Let us turn then to God's Word,
directing you then to that Word which we concluded our reading
this morning in the first book of Samuel chapter 30 and verse
6. first book of Samuel chapter
30 and verse 6 and David was greatly distressed for the people
spoke of stoning him because the soul of all the people was
grieved every man for his sons and for his daughters but David
encouraged himself in the Lord his God and particularly that
last clause, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. This last week I was wondering
what we might consider as we come to this, the first Lord's
Day of 2013, what might be a suitable portion of scripture to consider
for this morning's service and it was on Thursday evening at
the prayer meeting when someone I think it was Peter Wilkins
in the course of prayer made some reference to David's experience
and how David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and then
the next morning when I tore the text from the calendar to
expose the text for that Friday morning it was in fact this very
word that was there, but David encouraged himself in the Lord
his God. And so I felt even more drawn
that we might consider this as a suitable portion of Scripture
for us to consider as we come to the service this morning.
Or to know what it is to encourage ourselves in all that the Lord
our God This was David's experience at this time. But remember, David
was very much like unto us. He was a very real man, was he
not? We're told concerning Elijah
in the epistle of James that he was subject to like passions
as we are. And that's not only true of Elijah.
surely it's true also of all those that we read of in the
scriptures, and certainly true of a man like David. He was a
very passionate man, and yet a man much favored of God, a
man who is spoken of as having a heart for God, the man after
God's own heart and yet here we see that this man David was
distressed. In fact it says that David was
greatly distressed and in all of his distress he's enabled
by the grace of God to encourage himself. He's enabled to look
out of himself and to consider something of the character of
his God. And why are these things recorded
in the Scriptures? Well, we are told, are we not,
by the Apostle, quite plainly there in the New Testament, 1
Corinthians chapter 10, that all these things happened unto
them for ensamples. They are all types. That's what
the word means. And they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. God has
given us the record of his dealings with his people, even in the
Old Testament Scriptures, that we might receive admonishment
and instruction and encouragement. Again in Romans chapter 15, Paul
says that whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
for our learning, that we through patience or endurance, as the
margin says, and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. And as we come to God's word,
isn't this how we should approach it? We're not just to come to
the scriptures as some textbook, we're not those who simply want
to inform our minds, but we want to know some very real lessons. We want to learn of God's dealings,
we want to understand the experiences that God is pleased to bring
his people into. We want to be those who are instructed
in that practical godly living that we see evidence in the lives
of believers in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Now
as we turn then to the words of the text this morning, how
significant is this little word, but? In the opening part we are
told that David was greatly distressed for the people spake of stoning
him they were going to execute him because the soul of all the
people was grieved or as the margin said bitter every man
for his sons and for his daughters but David encouraged himself
in the Lord his God in the midst of all his distress he's able
to look to the Lord. David was very much a life of
changes, was he not? The various experiences that
he passes through as they are recorded, particularly here in
the former part of this first book of Samuel, the very time
when he was anointed by Samuel to be the one who would one day
be the king, or what the life that man had to live, what changes
that man had to experience. No wonder we read those words
in the 55th Psalm concerning the ungodly man, they have no
changes. There the psalmist says, because
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. David knew many changes. That was his constant life, that
was his daily experience in life. There's that little couplet in
the gospel sonnets of Ralph Erskine concerning the mystery of the
believer's experience. Erskine says, my life's a maze
of seeming traps, a scene of mercies and mishaps. And how true that was with regards
to David. Well, as we turn to this verse,
and particularly the closing words of this sixth verse in
the 30th chapter of 1st Samuel. I want, concerning David, to
consider some three headings this morning. First of all, to
look at his situation and the extremity of the situation that
he finds himself in. And then, David's response to
these things, how he encourages himself in the Lord his God and
then finally and briefly the consequence of these things and
we see how ultimately David is exalted and does in fact become
the King just as Samuel had indicated at the time of his anointing.
First of all then we turn to David's extremity. As I say in the opening words
we're told of his distress, but in fact he was greatly distressed,
it says. David was greatly distressed. Now why was he so distressed?
