With me again in 1st Samuel. I'm going to make a few comments
by way of introduction. David's in the wilderness in
Ziph. And David said in Psalm 39, I'm
a stranger with thee, as my fathers were. I'm a stranger. God's a
stranger in this world. Only to everybody but his elect. And we're strangers in this world
with God. And for any believer, the sooner
he realizes that he's a stranger and a pilgrim in this world.
In this world. And it's a place that we're just
passing through. That's all we're doing. We had
a starting point and we have a leaving point. We're just passing
through this. That's all we're doing. We're
strangers in pilgrimship. And until we... And we're strangers and pilgrims
until we depart and be with Christ. And the more we understand that
we're strangers and pilgrims here, the greater our peace will
be. Because we know that this world
has nothing to offer us. Has never done anything for us.
Never done anything for us. I don't know how many times people
say, how's the world treating you? And I've always told them,
never was good to me. never was good to me. The world
never was good to me. You know, I worked at a public
works at a job in Dayton, Ohio. I had a very good job. And I
got sick and I was in the hospital for months. And you know, out
of all the friends that I had and all the people that I knew,
you think they'd come and see me or come and see if my wife
or my kids need anything? No. Didn't care a thing. Didn't care a thing. I found
out right then and there, this world, this world absolutely
cares nothing about even its own self. I mean, they'll step
on you to get to something else if they have to. That's the way
the world is. But he said, I'm a stranger with
thee. And also many are the afflictions of the righteous. Now the many
are the afflictions of the right. Some come from within, some come
from without. Some come from friends, some
come from foes. But I do know this, that wherever,
whether, how they come, they come directly from the hand of
God. Whether it's a friend or it's a foe, it's within or without
God. And I tell you what, that's like
Eli said, it is the Lord let him do what seems good. And even
the devil is just an instrument in God's hand. When Satan comes
walking about and God said to him, why are you walking about?
Why are you going? He said, I'm walking about seeking
whom I may devour. And God said, have you considered
my servant Job, a perfect and an upright man? He said, oh listen,
he'd cuss you in your face if I had a chance at him. God said,
go ahead. You know what Job said when it
was all said and done? Shaved his head, fell on his
face, and said, the Lord give and the Lord take away. Blessed
be the name of the Lord. And that's the way you know.
And our gracious God, bless His holy name, does these things
to us. To wean us from this world. To
teach us to hold very loosely to the things of time and sense. And when you read about David
in his life, he was placed in almost every situation in which
a believer is placed. And this is what makes reading
about David and what went on in his life and all the experiences
he went through that enabled him to write all the different
Psalms. And that's why the Psalms speaks to us in such a powerful
way because we find our own experiences in the book of Psalms. Whether it's a heart that's cast
down or whether it's a heart overflowing with joy. David went
through those things. And that's why we read them and
we find ourselves in the book of Psalms so much. But it says
David, David abode, David abode in the wilderness in the strongholds
and remained in the mountain. And this scripture says here
that Saul sought him every day. Every day. How would you like
somebody to be on your trail every day? I'll tell you who's
on our trail. David says, surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. You know who's
on my trail? God. Mercy's on one side, grace
on the other. Goodness on one side, mercy on
the other. Goodness and mercy shall follow
me. Follow me. How long? All the
days of my life. But I want you to know, and you're
talking about an enemy, having an enemy, a true foe. Two things
about David I want you to look at. He didn't seek vengeance.
David did not seek vengeance. He didn't take it into his own
hands to deal with Saul. You know, he could have slew
Saul. He could have killed Saul. He could have done that, but
he didn't take it into his hands to slay Saul. David acted in
his life, and then everybody told him, he says, nobody was
more honorable and more faithful to you, Saul, than David was.
And David is. And he served his life with Saul
very honorably. And he was innocent. And Saul
was one of those people who was swift, swift to shed innocent
blood. And I know it would be a great
temptation to kill him. But do you know what David did?
