Let us turn again to God's word
and turn into the portion that we read in the last verse in
our reading, the third verse in the first book of Samuel chapter
20. First Samuel chapter 20 and verse
3, And David sware moreover and said, thy father certainly knoweth
that I have found grace in thine eyes and he says let not Jonathan
know this lest he be grieved but truly as the Lord liveth
and as thy soul liveth there is but a step between me and
death there was of course a great love between these two men David
and Jonathan, a pure love and a spiritual love is what it was. As David says here in this verse,
my father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes. And going back to the beginning
of our reading there in chapter 19 and verse 2 we're told how
Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David. There was a real
spiritual bond, a true union between these two men. Later in this same chapter at
verse 17, we are told how Jonathan caused David to swear again because
he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. And when we consider this great
spiritual bond, binding these two souls together, it's not
surprising to discover how at the death of Jonathan, we read
of David making a great lament at the beginning of the second
book of Samuel, where we have the record of the slaughter of
both Saul and Jonathan in battle and David's great grief is spoken
of there in 2 Samuel chapter 1 and verse 23 he says Saul and
Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death
they were not divided they were swifter than eagles they were
stronger than lions the daughters of Israel weep over Saul who
clothed you in scarlet with other delights, who put on ornaments
of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in
the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in
thy high places. I am distressed for thee, my
brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been
unto me, for thy love to me was wonderful. passing the love of
women how are the mighty fallen and the weapons of war perished
great lament then that david makes at the death of these
two men Saul in many ways was his enemy and yet he laments
over the death of the king of israel but certainly he felt
very deeply the death of his great bosom friend jonathan and
this morning i want us to turn to this verse that we've read
here in the 20th chapter of the first book of samuel and to consider
more particularly the the dangers that david felt himself to be
in the midst of with regards to the enmity of king saul david
swear moreover and said thy father certainly knoweth that I have
found grace in thine eyes, and be said, Let not Jonathan know
this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord liveth,
and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death. David's dangerous end is the
subject matter that we want to take up in a more particular
fashion. Here there is clearly a reference to those physical
dangers, those dangers to his own person, dangers to his body. And the dangers were many and
they were varied and they came from a variety of different sources. Certainly he was in great danger
with regards to King Saul as we saw in the reading Although
at times Jonathan is able to persuade his father of the good
that is in David, how quickly we find Saul falling into a jealous
rage and seeking to kill David. There in chapter 19 then, at
verse 10 we're told how Saul sought to smite David even to
the wall with the javelin. But he slipped away out of Saul's
presence and he smote the javelin into the wall and David fled. and escape that night. So what
does Saul do? He sends messengers on to David's
house. David was married to Saul's own
daughter Michal, but he sends messengers to the house to watch
him and to slay him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him,
saying, If thou have not thy life, if thou save not thy life
tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slaying time in the game we
see Saul then seeking to kill him in various ways if he cannot
kill him himself he'll have others to make an end of him look at
how he behaves later in this 20th chapter in verse 30 we're
told how Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan his own son
And he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse, rebellious woman,
do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine
own confusion, and not to the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou
shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send
and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. How right,
how true then are these words that David speaks. as the Lord
liveth and as thy soul liveth there is but a step between me
and death and this was true it seems throughout the life of
David the threats didn't only come from King Saul as a young
boy he cared for the sheep of his father Jesse and in protecting
the sheep, he ventured the safety of his own life when he goes
out against the great champion of the Philistines, against the
giant Goliath. He persuades King Saul to permit
such a venture because of the way he behaved in caring for
the sheep of his father. Back in that 17th chapter at
verse uh 34 david says unto Saul 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 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,
we see then previously that there were those occasions when David
was prepared to put his life at great risk. Seems constantly
there was but a step between David and death and certainly
when he went out in that 17th chapter against Goliath was he
not in the greatest danger that he would be slain by the giants
and Jonathan reminds his father of that there in chapter 19 at
verse 5 Jonathan says he did put his life in his hand and
slew the Philistines and the Lord wrought a great salvation
for all Israel, they saw this and it rejoiced wherefore then
will thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without a
cause so David then had shown himself to be a most brave man
in so many different circumstances and now his life again is in
the greatest of danger even at the hand of the king and then
subsequently subsequently to what we read here in our text
in the following chapters we see his life was endangered even
by other peoples, the Ziphites in chapter 23 and there at verse
19 we're told the Ziphites came
up to Saul to Gibeah saying God not David hide himself with us
in strongholds in the woods, in the hill of Achila, which
is on the south of Jeshimon. Now therefore, O King, come down
according to all the desire of thy soul to come down, and our
part shall be to deliver him into the King's hands. Even these
Ziphites will fall in with the desire of King Saul, and they'll
deliver David over into the hands of his enemies. these secret
plots and these schemes that were against him. And David in
the Psalms can speak of these things in the 119th Psalm from
which we sang a portion just now. He says there, the wicked
have waited for me to destroy me. Thus he finds. Again he says, the wicked have
laid a snare for me. I say that it is David's constant
experience, it seems, that his life is in the greatest of danger,
and even subsequently when we see David established and settled
as the king in Israel, there are conspiracies against him,
his own son Absalom. It's a sad episode, is it not,
that we read there in the second book of Samuel and chapter 15
how Absalom steals the hearts of the people. How he sets himself up as it
were as one who will make judgment for them. We're told there in that 15th
chapter of the second book of Samuel in verse 5 it was so that
when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance he put forth
his hand and took him and kissed him and on this manner did Absalom
to all Israel that came to the king for judgment so Absalom
stole the hearts of the men of Israel he stole the hearts of
the men of Israel again in verse 13 There came a messenger to David,
saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.