Well, when we look at his situation, everything seemed to be against
David. Saul, the king, was certainly
against him. Saul was constantly seeking to
kill him. We read those words at the beginning
of the 27th chapter. David said in his heart, I shall
now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better
for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines. That's the enemies of Israel,
the Philistines. and Saul shall despair of me
to seek me any more in any coast of Israel, so shall I escape
out of his hand. What extreme measures David takes
then in order to escape from Saul and the rages of the king
who is seeking always to destroy him. He says to his friend Jonathan
saw sun back in chapter 20 and verse 3, there is but a step,
he says, between me and death. That's how David felt, the very
next step I take might well be my last step. I'm constantly
in danger because the king is against me. and instructing his
people to destroy me. Remember how he speaks in the
119th Psalm, he says there, my soul is continually in my hand. My soul is in danger, my life
is going to be lost. It's just in my hand, it could
be gone at any moment. Here is David then and he feels
that the King of Israel He is very much against him and yet
he himself of course of the people of Israel and he himself of the
true Israel of God. Yes he is distressed when we
consider the manner in which Saul is seeking always to destroy
him. But then also of course though
he has gone amongst the Philistines they are not for him really.
The Philistines are very much against him. When the Philistines
gather together their armies to Aphek and they begin to prepare
for war against Israel, we see the attitude of these lords of
the Philistines in what we read there in that 29th chapter. How
the princes of the Philistines came to Achish and said, what
do these Hebrews hear? Verse 4, we're told how the princes
of the Philistines were wroth with him, with Asaph. And the
prince of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return,
that he may go again to his place, which thou hast appointed him,
and let him not go down with us to the battle. Let in the
battle he be an adversary to us. For wherewith should he reconcile
himself unto his master? Should it not be with the heads
of these men? All the Philistines don't trust
David. The Philistines are very much against David, they know
of David, how he had killed his 10,000. Not only Saul, but even
this place where he has gone for refuge, the lords of the
Philistines, they set themselves against David. And of course,
as we see here in chapter 30, the Amalekites. The Amalekites
were against him, whilst David and his men were away with the
armies of the Philistines. What had happened? by the Amalekites
had invaded the south, we're told, and Ziglag, and smitten
Ziglag and burned it with fire. And they had taken all the women
and all the children captives. This was the situation that David
and his men discovered when they returned to Ziglag. Ziglag is
in ruins and all their families have been taken into captivity
clearly then the Amalekites the Amalekites are against David,
everyone is against David Saul is against David, the Philistines
are against David the Amalekites and now here in verse 6 why his
own men these also turn against David. The people spake of stoning
him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every
man for his sons and for his daughters. This seems to be so
extreme, they're going to stone him, they're going to execute
him. Now why so? Why it would seem that they considered
that David was the one who was responsible for these things,
it was as if David had offered their children as a sacrifice
to idols. If we turn back to the Levitical
laws, there in Leviticus chapter 20 we see that any who sacrificed
his children to idols was to be executed by stoning. In the
opening words of Leviticus 20 the Lord spoke unto Moses saying
Again thou shalt say to the children of Israel, whosoever he be of
the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in
Israel, that give up any of his seed unto Molech, he shall surely
be put to death. The people of the land shall
stone him with stone. And thou treating David as if
he was guilty of such a thing, had he not sacrificed their children,
by the way in which he conducted himself and the things that he
had done, he is worthy of death. All his own people just return
against him. All is against him. Now remember,
these things are written for our learning. Is there not a
truth that we see here with regard so often to the experiences of
the people of God? Our time and again in the experiences
of the saints all seems to be against them. From sinner and
from saint he meets with many of love. His own bad heart creates
him smart which none but God can know. Everything seems to
be against the believer sometimes. Even his fellow believers misunderstand
him. And when he looks to himself,
when he looks to his own heart, why that's his worst enemy of
all? Here is the extremity of the saint, David. Here is the
experience, I say, of David and in some measure it reflects the
experiences of the God. So many things against God's
people brought to extremities. David was greatly distressed. And of course we know that it's
in these situations that David is brought to write so many of
the Psalms. We see that in the titles that
are given to those various Psalms of David, and those titles, of
course, are part of the inspired text of Scripture. In the 18th