David said, Vengeance belongeth unto the Lord, and He will repay. He didn't try to get even. He
didn't try to get even. Now you keep this, and look with
me in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 23. I want you to see something
about our blessed Master. About our blessed Master. You
know, David is so much like a type of Christ in so many ways. Our
Lord Jesus Christ, He didn't seek vengeance. And you're talking about somebody
living honorably and godly and living sinlessly was our Lord
Jesus Christ. He was innocent. He was innocent
in himself. The only way he ever became guilty
was when our sins were charged to his account. But look what
it says here about our Master. In verse 23. 1 Peter 2, 23. Who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Oh, he said when somebody reviled
him all of his life, especially at the cross and all the things
they did to him, he never reviled him again. And when they threatened
him, he never threatened them back when he suffered. He never
threatened anybody. And here's another thing about
David. He didn't seek vengeance. He didn't seek vengeance. And
he waited on God. He waited on God. As he went
through this world and as he dealt with the things that was
going on around him, he believed God. And he waited on God. He
keeps God's ways. He keeps God's time. And here
he is, he's hunted the innocent. Saul tried to disgrace him before
Israel. He's having to hide. And he was
a man of honesty, a man of integrity, a man of merit. And he did good,
and he did great, and he did great service for the king and
for the country. And now he's a fugitive. And
our Lord Jesus Christ, what in the world did he ever do that
anybody... Now David done things, and what
he goes through, he deserves it because he is a man. But I,
Lord Jesus Christ, as a sinless man and as God-man, He didn't
have to suffer. The only way He suffered is when
He committed Himself to God. And the next verse says this,
He Himself, this is how He committed Himself to God. He Himself bore
our sins in His own body on the tree. That's how He committed
Himself to God. They reviled Him. He didn't revolve
back. He suffered. He didn't threaten.
He said, God, here I am in your hands. You want this cup to pass
through me? It don't matter. I'm going to
drink it. I'm going to drink it. And I
tell you what, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the scripture said He
went about doing good. Doing good. Healing all that
were oppressed of the devil. And Saul, look what it says there
in verse 14, the last part of it. And Saul sought him every
day. Saul came out to seek his life. Look at verse 15. And David saw
that Saul was come out to seek his life. And David was in the
wilderness. You know what this amounts to?
This is, you know, Paul in Galatians 4, he says, you know, when he
talks about Ishmael and Jacob, Ishmael and Isaac he says he
that's born after the flesh Persecuted him that was born after the spirit
and that's what's going on here Saul is born after the flesh.
He's a flexible man. He's an ungodly man and he's
after the child of the spirit He's after David and that's the
way we are in our flesh our flesh this flesh here fights against
that new man in us we got an Isaac and And we got Ishmael
in both of us. And I'm telling you what, they
just bang on one another, and sometimes that flesh, you think,
oh, he's going to get the upper hand. And then the Holy Spirit
comes, and He puts him back down. And that's what Saul was. He was a fleshly man, and he
was after the child of the Spirit. And I tell you this, Saul saw
him in the willness of Zip. You know what Zip means? a refining
place a refining place and you know God refines our faith do
you know he refines our faith Paul said it well Peter said
it this way he said if it needs be if it's necessary that you
are in heaviness through manifold temptations God is trying your
soul, if it's need be, that God tries your faith, though it be
much more precious than gold, that it might be found under
honor and praise and glory, where? When our Lord Jesus Christ appears.
Don't you want your faith to be honorable? Don't you want
it to be real? Don't you want to bring glory
to Christ? That's what he said. That's why he puts us in these
things. But now look what happens here. Oh my! Here's a man that loved David
and he's there because of a covenant. Look what it says down in verse
16. And Jonathan Saul's son arose,
and went to David in the wood, and strengthened his hand in
God. And said unto him, Fear not,
for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee, and thou
shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, that
also must Saul my father anoint. He went to David, He loved David. The scripture said in one place
that he loved him as his own soul. And here's this two men
and a two full cores not easily broken. And he went to David,
this man that's hated and despised by his own father. And what does
it say? He strengthened his hand in God. Notice he didn't just strengthen
his hand, he strengthened his hand in God. You know, iron sharpeneth
iron, so a brother sharpeneth another brother. And so here
he comes, and he strengthens David. And he starts talking
to him about God, and how God's got his hand on him, and how
God's gonna protect him, and how God's gonna uphold him. And
he starts strengthening his hand in God. If you ever need your
hand strengthened in God, Have you ever been weak and frail
and you know somebody comes along and they visit with you and you
talk with them a little bit and next thing you know you're strengthened
in God? You're picked up in God? You're
lifted up in God? And I tell you, boy, I tell you,
sometimes I'll get a phone call and I'll be down by the time
I get off. Woo. You know, and then, you know,
that's the way it is here. We come here sometimes. Oh, we're
dragging, dragging. And boy, the Lord comes while
we're here. And we leave here stronger than we did when we
got here. God does that. And doing this,
going to David, he exposed himself to his father's anger. He exposed
himself to his father's rejection. It could have cost him his life. But you know what? He loved David. And we love our master. Why do
we care what happens? It's our master. And I'll tell
you what, here's a true, true, true, true friend. He won't sink
from danger and can easily venture himself towards his friend. I
remember Scott Richardson one time sitting in my backyard. We were sitting in my backyard.
