If you would turn with me to
1 Samuel chapter 18, I want to look at one verse this evening.
And that's verse 30, the last verse of the chapter. 1 Samuel
chapter 18, verse 30. I want to read to you a verse
out of Proverbs 18 while you're turning. It says, The name of
the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it
and is safe. The name of the Lord is a strong
tower. The righteous, God's people,
runneth into it and is safe. He is our safety. He's our refuge. He's our city of refuge. He's
our ark that we get into and are safe from the wrath of God. Verse 30, 1 Samuel chapter 18,
just one verse. Then the princes of the Philistines
went forth, and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David
behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so
that his name was much set by Saul. With that phrase, so that
his name was much set by, those three words much set by there
in my marginal Bible, and if you have one, it probably says
the same, precious, precious. Because of David's courage and
because of David's wisdom and the way that David handled himself,
his name was precious among the people of Israel. But let's not
get the cart before the horse. First, let me say that the battlefield,
the battlefield has a way of revealing what's inside a man. You think about that for a moment.
We're in a spiritual battle, we're in warfare. Pride can be
masked in peacetime and cowardice can be hidden during a calm But
when the battle rages, the pressure rises, and it's then that the
true character of a man is seen." Now, we have to remember, David
here is not yet king. He is not yet crowned, yet unmistakably,
God's hand is upon him. All the people in Israel saw
this. King Saul saw this and he was eat up with envy and jealousy. He's already slain to life. He's
gained great popularity among the people. He's drawn the envy
of Saul. And then now the enemy returns. What does David do? It says he
behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul. So
I want to consider in the beginning three things. First, the settling,
the setting, excuse me, of the conflict. We're told that the
Philistines returned. When we looked at the passage
concerning David and Goliath, I told you then that Goliath
was a very clear picture of sin, our enemy sin. You know, sin
is our biggest enemy, and self is a close second because of
sin. But the Philistines here picture
sin. They're the persistent enemy
of God's people. Just when Israel might have been
a bit settled, here they come again. Isn't that just like sin? This is a biblical pattern, sin,
the world, Satan, and even self. Don't take long vacations. I
was teasing Chris a couple of weeks ago. I said, you're going
to be gone for two weeks. Who takes two week vacations
anymore? Sin don't. Sin don't take two
week vacations. I'm glad you were able to brother.
I'm just teasing you about that. But this point I'm trying to
make is just that. Here they come again. David was
always being attacked, not because he was doing wrong, but because
he was doing right. His victories brought him enemies
and his favor brought him opposition. It will you too. It will you too. Joseph, I think
about Joseph. Joseph prospered and his brothers
betrayed him. Daniel prayed and he was thrown
in a lion's den. The Lord Jesus healed and the
scripture said he went about doing good to all and they crucified
him. The presence of enemies is not
the absence of God. The presence of enemies in most
cases is because of God's presence. The battle with the enemy is
where God's servants are tested and made. Secondly, we see the
substance of wisdom here. David didn't just win, it says
he behaved himself wisely in his victories. Victory is not
only about power, victory is about posture. David often showed
restraint when others showed rashness. David showed discipline
when others panicked. There's a lesson there for us.
