentless rebellion and God's relentless mercy. And how well this mirrors humanity's stubborn rebellion. Oh, I tell you, men by nature are stubborn. Men and women, they are just stubborn. It shows us why we need a savior.

Sin isn't a mistake. That's the way it's preached a lot. They, well, they just made a mistake. Sin's much more than a mistake. It's hostility toward God. Now let's just call it what it is. It's hostility toward God's rightful king. Paul wrote, the carnal mind is enmity against God. Enmity, that word there means hostile. You know what being hostile is, when somebody's hostile, there's no talking to them, there's no reasoning with them. Enmity is hostile against God, only against God, really. It's not subject to the law of God, Paul wrote. He said, neither can be. God's got to do a work. God's got to do a miraculous work.

Saul's obsessive pursuit is in direct contrast with Christ's pursuit of sinners. Saul here hunts to kill, Christ seeks to save. What a difference. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Are you lost? I've got a good message.

The innocent David is pursued by a hostile king. And as soon as Christ was born, King Herod sought to kill him. David was hated without a cause, no doubt. He hadn't done anything that would cause Saul to pursue him and to desire to kill him as he did. But David wasn't hated without a cause like Christ was. No one was ever or is still hated as he is.

Verse three, and Saul pitched in the hill of Achela, which is before Jeshimon, by the way, but David abode in the wilderness. And he saw that Saul came after him in the wilderness. He's probably in a high place and they can see if someone is coming into the area. And David therefore sent out spies and understood that Saul was come and very deed, he saw this with his own eyes. And David arose and came to the place where Saul had pitched. And David beheld the place where Saul lay. And Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host, that being Saul's host, and Saul lay in the trench and the people pitched round about him.

So we see that Saul here is hunting David again. This has gone on for some time now. No doubt, David is weary. Can you imagine always having to look behind your back? You know, is he around this corner? Is he around that corner? He's once again being pursued.

But there is a lesson here for the believer. God often repeats trials that we thought had passed. Oftentimes a trial comes and the Lord removes it from us only to send another trial, maybe the same one again, maybe a little different. But He often repeats trials over and over again. You know, obedience is not proven by one single victory. Obedience is proven by a consistent trust in God. We've got to trust the Lord today. We've got to trust the Lord tomorrow. We've got to trust the Lord all the rest of our days. And obedience is proven by our continual trust in Him.

Now, this does not mean that God's abandoned you. A lot of folks think that. Well, woe is me. You know, the Lord must hate me. You know, He just sends me trouble all the time. Well, it's actually quite the opposite. It proves that God loves you. And a lot of folks say, how so? Well, the scripture's clear. God chastens those whom he loves. Discipline is the evidence of sonship. Discipline. His correction brings growth. It's not payback, but that's just how we think, isn't it? Because we know what we deserve. Trials is a mark of God's love. It's not rejection. The worst thing God could do is just to let us go unchallenged. Leave us alone without trouble. James said, it's the trying of our faith that works patience and let patience have its perfect work. That we may be perfect and entire. That word, those two words mean mature. wanting nothing. This is all part of the process for the believer to be conformed to the image of Christ. We're being transformed into the image of Christ in this life, while warring against the flesh.

Now, I understand that when God saves us by his grace and reveals Christ to us, that we're right then. in the very image of the Lord Jesus. But as we live in this world and in this life, still warring with his flesh, the Lord is knocking off those chunks of rock off of us. And he's trying to smooth us and make us a precious stone. And that's part of the being transformed to the image of Christ.

A very interesting observation here in these scriptures. Instead of running, David intentionally enters Saul's camp. I got to thinking about that. I'm like, he's not running. He goes into Saul's camp while they're asleep. And let me add this, the Lord's the one that brought slumber upon them. They're in a deep sleep. Isn't that what Christ did? He entered into the camp of his enemies. Christ entered into a world that hated him without a cause. He approached sinners who were hostile toward him. He drew near, not to destroy, but to redeem. My, what a Savior.

David walks into Saul's territory. He knows the danger. Saul's out to kill him. Christ stepped into our territory knowing that the cross awaited him. He came anyway. He came voluntarily. He laid down his life. He said, no man takes it from me. I lay it down. And he did.