And he told me one time, we was talking about people and talking
about friends. And Scott told me, he said, if
a man has one true, one genuine true friend in his life, he's
greatly blessed to God. Just one. Just one. And I tell you what, true friendship,
if you've got a friend, and we have a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother, our Lord Jesus Christ, and a true friend will
shriek from danger. When you're in danger, he'll
get right in the danger with you. He can easily picture himself
to wherever you're at and put himself in whatever situation
he needs to be to be there to be your friend. And he won't
shrink from condescension. He'll go down. If his friend's
down, he goes down with him. And when we're down, our Lord
Jesus Christ, our friend that sits close to the brothers, when
we're down, he comes down to where we're at and picks us back
up. That's what Jonathan did for David. David was down and
Jonathan come and strengthened his hand in God. David felt good. He's still strong. Oh my, King
can easily stoop. And he stooped to go out there
in the wilderness. He stooped. And they can exchange
a palace for the woods to save a friend. He was an heir of the
throne. Son of a king. And he goes out
in the wilderness to be with David. to identify with David. And we go without the camp to
identify with our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh my. And then look what else, it encouraged
him in God, strengthened his hand in God. David was a strong,
strong believer. And like all believers, they
need help. They need help. And they need
help from one another. They need strengthening from
one another. And what lacks in their faith? And there's times
when our faith, lots of things lack in our faith. But I tell
you what, that's why Paul said, you know, he told Thessalonians,
he said, I want to see you face to face so that I may perfect
that which is lacking in your faith. And oh, how did he strengthen
his hand in God? How did he encourage him? Here's
what he said unto him. In verse 17, first thing he said
unto him, how many times our master tell his disciples, fear
not. First thing he said to him, fear
not. Fear not. Well, David, he's got
a man after him, hunting for him every day. And he's got one
thing in his mind, that's to kill David. And Jonathan comes
along and says, fear not. Oh, fear not. Now look what he
says. He says, for the hand of Saul,
my father, shall not find thee. Your enemy ain't going to get
you. He's not going to find you. He's going to look for you, and
look for you, and look for you, but He ain't going to find you.
He's never going to find you. And I tell you what, there's
one thing about this, that our God knows exactly where we are,
and our enemy, God done whipped him, and defeated him, and He
ain't coming after us. And all He said, My Father's
not going to find you. That's an encouraging thing.
He knows that Saul's after Him, and He said, but He's not going
to find you. not going to find you. How does he know he is not
going to find you? Because he believes God. And
I tell you if his father gets close to him, Jonathan is going
to let him know. And God is going to let David
know. And then look what else he says here. And thou shalt be king over Israel. God has anointed you king He
says you're a part to be king and you've got to sit on the
throne. You've got to have that throne.
You've got to have that crown. And you've got that. That's what
they said about our master. You know when a king comes in.
You know when David became king and anybody becomes king. They
have a great coronation you know. And everybody gets around the
king and whoops and shouts and all that and bows down before
him. But you know our Lord Jesus Christ was born king. He was
king before he got here, king while he lived here, and he's
king of kings now. And you know how our Lord Jesus
Christ came into Jerusalem? The king of Israel? You know
I said how he had come into Jerusalem in Zechariah? And he did just
that very thing. He was riding meek, and he was
meek and lowly, riding on a colt, the foal of an ass. So he comes
riding into Jerusalem, not on a big white horse, not with a
crown on his head. He comes riding on a little old
donkey into town. Oh, that's what David says to
him. John says, you got to be king. So that's why my father's not
going to get you. That's how he says, you're going
to be king. And then look what he says to him next. And I'll
be next unto you. Here's the one that's the heir
to the throne. But he loves David so much, and
admires David so much, and loves David so much, he said, it'll
be an honor to serve under you as the king. What a blessed privilege
it'll be for me, Jonathan, to be under you, David. To be under
your rule, to be under your reign, to sit and be your servant and
to do what you tell me to do. Go where you tell me to go and
do what you tell me to do. And ain't that the way with our
master? To be under his reign? Oh my! And what he said, it would
be an honor to be under your reign, just to be near you. And
then look what he says that. I shall be next unto you and
that also my father knows. He knows this. He knows exactly
what's going to happen. My father knows this. And then
look what it says in verse 18. He was a covenant friend, constant
friend. And they too made a covenant
before the Lord. This is the third time they've
got together and mentioned this covenant in the Lord. At the
mouth of two or three witnesses every word be established. And
he says, And they too made a covenant before the Lord. And David abode
in the wood. And Jonathan went to his house.