It wasn't only about being able to swing a sword with skill,
it was about controlling personal emotions. I had a wise man tell
me one time, he said, David, it's not always how you act,
it's how you react. Amen, amen. We reveal our character
often about how we react to things. Lord, help us. The wisdom of
David had to do with more than just clever tactics. It was about
exhibiting a godly character under great pressure. I admit,
I fell miserably there often. God help us to, uh, exhibit a
godly character when we're under great pressure. David trusted
God's providence and timing. Do we? No. We get impatient. We want it right now. But may we learn to trust God's
timing. He's always on time. God's never
late. God's never early. He's always
right on time. David didn't force his kingship
or he didn't take it by force or in rebellion. He simply waited
on the Lord. I hope that we're learning to
do just that, to wait on the Lord. David kept a clear conscience. He refused to lift his hand to
the Lord's anointed. Now listen, we know that Saul
was not a good king, but he was God's king. He's still God's
king. And David walked in humility,
though he was the most popular man in all the nation, he didn't
exalt himself. He behaved more wisely, it says,
than all the servants of Saul. He didn't follow the crowd to
be effective. Some use the phrase he walked
to the beat of his own drummer. Thirdly, because of these things
we read, so that his name was much set by. Again, the marginal
Bible says precious, his name was precious. It was precious
to the people. He didn't promote his own name
or agenda, God did. Why? Because God honors those
who honor him. David's name was much set by,
meaning that he was held in high esteem, not because of self-promotion,
but by his consistent character. David's public reputation came
from private integrity. What made David precious in the
eyes of the people was not that he killed Goliath, It was not
that he was a successful warrior. It was because he was wise. His wise behavior in conflict,
it was his character while under affliction. Several years ago, and that's
hard to believe, it's been probably 30 plus years ago, it was, because
it was 1990, 1991, I remember riding to Ashland, Kentucky when
Brother Maurice was preaching, went up with him. And on the
way back after the meeting or the service where he preached,
we stopped by Todd Nyberg's place there in Lexington. At that time,
I don't know if you remember, but Todd was Was very ill, very
sick. And he almost died and they misdiagnosed
him and he got a little better and then he got worse again and
he was diagnosed with cancer. And we went by his house and
he was on chemotherapy and he just, he didn't look good at
all. And he was telling us, you know,
that the doctors had misdiagnosed or missed the diagnosis. And
being the young, ignorant man that I was, probably early 30s,
mid-30s, I said, well, I'd just, I'd sue the fire out of them.
And Todd, Maurice didn't say anything. Kind of nodded his
head. He said, well, David, he said,
the Lord just blinded their eyes. The Lord blinded the doctor's
eyes. And of course, I felt about that, that tall. And I was, but
he was, the point I'm trying to make, the illustration I'm
trying to make is that he remained calm. Why? Because God's on the
throne. God's still on the throne. God's
working all things together for His people's good. He's working
all things after the counsel of His own will. What do we do? We just stay calm, and we rest,
and we trust in Him, right? Oh, Lord, help us to do that. David behaved wisely more than
all the rest. And because of this, David's
name was set high. And again, we see how David pictures
the Lord Jesus Christ. I've titled this message, well, I forgot what I titled
it. The Greater David. Christ, the Greater David. That's what he is. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the Greater David. He's esteemed in every conflict. In our text, David's no longer
a shepherd boy. He's not just a one-time giant
slayer. He's now a man of war. He's the
rising champion of Israel. He's the object of admiration
and even envy. His success in battle and his
growing reputation are not just historical facts. These are recorded
for us for a purpose, to teach us some things, for our learning.
They're spiritual accomplishments that point us to Christ, the
greater David. Our Lord entered into battle
and He behaved, conducted Himself in perfect wisdom. He defeated
all our enemies, every single one. And He's honored and He's
admired among His people. Now we're told here in our text
that the princes of the Philistines went forth. The Philistines represent
the, as I said, the ever-present enemies of God's people. And
these particular princes were not just common warriors. They were rulers and commanders,
the cream of the crop, the best of the best, so to speak. seeking
to oppress and destroy Israel. And listen, they didn't stop.
They didn't stop, they kept coming. And in the gospels, we see the
enemy rise time and time and time again against the Lord Jesus. Whether it was Satan in the wilderness,
whether it was demons in the synagogues, whether it was the
Pharisees in the temple, or his friend Judas at the table. Whether
it was the Romans at the cross, our Lord, like David, He met
every enemy head on. John tells us in 1 John 3 verse
8 that the Lord Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the devil.
