May it please Almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in His Holy Word
let us turn to the first book of Samuel in chapter 17 and we'll
read verse 37 the first book of Samuel chapter 17, reading
verse 37 David said, moreover The Lord that delivered me out
of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said
unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. it is very wonderful for us to
be able to read an account like this, a very familiar account
I'm sure of David and Goliath and yet we see in this account
the wonderful faith that David was given to go and fight with
this giant so naturally speaking It would seem the match was impossible. Was David just a lad as it were,
perhaps 20 years of age, and this great giant with all his
armour and sword and spear and everything else? And yet you
see, David's confidence was totally in his God. His confidence was
not in his own ability. and the account is therefore
very encouraging for us today as we now walk on the earth and
we don't have the same situation to face but nonetheless we do
have difficulties in our lives and we do have things when we
need the Lord to come and appear for us and we do have situations
where we want God to help us and indeed times when we need
God to deliver us where we should be encouraged, not only with
this account, but many other accounts in the Word of God,
which testify of God's goodness and mercy and favor, that he
gives faith to his children. And as we read this account,
and as we read this statement here, it's good to realize that
David here is in the presence of the king and the king is obviously questioning
his ability to carry out this great act and therefore he encourages
him to put on the armour that he's provided but David recognises,
well, he hasn't proved it he doesn't want to go with anything
that he hasn't proved and that's a good lesson in itself for us,
you know not to venture on things that we haven't really proved
what a blessing when we have proved things before our God
and to be able to therefore go in the strength of those things.
Now God, David rather, had proved God's presence and God's blessing
with him before. And he tells us very clearly
on two wonderful instances when he had killed a lion and killed
a bear. And it would seem really just
with his hands And therefore he introduces this subject to
the king. And he says, Thy servant kept
his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took
a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and
smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose
against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew
him. Thy servant slew both the lion
and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. Now it's important to notice
here that obviously David's concern was that this Philistine had
spoken against his God had defied the living God and that's good
for us in our lives today because there are many people who no
doubt we come in contact who blaspheme the name of our God
I wonder how we react to such conditions and such situations. Well, David thankfully was not
ashamed of his God. His God meant a lot to him. And my friends, what a blessing
it is today in our lives if our God means a lot to us. He's not just another individual,
but he is the God who we bow down before, the God who we worship. And therefore, that's what David
is speaking and telling the king about. And therefore he says,
Therefore thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this
uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he
hath defied the armies of the living God. And then he says,
and it's always good instruction, to read carefully the Word of
God and how it records accounts like this. And David said, and
he starts off in the right way, the Lord that delivered me out
of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear. He gives
the honour and he gives the glory directly to his God. Let us not forget such a very
clear statement, such a very important statement, so that
when we may venture on anything, it would be good, wouldn't it,
if we always begin acknowledging who we are and whom we serve. And so, that's what David says. And then he goes on to say, With
confidence, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. David was blessed with God-given
faith to believe that, young as he was and unarmed as he was,
that God could use that sling and that stone direct that shot
to the forehead of Goliath so that he would fall to the earth
well wonderful isn't it to read such an account like this and
to believe it emanates from Almighty God it's recorded for our encouragement
we see here a very physical event, don't we? but all the events
in the Word of God are not physical like this many of them indeed
are spiritual situations and of course Satan would endeavour
to slay us in a spiritual encounter he would desire that we lacked
faith, he would desire that we gave up well there are encouraging
words in the word of God to help us in the day and age in which
we live we may think the day and age is so different from
the days of David well in one sense it was but in another sense
it's not and I expect we're familiar with God's servant Job well he
was a man after God's own heart he was a blessed man but God
allowed and we have to say that God allowed Satan to come and
tempt Job very very greatly so that he virtually lost everything
but you see he didn't lose his faith although it appeared sometimes
that he was going to but God did not leave him and God did
not forsake him and on one occasion, fairly early on in the account
of Job Eliphaz, one of his friends came to him and gave a dissertation
to him and one of the things he told Job was this with regard
to Almighty God. He said, He shall deliver thee
in six troubles. Yes, it wasn't just one trouble. He had confidence in his God
that he would indeed deliver him out of his troubles. Now we know of course that Job
initially did not quite understand that and did not quite appreciate
it. And it's a good thing, for especially
you young people, to read the account of Job. You may think,