They renewed this covenant. This is the third time. And they
said they did this before the Lord. God's going to be the witness
for us. God's going to be the witness.
And they parted. And they never saw one another
ever again. But you know something? This
covenant was never forgotten. You know what would happen because
of this covenant? Between Jonathan and David? as
a little old boy. Couldn't walk. Couldn't walk. And he was just a pitiful boy.
Couldn't walk, had to be carried everywhere. And because of this
covenant, and because of God's covenant in Christ, Mephibosheth
shall come. You know what David said? Is
there any left of the house of Saul that I may show mercy to? Is there any left of the sons
of Adam that I may show mercy to? He said there's one. God said there's a multitude
that no man can number. And you know what David said?
He's over in the Lordy Bar where there ain't no bread and it's
just a sorry place. He said, I'll tell you what I
want you to do. You go fetch him. And that's what God does
in the covenant of grace. He said, go fetch him. And when
God says, go fetch him, guess what's happening? You're coming.
And you know what you're going to do? You're going to bow before
the king. And you know what you're going to say? Oh, why do you
look upon such a dead dog as I am? And the first thing David
said, don't be afraid. And then David changed his clothes
and he sat at the king's table the rest of his life. And oh
my, ain't that what our Master did for us? We sat at His table
the rest of our lives after He called us to Him. Well, I've
got to hurry. Let me go down through here real
quick in verse 19, starting at verse 19. So they Then came up
the Ziphites to Saul, so David's down in Ziph. Then came up the
Ziphites to Saul to Gibeah saying, no, look what a betrayal. Oh,
our master's so betrayed. To Gibeah saying, doeth not David
hide himself with us in strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hekelah,
which is on the south of Jessamine? And listen to what they said
to him. Come on down. Come on down King according to
all the desire of your soul. Come down and our part shall
be delivered him into the King's hand. And listen to what my old
psalm said. Oh how blessed you are. You sure
have compassion on me. You're a wonderful bunch of people. He was in zeal. And I tell you
what, he's found out putting confidence in people of his own
tribe. His own tribe betrayed him. Twice
they betrayed him. And no wonder Paul says, you
know, we worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh. I know that in me, in my flesh
dwelleth no good thing. And David asks this, Man at his
best state, altogether vanity. And they should have been honored,
honored to have David. One so faithful, one so true,
and one of their tribe being among them. But oh, they wanted
to garner the king's favor. Come on down king, come on down. And oh, we'll deliver him up
to you. And they betrayed David. was willing to deliver him up
to his enemy. And you know why? They didn't
ask for any kind of reward. It wasn't like Judas. Judas said, what will it take
for you to betray Jesus of Nazareth? Well, what do you got? Well, we got 30 pieces of silver
here. Well, I'll take that. I'll take that. It cost Judas was paid to betray the
Lord Jesus Christ. These folks asked for nothing.
Didn't ask for no reward. And Paul was betrayed and forsaken. He said, when my first answer,
no man, no man stood with me, but the Lord stood with me. And
then Saul thanks them. That's so pious. That's so pious. Blessed be ye of the Lord, for
you have compassion on me. He considered himself a man that
was so miserable and in need of pity and he figured these
folks had pity on him. And look what he tells them to
do. He said, I want you to go and prepare yet and know and
see where his place is, where he's living at, where he's hanging
out at, and who's seen him there. For he's told me that he's a
very, very crafty person. He's a very subtle person. And
he see therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places. Oh,
he's like David's got to lurk around. Our Lord Jesus got to
lurk around. And oh my, and where he hide,
he said, come to me again and then I'll go with you and come
to pass. I'll be in the land and I'll search him out. I'll
search him out. Oh, David had this betrayal.
He hears of this betrayal and look what he says. And they arose
and went to Ziph before Saul. And David and his men were in
the wilderness of Maon in the plain of south Jesuit. Now I
want you to Keep this here and I want us to look at this is
when he wrote the 51st 54th Psalm. Look with me in the 54th Psalm.
This is where David was and what he was going through when he
wrote the 54th Psalm. Look at this with me. I want
you to see this. He wrote the 54th Psalm on this. And look what he says here. And
this is where he's at right now. He wrote this, look what it says
in the title. To the chief musician, a psalm
of David when the Ziphims came and said to Saul Doeth not David
hide himself with us? Look what David, here's the psalm
he wrote. Save me. Oh, I need saving. Save me. Oh God. And here's how he does it. By
thy name. By thy name. Don't consider me. Consider your name. Don't save
me because it's me. You save me because of your name.