Verse five is also very enlightening. David sees precisely where Saul lay. He's observing his enemy. Not to strike and kill him as we'll see, but to spare and save him. God's anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ looks upon his enemies. That being us. You know, with the scripture that says that he's gonna make his enemies his footstool, that's talking about us. We're gonna be his footstool. We're gonna bow to him. We're enemies by nature. enmity in our minds and hearts. And the Lord Jesus looks upon us with full knowledge of our rebellion and our sin and our wickedness and depravity. But he doesn't come to kill us. He comes, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. How? By the death of his son. That's why Christ said to die.

Now in the remainder of this chapter, we see the mercy of mercy God gave David was rooted in this very moment of entering into the camp. Christ's mercy at the cross is rooted in entering into his enemy's camp. Again, that being us. Christ is the king who draws near to chosen sinners. We rejected our king who never wronged us just as David's people did him. Again, the Zephites are of Judah. They're the ones that go to Saul to turn him in. And Christ saw us, his enemies, and he knows us, and yet he's still merciful to us.

Look at verse six. Then answered David and said to Ahimelech, the Hittite, and to Abishal, the son of Zeruah, brother to Joab, saying, who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishah said, I'll go down with thee. We're going to see in 2 Samuel that this Abishah, who by the way was David's nephew, David's sister's son, was a faithful servant of David. He said, I'll go down with you. I'd be glad to go down with you. And so David and Abishah, verse seven, came to the people by night and behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench. and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster or at his head where his helmet was. But Abner and the people lay around about him. And then said Abishah to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thy hand this day. Now therefore, let me smite him. I pray thee with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time. Let me just take care of this matter right now. God has providentially brought us here to where we can take him out, and your trouble's over. No more pursuing you, no more out to kill you. And he would have killed him, but David restrained him.

God protects his anointed. You see, David's restraint is founded in God's sovereignty and mercy. And you might say, well, how so? Well, we'll see. And this is an example of our Lord Jesus. David here dangerously enters into Saul's camp, but God protects him just as he does all his chosen people. I know that we live in an unstable world. I was telling Teresa today, I get these things, neighborhood watch or whatever, and I guess there was a police chase here this afternoon, and a man was locked up in his car, and they were warning people not to take that exit here at the mall. You know, a little Madison thing. Evil's everywhere. And then there was an update saying that the man had taken his own life.

I know this world is a unstable place, but not for a believer, not for one second. We don't have anything to fear. Our God is our protector. And if he sends us trouble, it's for our good, eternal good.

Mercy always triumphs over vengeance. No enemy could overcome Christ, the ultimate anointed one, until the appointed time, and none can overcome his people without his sovereign permission. David refuses to harm Saul, even when he has the opportunity, and how this foreshadows the Lord Jesus Christ His teaching an example, returning good for evil. He said, turning the other cheek and leaving judgment to God's discretion is always best. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. God gonna take care of it. I've seen it happen time and time again.

The gospel shows that salvation and vindication doesn't come through human retaliation. but through God's grace. And we must put faith in God's timing. David waits for God's timing to act. The gospel reminds us that the believer's victory over sin came in God's perfect timing. It was in and by and through the design purpose of the cross, Calvary's cross, when God so appointed.

So many times in the scripture, we find where they sought to take the Lord Jesus, even put their hands upon Him at one time, took Him to the brink of a hill to throw Him off. And it says, the Lord, walking through the midst of them. It said his time, his hour had not yet come. And this signified that it was not yet the purposed time of the Lord's death. And this time did not come by premature human action. God's justice and God's salvation always operate through mercy and patience and trust in his time. And David knew this.

Abishai volunteers to do the dirty work. He said, I'll kill him. I'll be glad to kill him. And David said, he's God's anointed. You know, the flesh, always whispers, you deserve better. You deserve better than that. Take matters into your own hands. God will understand. But the Holy Spirit never gives shortcuts that bypass God's obedience. Never. We must kill the impulse before the impulse kills us.