Paul tells us in Colossians 2 verse 15, that the Lord, having spoiled
the principalities and powers, made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them. Where David faced the Philistines,
Christ faced sin, he faced death, he faced the grave and Satan
himself, and he prevailed. And it was with divine wisdom
so that his name was much set by. Precious. Precious. His name is precious. Philippians 2.9 reads, wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow things in heaven and things in earth and things under
the earth. and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. His name which is above every
name is supreme. Supreme, you know what that word
means. It's defined as superior to all. Superior to everything. Christ
is over all rulers. Christ is over all kings. Christ
is over all authority. He's the King of Kings. Think
about that phrase. He's the Lord of Lords. He's
the King's King. He's the Lord's Lord. This exaltation came by God. His obedience unto death, even
the death of the cross, His humiliation. Now you think about that. God,
the Son, on the throne, ruling and reigning, left His throne
on high and He came, as the song says, for sinful man to die.
That's exactly what He did. What humiliation that took. He
humbled Himself to become a man. He humbled Himself to take our
sin upon Himself, and He hung Himself even to the death of
the cross, which was the only means by which you and I could
be saved. Our sin had to be paid for. Only
one could pay it, God. God Himself came in the flesh
as a man, made under the law, by woman under the law to fulfill
the law in our room instead. Why? Because we can't keep it.
We can't keep it. Humiliation. In being humbled,
he was glorified. His glory came from his willing
abasement. His name will bring universal
submission. Now listen, it won't bring universal
salvation. But it'll bring universal submission
because one day, every knee's gonna bow. Every tongue's gonna
confess that He's Lord. Every being, angelic, human,
even demonic, are gonna bow and confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father. And all will then confess
Him as Lord, and yet many will be lost. Today is the day of
salvation. The Lord said that very plainly
in the scriptures. Today is the day. This is not
optional. This is inevitable. None are
promised tomorrow. And you know, we always think
when we hear that, well, that applies to everybody but me.
But one day it's gonna apply to me. And there's gonna be no
tomorrow for me. I don't know when it is. You
don't know when it is for you. But I know this, today is the
day of salvation. The most important question in
all the world is this, what think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? What do you think of Jesus Christ? Today's the day of salvation.
His name identifies his divine identity. Jesus Christ is Lord. Kyrios is the word. It means
Yahweh, God. in the flesh. He's the God-man. We've talked about that so many
times. Not just 50% God and 50% man. All God and all man. There's none like Him. God had
to become a man, and a man had to be God in order to do for
us what He did. Christ is the only one that fits
that bill. Neither is there salvation in
any other What's that mean? Just what's that? There's no
salvation in any other, in no other. For there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,
Acts 4, 12. And yet there are many who mock
His name even now. but every knee will bow in worship
or in judgment, in salvation or in eternal death. People today
use his name in vain. Others use his name as some kind
of lucky charm, but it represents his person. It represents his
authority. It represents his glory. His
name's above every name. Not only because of who He is,
but because of what He has done. Who is He? Paul said, I'm determined
not to know anything among you. This is all that matters. This
is what he's saying. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. His name above every name. Who
is He? He's God. Jesus Christ is God. What did He do? He was crucified. He died to put away his people's
sin. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. Isn't that what it said? The
name of Christ represents the person behind the name. The name
of Christ is not a magical phrase or a formula that forces God's
hand. It's not a charm to manipulate
God. It's not like hocus pocus or
abracadabra. God does not answer to the name
of Christ apart from faith and submission. Now my name is David
Edmondson. I'm sure there are some other
David Edmondsons in the world. Probably don't spell it the way
we did. I always teased my dad and said, Dad, you spelled that
wrong and then you just never corrected it. Nobody spells it
like we do. But my name's David Edmondson.