Who you are. In your glory. You got all the
power. You're God. It's your name. And
then look what he says, and judge me by thy strength. And what
he means is you judge me and you judge those that are after
me by your strength. Secure justice for me. No one
else is going to do it for me. You take your strength and you
judge for me. I can't judge. I can't judge.
I can't do anything. But you can judge. You can judge. And then look what he said, hear
my prayer. Oh, God, give ear to the words
of my mouth. Please hear me, Lord. And he
turned to God in his distress. Here he is, enduring the contradiction
of sinners against himself. That's where our Master was.
It said he endured the contradiction of sinners against himself. He'd
come to save sinners, and sinners that he'd come to save denied
him, and forsook him and fled from him. Now that's a contradiction,
ain't it? He come to save them, look how
they treated him. And I tell you, old Charles Spurgeon says
this, as long as God has an open ear, we can't be shut up in trouble. All prayer is always the best
weapon to use. Oh my, then look what he says,
verse 3. He said this, for strangers are
risen up against me. These are not my brethren. These
are not people of my tribe. These are not people that love
me. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek
after my soul. Oh, they haven't set God before
them. Look what they say, they've not set God before them. God's
not in their thoughts. God, they're not interested in
what God thinks, what God will do, and God's not in their thoughts
at all. And David said, Oh my. And they
didn't know David. And they would have no cause
to have ill will against him. They were strangers to God. And
look what he said in verse 4. Oh my. God is my helper. Oh, who's going to help me? God
is. Who's going to help me? God is. The Lord is with them
that uphold my soul. Those that are for me, those
that pray with me, and those that stand by me. God, the Lord
will uphold them with my soul. And He's going to reward evil
unto my enemies. And you know what He'll do? He'll
cut them off in truth. Truth will absolutely cut them
off. And I will freely sacrifice unto
thee. Oh God, I'm so grateful. I will
praise thy name, O Lord, for it's good. Listen to this. He
hath delivered me out of all trouble, and mine eye has seen
his desire upon mine enemy. Oh, listen. David. David knew. Back over here now in verse 26.
And I'm going to wind this thing up. Back here in verse 26 of
chapter 23. Look at God's wondrous deliverance
of David. Now, Saul then came down after
David. And Saul heard that he pursued
after David, the will of this man. In verse 26, Saul went on
this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side
of the mountain. And David made haste to get away for fear of
Saul. For Saul and his men got around David and his men to take
them. But now watch what happens. Watch
how God saves David. But there came a messenger unto
Saul, saying, Haste thee, and come, for the Philistines have
invaded the land. For Saul returned from pursuing
David, and went against the Philistines. What a new world. Looks like he's a golden Jesse
for sure. But oh my, there came a messenger. Who sent this messenger? Who sent the Philistines in there? Who sent this messenger to save
his servant? Who sent this messenger to save
his king? Well, God sent this messenger. God controls all events
and creatures. And He moved the Philistines
to invade. And boy, He just said, I've got
David now. And then a messenger comes. Beloved, God's the same today.
He hasn't changed a bit. We sung that. It took a miracle
to hang the stars in space. But it took a miracle of love
and grace to save my soul. Oh boy. Beloved, God's the same
today. He saved David. And I'll tell
you something. David absolutely had nothing
to do with it. God saved him. David was there thought I've
got to get out and then there's a messenger cut Oh Saul turn
around said I gotta go That's all God gotta do is send
a messenger And all God does and hears and answers prayer
We started out with the righteous having many afflictions, but
the Lord delivers him Now look what it says here in verse 14,
and I'm done. You got to see this again. I In verse 14, the last line of
this verse 14, it said, And Saul sought Him every day, but God. Saul sought Him every day, but
God. Oh, I love that but God. I love
that but God. And what does it say? But God
delivered him, not into his hands. Oh, aren't you glad you're in
God's hands? Aren't you glad you're in Christ's hands? Oh,
I'm so thankful. So thankful. Thankful, thankful,
thankful. Our Father, oh, blessed, blessed
Master, we thank You for allowing us to stand again tonight, deal
with Your Word. And Lord, we're so thankful that
You're God, and You are the way You are. Oh, we're grateful that
You change not. That's the reason why we're not
consumed, because You're God. You're always the same. And You
always love us the same. And You always save us. No matter
what our troubles are. What heartaches we go through.
What afflictions we go through. No matter who we are as Your
people. You always, always save us and deliver us. And we bless
You and praise You for it in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. learning