Psalm, as an example, we read in the title to the chief musician,
a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who spoke unto the
Lord the words of this psalm in the day that the Lord delivered
him from the hand of all his enemies. and from the hand of
Saul, and he said. That introduces the psalm. It's
part of the inspired text. What did David say? Verse 4. The sorrows of death compassed
me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows
of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me
when before me. You see how David has trouble
on every hand. In my distress I called upon
the Lord, and cried unto my God. He heard my voice out of his
temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. All in these extremities, what
does David do? He cries to God. This is how
he encourages himself, in the Lord is God. by laying all these
things before the Lord, committing his cause into the hands of his
God, when everything is against him. And are we not to learn
of this, when everything is against us, when we feel even our own
selves, our own selves against us, what we are in our fallen
nature, that bad heart that makes us sad. What are we to do? We
are to commit all unto the Lord. And so we see what David does
in these extreme circumstances, he turns to God. But David encouraged
himself in the Lord, his God. He speaks to that One who is
the Covenant God, it's the Lord. And you'll observe the significance
of the name, the capital letters, the Covenant name, This is the
God of David, is it not? The God who had entered into
covenant with him. Remember what he says at the
end of his days, the end of the second book of Samuel. Although
my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, this is all my salvation. And all my desire, though he
may keep not to grow when he looks at the sad situation amongst
his own children, there's much to grieve him still, but his
comfort is ever that covenant ordered in all things unsure. And there at the end of 2 Samuel,
of course, he's reflecting on the totality of his life, and
he sees that throughout his life all things are ordered. Always
the everlasting covenant. the sure mercies of David as
it's spoken of in Isaiah 55. This is where David finds encouragement
in the Lord God of the covenant. There's nothing to encourage
David in himself. The whole situation that David
is in now is a sad, sinful affair. He is with the Philistines. And the Philistines are preparing
to enter into battle against the children of Israel. What
a situation that David is in, as we see at the beginning of
that 29th chapter. Is he going to have to fight
with Isaac and these Philistines against God's covenant people
Israel? Previously, David might have
killed Saul, and yet we see that David would not do such a thing.
When the opportunity afforded, he was more than reticent, he wouldn't
do it. in chapter 24 and verse 6 when
he discovers Saul in the cave or Saul comes into the cave where
David and his men are hiding and he has the opportunity. What
does he say? The Lord forbid that I should
do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch
forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.
So David stayed his servants with these words and suffered
them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave
and went on his way. But it's not the only time that
David has that opportunity again in chapter 26. He could have
taken the life of his enemy Saul but he would not. He says to
his friend Abishai there in chapter 26 and verse 9 Destroy him not,
for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed
and be guiltless? The Lord forbid that I should
stretch forth my hand against the Lord's anointed. He has these opportunities but
he cannot do such a thing. How then could he have ever gone
against the children of Israel in battle on the side of the
Philistines? But why is David in this situation? Well, he had acted unwisely. He should have remained in Judah. This was the counsel that had
been given by the seer, by the prophet Gath in chapter 22 and
verse 5. He is told quite plainly that
he should remain in Judah. Chapter 22 verse 5, the prophet
Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hall, depart and get thee
into the land of Judah. Then David departed and came
into the forest of Hareth. What does he do now? He seeks
refuge amongst the Philistines. As we see in those opening verses
of chapter 27. And when he goes there, how does
he behave himself? Well, he's ever evasive, he's
political, he's careful in what he says, he doesn't tell the
whole truth, does he? In chapter 27, for example, at
verse 8, and the following verses, we're
told that David and his men went up, this is when he has his dwelling
at Ziglag amongst the Philistines, he's there with Achish. But David
and his men went up and invaded the Gesherites and the Malachites,
for those nations were of all the inhabitants of the land as
they go as to shore, even unto the land of Egypt. And David
smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive and took
away the sheep and the oxen and the asses and the camels and
the apparel and returned and came to Achish. And Achish said,
Whither have ye made a road to die? And David said, Against
the south of Judah and against the south of the Jehomelites
and against the south of the Canaanites. And David saved neither
man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest
they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be
his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.