well, it's a bit hard going, it's a bit heavy going. And I
don't really think I want to read that. Well, it's good to
read it from the beginning. If you read it from the beginning,
you'll read what his three friends said to him, and his fourth friend,
as it were, Elihu, and how Job responded to those things that
were spoken to him. Very often he tried to justify
himself. But as we come towards the end
of that account, the Lord spoke to Job. The Lord spoke to Job. And when the Lord spoke to Job,
Job wasn't able. to argue, he wasn't able to speak
and justify himself but he came to this position and it's a good
position to come to and we can thank God that it's recorded
in the Word of God for our encouragement, even today in our little lives
because right at the end of that account Job says when the Lord
spoke and we read in chapter 38 then the Lord answered Job
out of the whirlwind and the Lord continued to speak and then
Job answered the Lord and said that's the beginning of the fourth
chapter this is what he said Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay my hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer, yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. What a difference
there was then in the case of Job. Now what had occurred was
that the Lord was going to deliver Job, Yes, but Job had to pass
through this very, very trying and difficult experience. And
in the 42nd chapter, Job says to the Lord, he says this, I
know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden
from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel
without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered that
I understood not. sometimes we may have to learn
that lesson we've said things we didn't really understand we
may have tried to impress people with our knowledge and here Job
says, you see he says, I've uttered that I understood not things
too wonderful for me which I knew not here I beseech thee and I
will speak I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me I have
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye
seeth thee. And this is his conclusion. Wherefore,
I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. Now, you may
read this account, and it's worth reading to understand that the
Lord dealt with Job in this way to bring him down to realise
what he was like and to abhor himself. Naturally, we don't
like to abhor ourselves, but what a blessing we God shows
us what we're really like before our holy God. And therefore,
he abhors himself, and secondly, he is given the great gift of
repentance. to be truly sorry to his God. That's a wonderful blessing,
isn't it? And it is a wonderful blessing for all of us, if God
gives us blessing. He was then delivered. God delivered
him from the power of Satan. And if you read the last few
verses, you'll see how he was wonderfully blessed then. Naturally,
God gloriously blessed his servant Job. Well, he was delivered. David was delivered. And we can think of David in the
Psalms. He gives an account and speaks
of what the Lord had done for him. And in the 72nd Psalm, we
read this. I think it's 72nd. 72nd Psalm,
yes indeed the 12th verse, this is what it says for he shall deliver who? the needy when he crieth the
poor also and him that hath no helper sometimes the Lord brings
us into those places where we are poor and needy it may not
be physically so but it may be spiritually so perhaps you remember
also that beautiful psalm where we read, this poor man cried
and the Lord heard him delivered him out of his distresses he
was a poor man in his own eyes And so here was David saying,
for he shall deliver the needy when he crieth. So never forget
to cry unto God in your time of need, realizing that he is
the God who will deliver the poor also and him that hath no
helper. Well, perhaps we feel sometimes
there's no one can help me. No one understands. Impossible. Anybody can understand the position
that I'm in. The Lord can. And the Lord does. And we can believe the Lord will. What a wonderful God we have. David proved it, didn't he? David
knew what a mercy that was and what a mercy that is for us to
understand these things. And so here we have David's confidence. He will deliver me. Lovely words, aren't they, really?
And it's wonderful when God gives us faith to believe such a great
and glorious truth. And again, as I've already said,
God's still the same today. He's still able and he's still
willing. My friends, if we come in times
of need, we may have very different needs, all of us, let us remember
God knows our need and God brings us into that place so that we
do come and cry unto God for deliverance we may try ourselves
sometimes we may find ourselves in difficult situations and we
think well I'll do this and I'll say that and we find it doesn't
help and it doesn't do any good but you see when the Lord speaks
When the Lord appears, it's done. And the blessing is God then
receives the honour and God receives the glory. And that is the wonderful
blessing and that's the wonderful favour and wonderful mercy if
God deals with us then in love to our souls. Apostle Paul well
knew this path. and he tells us when he wrote
to the Romans he speaks to us about the battle he had in the
7th of Romans it's a very wonderful chapter and it speaks to us about
the battle he had between his flesh and the spirit and as he
comes down towards the end of this chapter he tells us, he says I find in
the law that when I would do good, evil is present with me
for I delight in the law of God after the inward man that means
his new nature that means his new spirit having been born again
of the Spirit of God he says, after the inward man but I see
another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members." Well, believer, do you know the pathway? Here it
is, set down. And what does he then exclaim?
He says, O wretched man that I am. Perhaps we say that. But let us remember, the apostle
did not stop there. And you and I must never stop
there. We may mourn our condition. We may realize how bad we are.