And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem,
Arise, let us flee, for we shall not else escape from Absalom,
make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly and bring
evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. And
it's not only Absalom there in that chapter, but it's also David's
great friend Ahithophel who is with Absalom. Verse 31, one told
David saying Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. David said O Lord I pray he turned
the counsel of Ahithophel onto foolishness. Even David's great
friend Ahithophel then falls in with those who are conspiring
against him and we see David lamenting these things in the
book of Psalm, Psalm 55. It appears is a Psalm that was
written at that particular period of David's history when his own
son Absalom and Ahithophel were so set against him. In Psalm
55 and verse 12 he says It was not an enemy that reproached
me, then I could have borne it, neither was it he that hated
me, that did magnify himself against me, then I would have
hid myself from him, but it was thou mine equal, my guide and
mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together
and walked unto the house of God in company. How we would
accompany Ahithophel, how Absalom would be there also as they went
to the house of prayer. And yet these are the very men
who subsequently set themselves against him. David throughout
his days then knew much of what it was to be in real physical
danger. There in the second book of Samuel
we see him fleeing from Jerusalem in order that he might live and
not die. How true then are these words,
there is but a stake between me and death. David knew what
it was then to be in real danger. He was the great warrior king
in Israel. But John Calvin tells us concerning
the Psalms that they are an anatomy of the soul. interesting observation
that the Protestant Reformer makes with regard to the content
of the book of Psalms. Yes, we can sometimes ascertain
what the particular situation, the real physical situation that
David was in that caused him to write particular Psalms. Oftentimes
the title of the Psalm indicates something of the circumstances.
It's interesting to note what he said in some of those titles. For example, in Psalm 54, we're
told just what lay behind David's composition of the psalm. It's
to the chief musician on Neginoth, Maskil, a psalm of David, when
the Ziphims came and said to Saul, doth not David hide himself
with us? Clearly the reference to those
events in chapter 23 of the first book of Samuel when the Ziphims
came to Saul and they will betray David into the hands of Saul
and so David cries out in the psalm, save me O God by thy name,
judge me by thy strength, hear my prayer O God, give ear to
the words of my mouth, for strangers are risen up against me, and
oppressors seek after my soul, they have not set God before
them. We are so often told something
with regards to the physical circumstances behind David's
writing of the Psalms, but what Calvin says is still true. The Psalms are an anatomy of
the soul. We are to understand David's
experiences in a spiritual sense. When in another of the Psalms,
Psalm 57, he cries out, My soul is among lions. What are we to make of that?