If you know me, when you hear my name, you don't think somebody
else do you? No, you think of me, the person
behind the name, the person that you know. Well, our Lord Jesus
Christ, His person and His work is our message. When we talk about the name of
Christ, we're talking about who He is, Jesus Christ. He's God
the Son, and what He did. God Himself died to put away
our sin. That is the most amazing statement
that has ever been made. Paul said, for I determined not
to know anything among you, save or accept Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. 1 Corinthians 2. Who saved us? Jesus Christ is His name. How
did He save us? He died the death of the cross
to put our sin away. And Paul's preaching and ours
should be centered completely around the Lord Jesus Christ
and His crucifixion. We leave out the cross, we've
left out the gospel. This is talking about the atoning
death of the Lord Jesus. Sin's got to be put away in order
for us to be saved. God is too holy, too just to
just ignore sin. We call it sweeping it under
the rug. Won't work. Sin's got to be dealt with by
a holy and just God. And this is the heart of the
gospel. Our Lord wasn't just a teacher. He wasn't just a miracle
worker. That's all some men like to talk
about. And He wasn't just an example.
Well, He was the greatest example. Yeah, I agree. But if you don't
see Him more than an example, then you've yet to see Him. Listen,
He was the Lamb slain. He was the Lamb slain. from the
foundation of the world to put away his people's sin. All and
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names
are written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Jesus Christ was the one who
bore the wrath of God for undeserving sinners. Surely, Isaiah said, he bore
our griefs He carried our sorrows. He was stricken, smitten, and
afflicted of God. God the Father did this to him.
Why? Because it's what you and I deserve.
And he's our substitutionary lamb, sacrificial lamb, slain
from the foundation of the world. It's what you and I deserve.
He was wounded for our transgressions, not his own. He knew no sin.
He died not for the whole world. He died for the sins of a specific
people. He was bruised for whose iniquities? Ours. The chastisement of our
peace was upon him. If you've got peace right now,
it's only because he died for you to have that peace. It was
by His stripes that we are healed. We ought to pay particular attention
to these pronouns in Isaiah 53 especially. He, Him, His, the
Lord Jesus Christ, that's who that's talking about. Our, we
and us, the people for whom He suffered. This was God's purpose,
not to save the whole world. He shall not justify the whole
world, but many, the scripture says, for he shall bear their
iniquities. Who? Those that God gave him
from the foundation of the world. And we don't preach election.
I heard someone recently say, oh, he preached election. Listen, election is not the gospel.
Jesus Christ is the gospel. Salvation is not in election,
it's unto salvation. Election's unto salvation. Jesus
Christ is salvation. Without Him, none will be saved.
These pronouns aren't just grammatical. This is salvation in action. He did something in the place
of us. He did for us what we couldn't
do. This is substitutionary atonement. Christ bore the sin and judgment
that we, his people, deserve. And if you don't believe that
you deserved hell and judgment, then you've yet to see yourself
as you really are. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul's aim was to strip away
all distractions. You know, men today and so-called
preachers just muddy the water. Paul said, there's just one thing
that matters, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. What do you think
of Him? Our faith rests in the power
of God. Salvation is of the Lord. Do
you know what follows that? Period. End of discussion. We must make it our mission to
focus on one thing in preaching. Jesus Christ crucified. Paul didn't come to impress.