And we may say, a wretched man that I am. But you know, that
won't save us. What does he then say? Who shall
deliver me from the body of this death? And he says, I thank God
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. There's the seat of his deliverance. There's the secret of his deliverance. Looking unto Jesus, as he tells
us, the author and finisher of our faith. Now that's a good
thing if the Lord leads us in experience to know something
of our own position and situation and to be brought to this position. I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. That's the one that delivers,
no one else. So then, with a mind I myself
serve the law of God, but with a flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now Be blessed
with this deliverance. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. Well, how wonderful that is. if you and I have some understanding of the testimony of God's servant
Paul. And this is the testimony of
a man of God, the testimony of a spiritual man, a testimony
which brings honour and glory to God. God had delivered him. What did he say? I thank God. that's the secret and that's
the blessing and may God give us that strength and ability
to thank God for what He's done let us never forget to thank
our God it's very easy when the Lord hears and answers prayers
and delivers us from perhaps a number of things the first
thing we should do is to thank our God How sad it is when we
forget sometimes to thank our God. But what a blessing it is
to realise, well, we have a God who does hear and answer our
God. Remember, you know, again, the
psalmist says, David, he says, I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. Again, there's a secret, isn't
it? For deliverance to go in the strength of the Lord our
God. Not to depend upon ourselves,
not look to our own ability. We may have abilities for this
and that, but may they all fall to the ground. May our confidence
only be in our God. And may that come with glorious
thankfulness to praise Him for all that He's done, for all that
He's said. How we lack so often a thankful
heart. How we so often fail to praise
our God. And yet, you see, the Lord loves
praise. And sometimes think as you come
to the end of the book of Psalms, those last few Psalms, they're
full of praise. to God, full of praise to God. Surely we have reason if we are
born in the Spirit of God. If God has delivered us, we have
cause to praise God and cause to acknowledge that He is the
wonderful and glorious Saviour. Apostle goes on to encourage
his son in the faith, Timothy. Well, he wrote two lovely letters
to Timothy. And right at the end of the second
letter, second epistle in the fourth chapter, he speaks about
this in the 18th verse. Perhaps we ought to read the
17th first. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood
with me. Would it be a good thing in our
life if we can testify, the Lord stood with me. He stood by me. He strengthened me. He helped
me. Notwithstanding, The Lord stood
with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might
be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear, and
I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall
deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his
heavenly kingdom, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The Apostle Paul always was looking
forward to the glory the Lord had gone to prepare for him. So may you and I be looking forward
to that blessed deliverance when we should have finished our little
life on this earth. to believe that it will be then
to go and to be with Christ which is far better unto his heavenly
kingdom to whom he glory for ever and ever there's cause is
there not to praise God for his wonderful mercy and his wonderful
deliverance and his wonderful favour just one last perhaps illustration
you may remember in the book of Daniel it was the case of
those three men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and they were commanded
to bow down to the idol that the king had set up and they
wouldn't do so and eventually they were brought before the
king and the king commanded them to
bow down before the idol but they refused they refused to
do that and they were confident in the wonderful blessing that
Lord indeed would be their deliverer and this is what they say in
3rd chapter of Daniel Shairach, Meshach and Abednego
answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar we are not careful
to answer thee in this matter and there's something of instruction
often we can be very careful, can't we? too careful how we
answer And yet here was these three men, faced with death. They weren't careful to answer.
And what did they say? If it be so, our God, whom we
serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace.
And he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But, if not,
be it known unto the O King that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up.' Well they
testified of their confidence in Almighty God and yet they
clearly indicate that they are willing that the will of the
Lord might be done in their lives and so I expect you remember
the result They were bound, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. It was heated seven times hotter
than it was normally heated. And then we read, Nebuchadnezzar
came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spake
and said, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ye servants of the
Most High God, come forth and come hither. Why did he say that? Because what he'd said, what
he'd seen before was this. The king was astonished and rose
up in haste and spake and said unto the councillors, did not
we cast three men bound in the midst of the fire? They answered,
said unto the king, true, O king. He answered, I see, lo, I see
four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire. And they have
no hurt. And the form of the fourth is
like unto the Son of God. Deliverance. Wonderful deliverance. God delivered these men. What a blessing. God delivered
David. God delivered Paul. My friends,
God's delivered many, many people. What a blessing in our life.
It's a good thing to perhaps go home tonight and to ponder perhaps an occasion
when God has heard your prayer and delivered you from a situation
which perhaps you wouldn't have been able to have delivered yourself
out of. And then also you can go on to
think of Paul's account when he viewed himself as a wretched
sinner and pleaded to God and God appeared for him and delivered
him. Nothing's too hard for our God. So may we be encouraged tonight
by accounts like this. to believe that he has helped
us hitherto, will therefore help us all our journey through and
give us, and this is a good point, daily cause to raise new Ebenezers,
new stones of evidence. The Lord has appeared for us. The Lord has delivered us daily. Every day, as you come to the
end of the day, I think, well, God was with me in that. God
delivered me in that. Wonderful favour. Remember, God's
name is to be lifted up and to be honoured and glorified. And
so, here we read David's statement. The Lord that delivered me out
of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will
deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine And Saul said
unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. Amen.