We know that as a young shepherd boy he would fight with the lion
in order to deliver the sheep from the claw and from the mouth
of the lion. But what are we to make of that
statement, my soul is among lions, are we simply to remember his
physical experience? No, we're to see the spiritual
significance in the light of what we read in the New Testament
where Peter tells us that we're to be sober, we're to be vigilant
because our adversary the devil is a roaring lion. Walketh about
seeking whom he may devour. David doesn't just know something
of physical dangers. David also knew what it was to
be in dangers in a spiritual sense that his soul as well as
his body was under assault and from where did the opposition come with
regards to the matters of his never-dying soul where there's
the devil that roaring lion who walks about seeking to devour. And David, so sadly alas, was
often tempted and fell because of the sin that was in his heart. And we see it in the matter of
his adultery with Bathsheba, his murder of her husband Uriah,
the wickedness of the man, the sin that was in his heart. And
yet, here is the man who spiritually is spoken of as one after God's
own heart. But there's that all nature in
him. And so he's often times in great
spiritual danger. How he has to cry out many times
in the Psalms that God would would keep him. He says in the
19th Psalm, verse 13, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous
sins. Let them not have dominion over
me. Then shall I be upright. I shall
be innocent from the great transgression. This man was unable to keep himself,
he knew What he was, he knew something of the strength of
that sin in his fallen nature. It was God himself who must preserve
him. God was the one who must keep
him. Again at the end of Psalm 25
he cries out, Oh keep my soul and deliver me. Let me not be
ashamed for I put my trust in God. He looks to God. He entrusts the keeping of his
soul to God because he knew that he was in great danger. in a
spiritual sense as well as in a physical sense. He says again
in the 119th psalm, in verse 109, my soul is continually in
my hand. His soul, his very life, not
just his physical life, his spiritual life, is continually in his hand
and of course the thing that is in the hand is in danger of
being lost. Now, so often we lose the grip
And whatever we held in our hands, it's gone. The Puritan Joseph
Carroll says of that statement that it is a Hebraism, signifying
a state of extreme peril. To have the soul in the hand,
it indicates a state of extreme peril, great danger. This was
David's experience. but a step, he says, between
me and death. And he felt it, not just with
regards to his physical life, but even that life of God in
his soul. It was under assault. There's
Satan, that great adversary. And now Satan can come and so
often gain the advantage over him. He couldn't say with his
greater son, the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing
in me. David knew that there was much in him that the devil
could take advantage of. David then knew not only physical
danger, he knew spiritual danger. He knew what it was to be involved
not only in warfare against the literal enemies of the children
of Israel, but he knew what it was to be engaged in a spiritual
battle. to wrestle not against flesh
and blood but against principalities and powers and against the rulers
of the darkness of this world. And his soul was in the gravest
of danger, a step, he says, between me and death. Now, that's not
only true of David, is it? That is true of God's children
in every generation. It's true of so many that we
read of in the Old Testament scriptures. think of that man
Bayreuth, who acted as a sort of scribe to the prophet Jeremiah. And there in chapter 45 of Jeremiah,
the prophet is directed to speak a word to Bayreuth. Seekest thou great things for
thyself? Seek them not, he said. For I
will bring evil upon all flesh, but thy life will I give unto
thee for a price. in all places whither thou goest.
God was going to bring evil, yes. That terrible judgment was
going to come upon the children of Israel. They were going to
be taken away from Jerusalem, removed into exile, taken into
captivity to Babylon. But what does God say to faithful
Barak? Thy life will I give unto thee
for a price. In all places whither thou goest. All his life will be given, that
life can never be lost. It's the life of God. But how
that life will be preyed upon. With David, you see, the step
between Barak and death, it would seem. And yet, wonderfully preserved. Peter says, if the righteous
scarcely be saved, where will the ungodly and the sinners the
righteous, that is, the justified sinner, the righteous man, is
scarcely saved. What are we to make of such a
statement as that? Again, one of the Puritans, Richard
Sibbes, makes the observation that it is not a word of doubt,
but a word of difficulty. If the righteous scarcely be
saved, it doesn't mean that there's some doubt that God can preserve
that life that he has given to the sinner. God will preserve
that life, they shall never perish. None is able to pluck them out
of Christ's hand, or out of the hand of his Father. And yet,
there it stands in Scripture, they are scarcely saved. The
Puritan says, it is not a word of doubt but of difficulty. The
way is a difficult one. It was true of David, it was
true of Barak, it was true of all the saints of the Old Testament
as we see so clearly. in rally level's chapter of hebrews
or what did they have to endure and likewise with regards to
the science of the new testament there is difficult and yet god preserves that spiritual
life that is there in the hearts of his children because he's
put it there he's given them that life so we'd be preyed upon
Peter assures the Corinthians here, if not a temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. God
is faithful. It will not suffer you to be
tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation
also make a way of escape that you may be able to bear him. God makes a way for his people.
And so it was for David. His life was not destroyed, though
he felt that he was in the most extreme of perils. David swore moreover and said,
Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine
eyes. And he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.