And Achish believed David, saying, He hath made his people Israel
utterly abhor him, therefore he shall be my servant for ever. You see, he makes out to this
man Eichish that he's going against the Israelites in the south of
their country, but he's not. He's not doing that. He's going
out against those who were the ancient dwellers in those lands.
He's going out against the uncircumcised. He's misleading. He's not being
perfectly honest and open with Eichish. There is much then where
we have to say that David is blameworthy in so behaving as
to bring himself into a situation where he might well have to go
out against the armies of Israel. And yet, in all of this, he is
still able to encourage himself in the Lord, the God of the Covenant. All things are in the Covenant,
are they not? It's ordered in all things, it's sure. And yet
we know that God is not the author of sin. God cannot be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth He any man. We're not to think that
God is the one who is the cause of David's behaviour here. David
is culpable in his sinful ways. And yet all of these things are
so wonderfully overruled by God that David is delivered out of
this situation although Achish wants David to go with the armies
of the philistines the other lords of the philistines will
have none of it David must not go with them and so David has
to return as we see there in chapter 29 verse 7 Achish says
to him wherefore now return and go in peace that thou didst please
not the lords of the Philistines. And David said unto Achish, But
what have I done? And what hast thou found in thy
servants, so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that
I may not go fight against the enemies of my Lord the King?
Here he is, he's still being political. Achish answered and
said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight as an angel
of God, notwithstanding The princes of the Philistines have said,
he shall not go with us to the battle. And so God is good to
him, God delivers him out of this awful situation. God is
that one who is sovereign in spite of the folly of what David
is doing. And he directs the hearts of
these lords of the Philistines. Doesn't the wise man tell us
in the Proverbs that the King's heart is in the hand of the Lord
and like the rivers of water he directs it wherever he goes. God is the one then who is overruling
these things. This is the Lord, the God of
the Covenant. It ought to be wise to observe
these things, to understand the loving kindness of the Lord.
This is where we find encouragement, in spite of ourselves, in spite
of our sins, our foolish ways, we have to turn to ourselves,
we have to look to the Lord, we have to call upon His name.
This is what David does in here, he encourages himself in this
God, the Lord, the covenant God. But see what it says, David encouraged
himself in the Lord, His God. How significant is the pronoun
here, His God. Not just the Lord God, it's the
language of appropriation. This is David's God. This is
that God who has set his eternal love upon David, who looks upon
him as the very apple of his eye. And so all things must work together
for this man's good. Is he not one of those called
of God? Remember the great shine, the
golden shine as it is sometimes called there in that 8th chapter
of the epistle to the Romans. How that God so orders all things
that all must fall out for the goods of his children. We know,
Paul says, that all things that is, without any exceptions, all
things, work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom
He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He
also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? And God, you see, is for David.
He is David's God. He is the Lord. He is God. God is that One who has foreknown
Him and predestinated Him. God is the One who has saved
Him. And so, all things must fall out for his good if God
before us who can be against us. Now in all these things Paul
goes on, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. This is where David finds his
encouragement. He finds it in that God, the
God of the covenant, the God who has made himself known to
David, The God who is truly David's God, what a fiver when we're
granted that measure of assurance to know that this God is our
God, the Lord's, His God. What encouragement can there
be, except we're able to use that language, the language of
appropriation, and call upon Him as our God. This is the God
that David knows. Daniel tells us the people that
do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And we see in
the subsequent history here how that David does do exploits. How he summons the high priest
and wants to inquire as to whether or not he should pursue after
these Amalekites. In the very next verse he says
to Abiathar, the priest, Ahimelech, and I prayed he bring me hither
the ephod. And Abiathar brought hither the
ephod to David, and David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I
pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he
answered him, Pursue. for thou shalt surely overtake
them and without fail recover all. So David went, he and the
600 men that were with him and came to the brook Beesor where
those that were left behind stayed. He pursues you see but he doesn't
pursue in his own strength he doesn't look to his own wisdom
He doesn't indulge in any kingcraft anymore, he's not playing politics.