For the elect, God will always, always, always provide deliverance and victory in his own good timing. Our issue is we're not very patient. Lord, please give me deliverance and give it to me right now. That's the way we are. But this reflects Christ's mercy towards sinners. He could have struck us down for our rebellion and hatred to him without a cause, but he didn't, did he? He chose to save us instead.

We must have faith in God's justice. The Lord, how many times have I like, you know, and the Lord says, no, I sent this is for your good, for my glory. David trusts God to handle Saul's fate, teaching us that ultimate judgment and vindication belongs to God and Him alone. The scripture assures us that God will deal justly with evil, and our role is to just walk in obedience and in mercy.

Verse nine, and David said to Abishah, destroy him not, For who could stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? If we take Saul's life, we're guilty of a great sin here. And David said, furthermore, as the Lord liveth, now look, as the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. This was prophetic. That's exactly what happened to Saul.

Verse 11, the Lord forbid that I should stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed, but I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster and the crews of water and let us go. So David took the spear and the crews of water from Saul's bolster, and they gaped them away, and no man saw it nor knew it, neither awaked, for they were all asleep."

Why were they asleep? Because a deep sleep from the Lord was falling upon them. You know, oftentimes we're surprised when God does something magnificent. We're just in awe and we should be, but we shouldn't be because he's always the reason God calls the deep sleep to fall upon them.

And the reverential fear of God cancels the urge for revenge. David had the right to punish Saul But he chose restraint. And this again, it reflects the Lord's mercy towards sinners, even when they deserve judgment. The Lord would have been right to send all of us to hell, everyone here tonight. But instead, he chose to have mercy.

We see Christ offering forgiveness instead of retaliation, even when humanity even when we hated him without a cause and rejected him. And David understood that it was not his place to take the throne by force. God's plan and purpose is sovereign and vengeance belongs to him and him alone.

What a picture David gives us of Christ's restraint and sacrifice. David sparing Saul's life, not giving him what he deserved. echoes our Lord's laying down his life for those that didn't deserve mercy. And that's the one thing that every true believer will tell you. Grace is unmerited favor. Mercy is God not giving me what I deserve. We don't want what we deserve, do we? We want mercy, we want grace.

And it wasn't weakness on David's account, it was strength. Only one who is spiritually strong can restrain themselves from doing what comes natural. Now listen, this is very important. Real faith, godly faith, faith in Christ is seen not in what you can do, but what you refuse to do out of reverence for God.

Our Lord faced the same temptation in the wilderness. Satan offered him the crown without the cross. The strong man, Christ, refused. He said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And though it meant suffering for David and for the Lord Jesus, They waited for the Father's will. Lord, help me do that. And help me to do it without grumbling and complaining. Okay, Lord, have it your way. I'm gonna wait. But if I could get my... Help me do it.

David withheld the spear Christ received. And David shows us mercy under maximum pressure. Sometimes we feel like we can't handle it anymore. Can't deal with this anymore. Whether it's work or just life in general, but we can. This is the heart of the true King. True faith restrains the hand and true faith trusts the God who sees.

Now, this is so good. Verse 13, then David went over to the other side and stood on the top of a hill far off, a great space being between them. And David cried to the people and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, who art thou that cries to the king? But David here, he courageously exposes Saul's security. No one can guard against God's penetrating power. That's why we should never worry or fret about someone causing us harm. Why fear what man can do to us? We ought to fear who can only take our lives. We ought to fear God and take away our lives and our souls.

And here we find Abner, who was a mighty man of war himself. He was the captain of Saul's host. He's absolutely stunned. He's speechless. And all he could say is, who are you? And I personally, I don't have any doubt that he knew who this was. Don't you know? They're out to get David. This has got to be David.

David ignored him and he just kept right on exposing, and this time with a little sarcasm. Verse 15, and David said to Abner, Are thou not a valiant man? And who is like to thee in Israel? Wherefore then hast thou not kept the Lord the King, thy Lord the King? For there came one of the people in to destroy the King, thy Lord. And this thing is not good that you've done. I thought you was a bad man. You're not bad at all. You were asleep. I could have taken his life. And as the Lord liveth, you're worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the crews of water that it was at his bolster."

And don't you know he's holding both up? You see who's got them, don't you? David here questions Abner's ability to protect Saul, and David rebukes Abner because he failed to protect the king.