But truly, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, there
is but a step between me and death. He's in physical danger. but more than that he was in
spiritual danger many times just as we are often in spiritual
dangers but then here what we also see with regards to these
dangers is the certainty the certainty of the danger the language
that we have in this verse is the language of oath David swear
that's what it says in the opening words David swear moreover and
said and what does he say truly as the Lord liveth he takes up
the name of the Lord in the way of an oath as the Lord liveth
he says to Jonathan as thy soul liveth this is certainly the
language of oath and this is that therefore that cannot be
denied. What does Paul say concerning
the godly? Yea, all that will live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Observe what Paul
says there in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He doesn't simply say all
that will live godly, but he prefixes it with the word yea. It's emphatic. There's no escaping
it. It is what God himself has ordained. It's the Lord's own appointment
for all the godly. Yea, all that shall live godly
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And David's language
accords with that. He swears, truly, as the Lord
liveth. This is no lie to statement then
that David is making. And we're to take account of
that. We're to recognize just what the lot of God's children
is. In this world there will be persecution. The Lord Jesus Christ himself says it, does he not? In the
world ye shall have tribulation. In the world you shall have tribulation.
Paul echoes the words of the Lord Jesus in Acts chapter 14,
we must, he says, through much tribulation enter into the kingdom
of God. Again we notice the language
of the Apostle, the strength of it. There's no mention of
maybes or possibilities or even probabilities. But it's
all certain. We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the Kingdom of God. And then Peter. How these apostles
speak with one voice, because they're all speaking, of course,
under the gracious influence and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Peter agrees then with Paul. Beloved, think it not strange,
he said, concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as
though some strange thing happened unto you. This is not strange,
this has never been the lot of the goblin. There is a certainty
of the trial. The words again of the Lord Jesus
said, that we've already referred to in John 16, in the world ye
shall have tribulation. or the precious buds of God's
Word, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the great overcomer. He is the one who
is able then to deliver his children from all their dangers. Who delivered us from so great
a death, says Paul. and doth deliver, in whom we
trust that he will yet deliver us. Deliverance is past, present
and future. Be of good cheer, Christ said.
You see, when we look at the language that we have here in
our text this morning, as I say, it's the language of oath, which
reminds us of the certainty of the danger. not a step between me and death,
we live it every day, do we not? we're in mortal danger from the
assaults of satan, from the allurement of the world from the sin that
is yet bound up in our old fallen nature it's the language of oath,
but that oath also reminds us of the covenant, does it not?
the language of oath reminds us of the covenant And what does
the covenant speak of? It speaks of God and the certainty
of God's promise and that great promise of deliverance. I said at the beginning that
there was a great affection, a very real spiritual union between
these two men, Jonathan and David. And so, it's not surprising that
they enter into a covenant verse 16 so jonathan made a covenant
with the house of david saying let the lord even require it
at the hand of david's enemies the covenants of jonathan with
david but there's a greater covenant he said no there's god's covenant
and this was David's comfort when he comes to the end of his
days as he reviews his life as he considers matters amongst
his own children there was much to grieve him so what does he say there in
2nd Samuel 23 although my house be not so with God for much that filled his heart
with great disappointment when he looked over his life and over
the lives of so many of his children. Although my house be not so with
God yet, he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered,
he says, in all things and sure, this is all my salvation and
all my desire. All that covenant, it's ordered.
Every step of the way is ordered. Even the steps that he speaks
of here in the text, there is but a step between me and death. Every step is ordered by God. And he says it's all his salvation.
It's all his desire that God is the faithful God of the covenant. I will make a neverlasting covenant
with you, he says through Isaiah. And it's a message, of course,
that is to be conveyed even to sinners of the Gentiles. An everlasting
covenant, even the sure mercies of David we read in Isaiah 55. Remarkable words. What a great
promise that covenant that was David's salvation, David's desire,
is that that is to be proclaimed even to sinners amongst the Gentiles
there in that 55th chapter God says incline your ear and
come unto me hear and your soul shall live and I will make an
everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David
behold I have given him for a witness to the people a leader and commander
to the people. Who is this one, this David,
these sure mercies? Who is the witness? The Lord
Jesus is the one, David's greatest son, he is the witness to the
covenant. He is the leader, the commander of the people. And
all the promises of God, as we are told in 2 Corinthians chapter
1, all the promises of God in him, that is in the Lord Jesus
Christ, are and in him are men. God is the God of the covenants. The covenant that he made with
Abraham, the covenant that he made with David. Time and again we see him in
the Old Testament as the God of the covenant. What of that
covenant that he made with Abraham? When God made promise to Abraham
because he could swear by no greater, he swore by himself. He swore by himself, saying,
blessing I will bless them, multiplying I will multiply them. All the certainty then, of the
dangers and yet the comforts of the covenant, because God
is the one who will keep his children I give unto them eternal
life, says the Lord Jesus Christ, and they shall never perish.