A lot of so-called preachers do. We must come to preach the
only message that's saved. This is not just another doctrine. Christ is the message. Our message
is about the one who's behind the name. And he's precious. His name's precious. Why? Because he's precious. The
gospel message is like a lion. Charles Spurgeon used to say,
you don't have to defend a lion. You just let it loose. And that's
what preaching the gospel is. We don't defend the gospel, we
declare it. We proclaim it, we just let it
loose. That's God's business, what He
does with it. His word does not return unto
Him void. Why? Because He, God, is behind
it. False preachers today want to
show how smart they are, or how funny they can be. True preaching
is exalting the Lamb of God, who was slain, and His name is
Jesus Christ. We preach Christ and Him crucified. Nothing more, nothing less, and
nothing else. That's what saves sinners. So I pray tonight, I pray all
the time that God may please to give me the simple message,
the simplicity of message, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that
He might give me boldness for the truth, humility in delivering
it, and faithful exaltation of Christ and Him crucified. How
wise is God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. They made a way. Now listen,
this is the most glorious thing you'll ever hear. They made a
way to be just, remain just, and yet justify somebody unjust
like me without offending the justice of God. while at the same time remaining
completely consistent with holy justice, and that's only by what
Christ did for us. He did what God required from
me. And he did it perfectly. It's
gotta be perfect to be accepted, and that he did. Oh, how we should
admire the precious name of the Lord Jesus, who is the greater
David. David's name was much set by,
meaning it was precious to those that heard it. But the greater
David's name, the Lord Jesus, his name is precious because
he's precious. That's what Peter wrote in 1
Peter 2, verse seven to nine. He said, unto you therefore which
believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made
the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto
also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people. Next time
somebody calls you peculiar, thank them. that you should show forth the
praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. Called out of darkness. And his
call is effectual. We looked at that a couple of
weeks ago. It's always effectual. It's effective. If he calls you,
you're gonna come. Noah, come into the ark. What
did Noah do? Did he stay outside and drown?
No, he came into the ark. The Lord Jesus said, come unto
me, all you that labor and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Do you believe Him? He'll give you rest. Everything
that God requires, He provides. Have I said that lately? And
it's all provided in Jesus Christ. Is there any doubt that He's
precious? He's precious to God the Father. Therefore, thus saith
the Lord God concerning God the Son, behold, I lay in Zion for
a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation. For he that believeth shall not
make haste. The Lord Jesus Christ is precious
in His person. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead body. He's fully God and fully man.
He's holy. He's sinless. He's compassionate. He's faithful. There's none like
Him. He's the only begotten of the Father. He's full of grace
and truth. He's precious in His person. Our Lord is precious in His work. He came into the world to do
what? Save sinners. Paul said, of whom I am chief.
That ought to give the vilest offender competence. Grace to
us is free, but listen, it's not cheap. It cost our Lord everything. He bore our sin. He took our
punishment. He reconciled us to God. His
death accomplished for us what we could not accomplish. And
He's precious to the believer. Believer in thee, precious to
you. We just read it, unto you therefore
which believe, he is precious. How do I know I'm a believer?
Is Christ precious to you? The longer we walk with Christ,
the sweeter he becomes. In suffering, He's our comforter.
In temptation, He's our strength. In life, He's our purpose. In
death, He's our hope. And what about His blood? Boy,
His blood is precious. The blood of bulls and goats,
well, it may have been precious for a little while, because it
only covered sin for a season, didn't it? But what about his
blood? This is God's blood. Is God's
blood not precious? For as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish
and without spot. Precious. What could be more
precious than the blood of the sinless Son of God, shed to redeem
those who deserve hell and judgment? Oh, if you see who and what you
are, and you see what Christ has done for you, you'll say
His blood is precious. What about His promises? Boy,
they're precious too. Promises are precious given unto
us are exceeding great and precious promises That by these we might
be partakers of the divine nature What does that mean? That means
I'm being conformed to the image of Christ. I'm gonna be just
like him. How can that be? How can that
be? Only in Christ The promises of
the Lord Jesus are not vague hopes. They're divine guarantees
made precious because they rest in the One who cannot lie. God cannot lie. He can't change
His mind. He ceased to be God. His promises are of salvation. They're of His presence. He promised
to be with us. Wherever we go, whatever we do,
He said, I'll be with you. I'll never leave you nor forsake
you. His promises are peace and provision
and resurrection and eternal life. Precious! That word precious
means much more than just valuable. It means rare, it means treasured,
it means love. Is Christ precious to you? Do
you treasure Him above all? I ask myself these questions.
Secondly, we see that David was wise in battle. Verse 30 tells
us that he behaved himself more wisely than all the servants
of Saul. David's wisdom set him apart. While others acted in
fear, David walked in courage. He didn't seek his own glory.