Now, what's the spiritual significance? Abner's failure here exposes what the law couldn't do. Abner represents strength and duty and loyalty and responsibility. And this is to show us that the law cannot save. Christ is our divine guardian. He is the unfailing shepherd king. Saul's strength and protection was exposed. His strongest men couldn't keep him safe. And it's a blunt reminder that man is incapable of protecting himself. Christ never fails to guard His people.

I love that verse in Romans 5a, but God commended His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died. My, my. You know, for a good man, one might die. For a righteous man, Christ died for us. The ungodly. Boy, you don't think it's mercy and grace.

And David confronts Saul with the fact that he again had the opportunity to kill him, but he chose mercy instead. And our Lord Jesus embodies perfect mercy, offering forgiveness even when we deserve death.

Judgment. Abner slept. Christ never slumbers. Saul lived because mercy stood over him. Saul deserved judgment, yet he lived because of someone else. And that's the simple principle of the gospel. The guilty sinner lives because someone else died in their room instead. That being Christ. The child of God is not saved because God doesn't take their life. They're saved because Christ gave his own life in their place. A substitute stood where the sinner should have died. And the spear beside Saul's head is the indictment. Judgment was just an inch away, but David takes the spear, not Saul. And Christ took the nails and the spear. He should have taken our life, but at the cross, he absorbed what should have been ours.

Verse 17, and Saul knew David's voice and said, is this thy voice, my son David? Now, all these other times, he called him the son of Jesse, which was a derogatory term. But now he says, is this David, my son David? And David said, it's my voice, my Lord, O King. And that's even more remarkable that David refers to Saul as his Lord. He's the servant. of the man that's out to kill him. He said, it's my voice, my Lord, O King. And he said, wherefore doth my Lord thus pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is in mine hand? Now, therefore, I pray thee, let my Lord, the King, hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, if the Lord is behind this, if you've got reason to pursue me and to kill me, then let Let me offer an offering. Let him, my king, accept an offering. But if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord, for they've driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, go serve other gods.

Now, therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flee. And when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountain, God always gives courage to the righteous to speak the truth. And though David refuses here to kill Saul, he still confronts him. And you see, mercy is long-suffering, but it's not, righteousness is not weakness, it's bold to expose error. And that's what David here, you don't think he'd do some preaching? David was doing some preaching to Saul.

Only a pure conscience can speak boldly. That's right. Guilt produces silence, but holiness produces courage. David doesn't dance around the issue. He directly confronts Saul in verse 18. He goes, why are you pursuing me? Why? What have I done? He doesn't give any excuses. He doesn't give any flattery. He names the wrong. He gets straight to the point. He doesn't shift blame. He doesn't sugarcoat. He confronts Saul with clarity. What have I done that you're trying to do this, that you're trying to kill me? And then he laments. He says, they've driven me out of the Lord's inheritance. And I can imagine how he must have felt. He felt isolated. He felt wrong. He felt relentlessly hunted. And he draws a hard line in the sand here. He tells Saul, if God's behind this, that I'm willing to repent and offer sacrifice. But David knows God's not behind Saul's sin-driven rage. God is never the author of wicked motivations.

When evil and false accusations come, the first duty of a believer is to examine their own hearts. Listen, there's been folks that have said bad things about me. Sadly, when I examined my own heart, most of them were true. If I hadn't done it outwardly, I had sure thought it inwardly. But David here searches his own heart, not to make excuses or assume that they have no reason for persecution, but David knows, and he says, you've driven me out. You've told me to go serve other gods, meaning he's been exiled from his own land, meaning he's no longer been permitted to worship in the tabernacle. no longer able to publicly worship his God. He declares that he's suffering unjustly. He's innocent. He's hounded by a king that should have protected him. David is entrusting this matter to God. He's bearing a great injustice.