No man is able to pluck them out of my hands. My Father which
gave them me is greater than all. No man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. There is a double security, they
are secure in the hand of Christ, they are secure in the hand of
his Father, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth
deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. And so David is safe. David is safe. He was safe when
he ventured so boldly against the great champion of the Philistines. He was brought through. He was
victorious. What does Jonathan says there in chapter 19 and
verse 5, he did put his life in his hand and slew the Philistines,
but he put his life in his hand, he ventured. And the Lord wrought
a great salvation for all Israel, thou sawest it, and it is rejoiced.
Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood to slay
David without the cause. There is a physical danger that
that David was in. And certainly in the days when
Saul was still the king. But there was a spiritual danger
also. Because he was a man of faith.
He lived a life of faith. And he was engaged therefore
in the good fight of faith. And there's the certainty of
the dangers. They cannot be avoided. And yet
in the midst of all those Dangerous is the blessed comfort of the
covenant, that God who is able to say from the uttermost to
the uttermost. And then finally, this morning,
to say something with regards to Christ himself and dangers. David is such a remarkable type
of the Lord Jesus Christ, is he not? set before us so many times in
the Old Testament as Christ. As we saw there in Isaiah 55,
the sure mercies of David, that's the sure mercies of Christ. In
Ezekiel 34, where God promises to be a shepherd to his people,
he speaks of setting up David. But he's not King David. who
would live many years previously, is David's greatest son. Of course
their very name, David, means the Beloved, and Christ is that
one who is the Beloved. The Beloved of the Father is
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now David, here in chapter 20,
is already the anointed. He had been anointed back in
chapter 16, by Samuel. He was to be the king. When Samuel comes to Bethlehem
and all the sons of Jesse are brought before him, there's the
youngest. The other seven pass before Samuel
and then Samuel says that the Lord has not chosen any of these
seven Verse 11 of that 16th chapter,
Samuel says to Jesse, I hear all thy children. He said, There
remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him, for we will not
sit down till he come hither. And he went and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and with all
of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord
said, Arise, anoint him, for this is Then Samuel took the
horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brethren
and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
He is already the anointed. And he is the anointed of the
Lord and he is in the midst of great danger. Truly as the Lord liveth and
as thy soul liveth there is but a step between me and death. Now think of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here we have the type in David, the Lord Jesus. He is the anointed. He is the Christ. God giveth
not the spirit by measure unto him. And remember what happened
at his baptizing as he comes forward to begin his public ministry. He submits to John's baptism
in Jordan. He comes out of the waters, the
heavens open. The father speaks, this is my
beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The spirit descends
upon him in the form of a dove and then he is led of the spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. As soon as he is
anointed he is in the gravest of danger. There is but a step between me
and death. and when Christ returns from
the wilderness in Luke's account, Luke chapter 4 and he goes into
the synagogue and they give him the book of
the prophet Isaiah and he reads that passage from Isaiah 61 the
spirit of the Lord is upon them because he had anointed me to
preach the gospel. And then what do we read subsequent
to all of this? There in verse 28. All they in
the synagogue when they heard these things were filled with
wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the city and led him
onto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built that they
might cast him down headlong. The passing through the midst went on his way. Oh, there was
even at the beginning, you see, but a step between Christ and
death, but his life was preserved until the hour was come when
he would make that great sacrifice for sin. What was true of David
was so much more true in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
His life is a prayer, just as David's was, and this is the
one that we look to. In the midst of all the dangers
that we find ourselves to be surrounded by, all the assaults
of Satan, all the allurements of the world, all the evil that
is yet within our own hearts, this is the one that we're to
look to, this High Priest, through his time. with the feeling of
our infirmities, who was tempted in all points like as we are,
yet without sin. Or this high priest who so understands
us, who is able to save us, to save us to the uttermost, as
we come to God by Him. And so here, though we read of
David and David's experiences, we're directed to Christ, are
we not? Did he not say to the Jews concerning the Scriptures,
these are they which testify of me? Or we seek Christ, do
we not? As that one who was constantly
being preyed upon by evil men who would destroy him and yet
his life wonderfully preserved until that blessed hour came
when he made the sacrifice. No man was able to take his life
from him. He had power to lay it down.
He had power to take it again. This was the commandment that
he had received of the Father. And this, friends, is the one
that we are to look to. Oh, might the text then ultimately
bring us to that.