He knew from where his strength came. Do you? Do I? And he gave God all the glory. Do we? Our Lord Jesus Christ
is the embodiment of divine wisdom. In whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge. That's where they are. If we
have any wisdom, it's because of Christ in us. It's because
of the wisdom that Christ has given. He's the embodiment of
divine wisdom. Whether it was answering the
Pharisees or calming the storm or praying in Gethsemane, our
Lord was the wisest of all. There was none like Him. He confounded
the proud. He lifted the humble. He perfectly
executed the Father's will in everything that He did. Jesus
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, Paul wrote
in 1 Corinthians 1.23. The Lord Jesus fought and He
conquered all our battles for us. His name is precious, because
He's precious. He fought and conquered sin.
Romans 8.3, God sent in his own son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The battle
of sin, no mere man could win. Christ fought and won that on
the cross for us. He fought and defeated Satan,
that through death, he might destroy him that had the power
over death. That is the devil. Who defeated
him? Christ did. He fought and conquered
death. That's why the scriptures ask,
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Isn't the Word of God amazing?
This is God's Word that says these things. This ain't just
some No good preacher, you know, making stuff up. Death, once
the ultimate enemy, is now a doorway to eternal life because Christ
defeated it. Our Lord fulfilled the law for
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believes. Our Lord is the only one that
can give rest. He said, come unto me and I will
give you rest. Are you heavy laden with sin? He'll give you rest. Rest from striving. Rest from
fear. Rest from condemnation. It's
finished. The battle's already won. Thirdly, as we've already discussed
in detail, there was a great esteem given unto David's name. The people noticed David. Oh,
his victories could not be denied. They saw for themselves God exalted
David. God exalted his name. That's
why his name was precious. His name was revered, exalted,
and even worshipped. But David was a man just like
you and I. And we know that later he fell
a great fall. He took another man's wife. He killed the man that was her
husband. He even himself said, Who is the man that took that
little lamb's sheep and killed it? He said, that man ought to
die. And the prophet said, thou art
the man. Friends, we, the child of God,
reveres the one who cannot fall. We worship the one who cannot
fail. We worship the one who has no
sin and cannot sin. We worship the one who knew no
sin. We revere the one who was made
sin. We praise the one who took our
sin and we adore the one who gave us his righteousness. And
his name and his person is what? Precious. Jehovah Jireh, the
Lord will provide. Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord, my banner. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord is peace. Jehovah Re'ah, the Lord is my
shepherd. Jehovah Tesidkenu, the Lord,
our righteousness. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
present. And Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord,
our host. He's precious. There are many
who claim to be seeking Christ, but they're seeking Him among
the dead. I heard somebody recently say,
Jesus Christ is alive and well. Jesus Christ is not simply alive,
friends. Jesus Christ is life. Jesus Christ
is not simply well. Jesus Christ is the perfect and
the great physician who heals those who are sick, not well. Do you have the need of a physician? Those who are well in their own
sight don't. But those who are sick do. Are
you sick? Has God shown you you're sick?
You know, when we read this verse, 1 Samuel 18 verse 30, we don't
just see a young warrior earning respect. We see God the Son defeating
all our enemies, walking in perfect obedience to His Father, and
in wisdom being lifted up in glory for our sake. Let us therefore
worship Him. Let us preach Him. What are you
preaching on this week, preacher? Same thing I preach on every
week. The Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The great David,
whose name is much set by, precious in heaven and on earth. Thou
shall call His name Jesus. Yahweh saves. That's what the
name Jesus means. He shall save His people from
their sin. No doubt about it. No ifs, ands,
and buts. He shall. His title is the Christ. It means
anointed one. It means the Messiah. Jesus Christ,
God who saves the Messiah, the anointed one, the only one that
can. It's the one behind the name
that's precious. May God continue to make Him
precious to each of us. First and foremost, for His glory,
for our good, and it's for our good, and most importantly, for
Christ's sake.