No, he inquires of the ethos. That mysterious way, you see,
the yurim and the fami, that that was in the breastplate of
the high priest whereby they were able to discern the will
of the Lord. This is what David does. He has
recourse to that that God himself has appointed. God assures him that he will
overtake and he will recover all that he's lost. And so ultimately,
as David encourages himself in the Lord, we see that David is
exalted. For what an encouragement is
this. The word that we have used here is an interesting one. David
encouraged himself, it says. literally to be firm in the Lord,
or to be strong in the Lord, to have such a knowledge of God
and the character of God, to know that God is on his side,
and as God is for him, who can be against him? Ultimately then
David is going to be exalted, yes, There is a fearful battle
between Israel and the Philistines. And what happens in the battle?
In the last chapter, Saul and his sons are killed. Verse 6 of chapter 31, so Saul
died, and his three sons, and his armour bearer, and all his
men that same day together. They all die in warfare against
the Philistines. And then we come into the second
book of Samuel and what do we see? Why in the second chapter
David is the man who now becomes the king. In verse 4 of chapter
2 the men of Judah came and there they anointed David king over
the house of Judah. God is in all of these things.
Now, David, of course, he greatly laments those sins that have
befallen Israel. He laments the death of Saul
and his sons, and amongst those sons, Jonathan. And we have David's
lament recorded there in that first chapter of the second book,
verse 17 following. Verse 23, David cries out, 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. Thou
art the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle. O Jonathan,
thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee,
my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been
unto me. Thy love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women. Thou art the mighty fallen, and
the weapons of war perished. He laments all that has befallen
Saul and his sons. He is a true Israelite. God has
delivered him from having to ever go out against the Israelites. But how remarkable it is here
to observe God's providence. It's in this very battle that
Saul is killed and the way is opened up now. Even his heirs,
the heirs apparently we might say, are taken away. and the
ways opened up and David must become the king. I was struck
by a quotation from Dranincourt, he was one of the French reformers.
This is what the French reformer said, he says, the sentences
of God's providence are exceeding long. We must read them to the
end before passing judgement. The sentences of God's providence.
Oh, it's impatient, you see, that we possess our souls. David,
in all the bitterness of his experiences, all that went on
before, all that was against him, all that caused him to be
so greatly distressed, and yet here is God working out his great
purpose. and when he comes back to Ziglag
and Ziglag is in flames, Ziglag is ruined and then he pursues
after these Amalekites and God does grant him the recovery of
all that he had lost as we see there at verse 18, David recovered
all that the Amalekites had carried away and David rescued his two
wives and there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great
neither sons nor daughters, neither spoils nor anything that they
had taken to them, David recovered all. And David took all the flocks
and the herds which they drove before those other Catilines
and said, this is David's spoils, even as the spoils of war you
see. And then ultimately in that battle between Israel and the
Philistines, David comes to this city as possession of the throne,
the men of Judah, appoint him as king and then subsequently
all Israel. He is exalted. What is the cause
of that exaltation? Why it is this God that he encourages
himself in? Not in himself. He is a sinful
man. He is a man of like passions
as we are. He makes many mistakes. He does many foolish things.
And yet, in the midst of all these things, he is a man after
God's own heart, a man who has desires towards the Lord his
God. Oh, that we might learn then
of this man, that we might follow the example of this David. David encouraged himself in the
Lord his God. The Lord be pleased then to bless
this word to us, for his name's sake. The first part of the hymn and
the tune is Millennium 551 David's Lord allows a covenant once was
made whose bonds are firm and sure whose glories ne'er shall
fade signed by the sacred, 3 in 1,
in mutual love, Airtime began, number 87, the first part. With David's Lord and ours, a
covenant once was made. Earth's bonds are firm and sure,
earth's glories ne'er shall fade. Signed by the saints, In mutual love their time may
go. Firm as the losting hills, This
continent shall endure, Whose portent shells and winds Love's and tickles than the same
Hear the voices of grace, love, peace and mercy flow O sacred deep without a shore,
Where shall I live, Mr. Explorer? Here when life it shall flow,
Believer thou shalt see, Christ to restore thy soul, and pardoned,
full and free, with delight shall God behold thy chosen sheep in
Zion. And when through Jordan's heart
thy God shall bid thee go, His arm shall thee defend and vanquish
every foe. The Lord bless thee and keep
thee. The Lord make his face to shine
upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee and give thee peace. Amen.