Does that sound like anybody else? All these things more came upon the Lord Jesus. And the hostility toward the Lord Jesus did not come from God's displeasure in him, as David's did from Saul. The Lord's suffering came at the hands of corrupt priests, jealous leaders, corrupt politicians, the wicked of the world. And the Lord was cast out of Jerusalem. He was crucified outside the gate. They didn't even want him in the city of Jerusalem, in his den. He was treated as if he didn't belong. He carried the reproach of being cut off. David was pushed from the sanctuary. Christ was pushed from the city into a place of a curse. And David suffered unjustly, but refuses vengeance. And David appeals to God, refusing to harm Saul, but Christ goes even further. He doesn't retaliate. He trusts himself to the Father. He prays for his persecutors. Even as he's dying on the cross, he says, Lord, forgive them. They know not what they do.

On the cross, our Lord died for the exile that we deserved, the loss of God's fellowship we deserve, the curse of the broken covenant. that we merit it. Christ was driven out so that we might be brought in. And that's why it's called the gospel.

Now look at verse 21, and I'll finish up. Then said Saul, I've sinned. I've sinned. Return my son David, for I will no more do thee harm. Because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day, behold, I have played the fool and have erred exceedingly. And David answered and said, behold, the king's spear. Now look at this. And he let one of the young men, let one of your young men come over and fetch you. The Lord rendered to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord delivered thee into my hand today. But I would not stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. And behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the Lord, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation. And then Saul said to David, bless be thou my son David, thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. So David went on his way, and Saul, returned to his place.

Now, this chapter doesn't end with a battle. It ends with a confession from Saul. Saul admits his sin publicly, and David's righteousness is vindicated, but it was God that did the vindicating. David didn't force it. David didn't demand it. He trusted God to bring it about. And this is just amazing. David gives Saul back his spear. This is the same spear that Saul had thrown at him a couple of times to kill him. This spear was a symbol of Saul's power. Often in olden times, the king's spear was the same as his scepter. It was a symbol of power. and the cruise of water, it was a symbol of life-sustaining. So what David had done by taking the spear and by taking the cruise of water, he said, God has delivered your power. You have no power but that which God gives you. And you have no life-sustaining strength other than what God gives you, and God's given them to me. and he graciously gives them back to Saul.

David took nothing from Saul, God did. David says, the Lord delivered you in my hand. And the Lord will render to every man what they have coming for their righteousness and faithfulness. That's so true. The same is for their unrighteousness and their unfaithfulness. Men and women reap what they sow. Be not deceived, God's not mocked. Whatsoever man sows, he shall also reap."

That is a godly, divine, godly principle. David declares that his safety was in God alone. And verse 25 reminds us that God's promises outlive every enemy.

Saul blesses David. He says, you're gonna do great things and you're gonna prevail. You know, the wicked, can see God's hand on a righteous man. They may not like it, but they see and know like Saul finally did. They know that they cannot stop what God is pleased to prosper. God's purpose for the believer is untouchable. He promises he'll finish what he started. Of this we're confident. He that hath begun a good work in you will what? Perform it. God's gonna do what he promised.

Our Lord Jesus was mocked and slandered and beaten and betrayed and crucified, but God vindicated Him when He raised Him from the dead in the resurrection. And when they put Christ in that tomb, they said, good, we're done with Him. We've gotten rid of him. Our jobs are safe. Our ministry is safe. Everything's gonna get back to normal. And in three days, he rose from the dead. And God said, oh no, it's not over. I have vindicated him. He did no wrong. He knew no sin. He died for the sins of others. What a gospel.

Saul returns home, David goes his way, and this is the last time that they ever meet. The first king, Saul, self-destructs. If you remember the story, we'll look at it in our second Samuel study, Lord willing, if we get there. But you know, he was killed in battle by the archers just shooting an arrow into the air. And then he fell on his own sword, to keep them from coming and finishing Him. He reaped what He sowed. He self-destructs, but God's King rises to the throne when? In God's good time. He'd take matters into His own hands.

So, what do we do? We hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering, for He, Christ, who is God, is faithful. He's faithful, it's promised. And his faithfulness and his promises long, long outlast our greatest enemy, sin, Satan, self, death, the grave. And one day, I'll be in glory, face to face with Christ my Savior, not because of what I've done, but because of what he's done for me, and that's exactly what he promised. I hope that encourages you. It ought to. It ought to encourage us. Christ did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves.