Go ahead and turn with me to 2 Samuel 1, if you would, please. The title of the message is, The Mighty Are Fallen. 2 Samuel 1 is about God's sovereignty over life, over death, and all things. Actually, the whole Bible is. And I was thinking, today about how thankful I am that our God is sovereign. You see, it takes a sovereign God to give life. The same power it took to create the worlds in the beginning, the same spirit, the same power it took to speak the worlds into existence, is the same power it takes to speak creation into a man or a woman's heart. And even amid loss and human failure, God's sovereign purpose in the Scriptures points us to Christ, whose righteous reign brings salvation, honor, and restoration.

As you remember, a couple weeks ago, a man brought the news to David that Saul and Jonathan were dead. And let's pick up in verse 17, and it says, David lamented with this Lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son. After the death of Saul and Jonathan was revealed to David, he lamented, he cried these words three different times in verse 19, verse 25, and verse 27.

He said, how the mighty are fallen. Notice down in verse 19, David says, the beauty of Israel was slain upon the high places. How are the mighty fallen? That's not a question, that's a statement. And the mighty had fallen. Israel's strength had collapsed. Their king was dead. The enemy, the Philistines, had scattered God's chosen nation. And Saul, who was at one time the pride of Israel, one who stood head and shoulders above all the people, one who was in the beginning powerful and impressive and promising, now lies dead upon the mountain.

Human greatness is fragile, very fragile. And it's fleeting. The world celebrates strength and power and ability. But the Bible reminds us that fallen man cannot sustain his self-imagined glory. That's why salvation takes a divine revelation from God. God's got to show us first and foremost that we're nothing. We have no power. We have no life. A dead man can do nothing. We have nothing that we can do to save ourselves. God's got to give us life. God has to send His Spirit. God has to cause us to believe. The Scripture is very plain about men and women.

All flesh is grass. We're in mowing season now, and somebody comes and mows your grass, and if it's high, that grass that was mowed, it soon turns brown. It fades away, blown away by the wind. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is of the flower of the field.

Isaiah 40, verse 6. And kings fail, and heroes die, and so-called human righteousness collapses. Saul's fall is not just the fall of the king, it's the story of mankind. And that's what I hope that we see. And here we see the certainty of fallen greatness. Mankind was created in God's image. He was crowned with dignity. He was given dominion over the earth. But through Adam, man lost his standing. And like Saul on Mount Gilboa, man's glory has fallen. That includes each and every one of us. Adam was our federal head, our representative before God, and when he fell, we fell with him.

And in verse 19, where it says, the beauty of Israel, this is referring to the glory and the strength and the honor of Israel represented in Saul and in Jonathan. They represented the finest of Israel. And I'm reminded of what God says about man. Man in his best state is what? You know what it is? Altogether, vanity. Our strength is imagined.

We have no strength. We're without strength. But the Scriptures brings good news and says that while we were without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. We ought to be happy that that's what we are because that's who Christ came to save, the weak, the dead, those who have no strength. All human strength, status, and power are fleeting. It's just imagined. And the one thing that all so-called mighty men have in common is that they're going to soon die and they're going to be soon forgotten. And here we see the honor given toward the fallen.

David had been hunted by Saul for years. We saw that in our study of 1 Samuel. He didn't celebrate Saul's death there. I would have. I guarantee you I would have. That scoundrel is finally dead. He'd been after me all these years. Serves him right. I can just hear what I'd say.

But David didn't celebrate. He mourned his death. David refused to rejoice when his enemy fell. And the wise man Solomon, David's son, later wrote, he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished. We shouldn't celebrate the fall of enemies. And here we see the cost of sin and disobedience.

How many times we've said it? Saul got what he deserved. I don't want what I deserve. Do you? No, sir. I want what I don't deserve. I want mercy. I want grace. I want God to be mindful of me. I want God to have mercy on me and grace upon me. Saul's downfall, as we've said many times, trace back to his disobedience to God.

Ours will be too if we're not in Christ. And David's cry of, how are the mighty fallen, expresses deep sorrow here in the grief that caused by Saul's disobedience and in others, and within himself brought. Israel's king was supposed to protect and lead God's people, and he lies dead on the mountain. That was a sorrowful thing.

And this points forward to the greater need of a greater king who cannot fail. These stories that we read in these Old Testament books point us to Christ and our need of Him. They teach us something about ourselves and something about our Lord and Savior. I hope that I'm able to, in way of teaching tonight, to show you some of these things.

Earthly strength is weak at best. We mourn sin's consequences. That's what David's doing. We never celebrate them. This points us to the need of Christ, who's the King of kings. And David continues in verse 20 and we see something of the pain of a broken world. Listen, we're living in a broken world.

Verse 20, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Now, Gath and Ashkelon were cities of the Philistines, and what David is saying here is, don't let the enemies of God celebrate these things. Don't give them any room or reason to celebrate. Why?

Because the fall of God's people gives the enemies of God reason to mock them and him. I've said this many times, don't ever think For a second, if you confess and profess to be a child of the God, I mean one who really believes in a sovereign God and in a sovereign Christ, the people are watching you and looking to see if you've really believe what you say you believe, and in some sad, sick way, hoping that you'll fail so they can point to your God and to you and say, see, I told you it wasn't unto all that.

You see, sin doesn't just merely harm individuals. It dishonors the name of God in this world. We don't continue in sin that grace may abound. We strive not to bring dishonor to God, not in order to be saved, but in order to bring honor and glory to God's name and not any shame and dishonor to it. And Saul's end here reminds us that sin ends in ruin. Well, then why doesn't it end in ruin for me? Because in Christ, I don't have any sin. Neither do you. I'm as righteous as the Lord Jesus is. What good news that is. Every unbelieving and broken life repeats the same refrain, How are the mighty fallen? Look at verse 21.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor the fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away. The shield of Saul is though he had not been anointed with oil. And I read that verse over and over and over and I read just about everybody I could on it. But what David is doing here is he's pronouncing sort of a curse on the mountains of Gilboa, symbolizing that this place of death shouldn't bear any blessing. No dew, neither rain, he said. And it's not a vindictive wish, but it's a way of acknowledging the tragedy and barrenness that death brings. Sin's a curse that brings death. The wages of sin is death, and that's what it brings.

And the phrase here, as though he had not been anointed with oil, is David expressing his sorrow that God's chosen King, And I know you're probably thinking, well, the people really chose him. Listen, nothing comes to pass that God doesn't ordain. He was God's chosen king. God chose him for a purpose. And as we have seen in our studies, it wasn't good for him, but it was good for God's people. Because it made them appreciate God's true king, didn't it? And it's going to make us appreciate our true king when we read the story of Saul It points us to Christ who's the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And we just see here highlights of human frailty over and over. When David talks about Saul's shield being vilely cast away, it's insinuating that his death was that of a common soldier, not a royal king. The Philistines, out of total disrespect for Saul and total disrespect for Israel, cut off Saul's head, and along with his armor, including his shield, displayed it as trophies in the house of their idol, Dagon. They hung his body, dismembered from his head, on the city wall for all to see. And again, we see that human strength and position and honor are just temporary.

This world, our enemy, couldn't care less about the honor of God or the honor of His chosen Savior. And this reminds us that our ultimate deliverance and protection are found in God, not in earthly might. And that's why a believer anticipates the reign of Christ, who's God's true anointed King. His victory and finished work is perfect and everlasting. It accomplishes our salvation, and we stand before God as holy and righteous as Christ Himself. This is good news. This is life-giving news.

Verse 22, from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. David keeps eulogizing these two men. He's celebrating Saul and Jonathan's valor in battle. Jonathan's bow turned not back and Saul's sword returned not empty simply means that in this battle in which they lost their life, they were brave and they fought decisively and their weapons accomplished their purpose. And he expresses this tragic irony that though Saul and Jonathan were mighty warriors, they still fell in the battle. They still died.

And man's strength, again, we see, always proves insufficient. I don't care how strong you think you are, whether it's in physicality or in the Word of God, listen, weak at best, weak at best. Human strength, skill, and success cannot prevent mortality, nor God's will. nor his purpose or judgment. His will and purpose always comes to pass.

And David here expresses praise and at the same time sorrow. He's not just mourning, he's celebrating Saul and Jonathan's courage. And this is just a solemn acknowledgment that they fought for God's honor and for God's people. even though their lives ended in tragedy. So what's the spiritual application here?

Well, human achievement and power, as I said, are just temporary. None of us are going to get out of this life alive. We can't add one cubit to our statue. We can't add one minute to our lives. We can't add an extra breath. We can't add an extra heartbeat. We have no strength. We have no power. Even the strongest and most capable cannot save themselves.

There's folks that think they can, but they're going to find out. One day they're going to stand before God, and God's going to say, Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. See, that's the key, isn't it? The key is that God knows you, and that God knows me. And this Gospel points to Christ as the ultimate warrior. I love the thought of that. I've got one who fights my battles for me, and he never loses. Never. He's always successful.

Unlike Saul and Jonathan, whose weapons returned empty in death. You see, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Verse 23, 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. And I just imagine as David's men heard him say these words, they must have thought to themselves, how could he talk so admirably about Saul? Because he knew that this life was bigger than himself.

Despite Saul's ways and despite Saul's failings, David here emphasizes the bond between Saul and Jonathan. They were father and son. Their deaths were inseparable. Verse 23 says, not divided. And this displayed loyalty and love and commitment for one another. I'm sure more on Jonathan's end than Saul's. And David compares and exalts them as swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. They were courageous. They were heroes in David's eye. David laments the loss of so.

You see, even the most heroic and beloved can fall and death's inevitable as we've already said. None of us get out alive. And David is remembering Saul and Jonathan and he honors the dead having learned from their lives. True enduring power and life are found in God alone. Christ alone is undefeated and eternal.

Verse 24, you daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in scarlet with other delights who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel." And that phrase, it's not about clothing and with scarlet and other delights, it isn't a literal fashion comment, it's a symbolic.

And what he's saying here and what it conveys is that royal prosperity and protection, scarlet dye in the ancient world was expensive. It cost a great deal to produce that color. And it was often, as you know, used in royal garments. And David is saying that Saul clothed Israel with scarlet.

It means that under his reign, the people prospered. They experienced wealth. They had dignity among other nations for a time. And this was visible symbols of national honor. It conveys provision and care by the king. The other delights indicate that Saul provided not just material prosperity, but also comfort and security. That's what they wanted. That's why they wanted a king. But they missed the fact that they had the king of kings, and they wanted an earthly king like everyone else. And for a time, he gave them security.

And it brought tangible benefits to Israel. But this conveys David's sorrow and disgust also. He's describing Saul's reign as one of strength, provision, and glory. And he's contrasting it with the tragedy of his fall. And it's just a poetic way. This is more or less, these verses are a song of David. It's a poetic way of saying he made Israel great and beautiful, and now he's gone. Well, not be happy about it, we ought to be sorrowful over it. It's what he's saying.

The rulers of the earth do provide temporary blessing, but only Christ's righteousness endures eternally. You know, this nation in which we live, we, and I won't get into politics, but a lot of times we'll put man upon a pedestal and we'll attribute our prosperity to him. Listen, it's God. is God. And only Christ's righteousness is what saves us.

And David's asking the daughters of Israel to lament his loss. He's calling Israel to remember the good that's all there. And I'm not much on politicians, but I am thankful for what they do and knowing that God's behind it and God's using them to accomplish His will and purpose. That's what David is encouraging the daughters of Israel to do. And here's the truth of the matter when it comes to Saul or any other man that failed miserably is if not for the grace of God, there go you and I. We're to grieve for those that the Lord used and we're to honor those who blessed our lives.

I don't have any real confidence, I really don't, that the Lord saved either of my parents. A little more that maybe my dad was saved because I got to preach to him for several weeks. But I have no real comfort or assurance that the Lord saved either one of them. But I still honor them even in death. I still talk highly of them. Why? They loved me and they did so much for me. And that's what David's doing here. And this is a reminder that only Christ can clothe us with lasting beauty. Saul adorned Israel with temporary glory. It's the same with our clothes of righteousness. Fig leaf covering's all it is.

That's what Adam and Eve did in the garden when God, when they, God opened their eyes to good and evil. They saw what they were and they hid themselves and they covered themselves by the work of their own hands. But when fig leaves are separated from the vine, Christ the vine, and that's all self-righteousness is. It's just fig leaf righteousness that we've endeavored to cover ourself with and not attach to the vine. It dries up and it withers just like the grass that we talked about a moment ago. Fig leaves separated from Christ the vine go wither and die. He's the vine. We're the branches.

Without Him, what can we do? What did He say? You remember what He said? Without me, you can do nothing. Nothing. It's not what I hear preached today. You do a little, God does a little. God does a little, and you do a little. And it's a cooperative effort to be saved. It's a lie from the pits of hell. I'm the vine, you're the branches. Without me, you can do nothing. John 15, 5.

In Christ we're clothed with perfect righteousness. In Christ we're clothed with eternal honor. Saul clothed physical Israel in scarlet and gold, but it wasn't an adorning that lasted. But Christ clothed spiritual Israel. He clothed you and I in eternal righteousness. It can never be taken away. It never dries up and withers away. It's sufficient forever. Forever. It's everlasting. It's eternal. It never ceases.

Again, verse 25, the statement again, how are the mighty fallen? In the midst of the battle, oh Jonathan, thou was slain in thine high places. Jonathan was, if you remember back on some of the studies, he and his armor bearer took on a whole garrison of Philistines at one point and killed them all. He was brave, skilled, he was faithful, but here he falls. Again, the fall of the mighty exposes our inability to save ourselves. The best of men cannot overcome death. There's nothing you can do that's going to keep you physically alive. You're going to die one day. It's appointed unto men once to die.

And after this, the judgment. That's where the beauty of Christ comes in. Even though we're going to die physically, we're not going to die spiritually. We're going to stand before God, and God's going to determine, He's already determined, who's going to enter in His faithful servants. The mighty fall, the faithful die, the best of men cannot escape death. And here, David Sands often didn't die in retreat, he was slain in a high place. Even our strongest physical death still wins.

And we don't simply need a helper. We need a Savior that conquers death itself. Men and women today want a co-pilot. They want someone to help them navigate. We need much more than that. We have need for a champion. Jonathan was a noble warrior, no doubt. But he couldn't deliver Israel. Christ steps in where every mighty man fails and falls. May the Lord make that apparent to us. Our Lord entered the battle. Our Lord died and then He rose again and He actually defeated sin and death. He really did. But what does that mean for me? That means that I won't experience sin and death. It means He took my sin and gave me life eternal.

And the lesson is this, Jonathan mighty, yet fallen, Christ slain, yet risen and victorious. Isn't it amazing that what looked like defeat at the cross became the greatest victory ever won? The high priest and the Sanhedrin and the religious men, the Jews and even the Romans, they said, We won. We've done away with this Christ. And it was the very means God used to accomplish His will and save His people from their sin. Greatest victory ever won.

Now in verse 26, David says, I'm distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan. Very pleasant hast thou been unto me. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. Jonathan's love for David was extraordinary. It just was. It passed even the typical affection that one might expect in close human relationships, including marriage.

David was the rightful... I mean, Jonathan was the rightful heir to the throne. He was the king's son. He surrendered his crown to David. How many people do that? Jonathan knew David was God's chosen king. How did he know? God revealed it to him. God's going to reveal to His people that Christ is the King, we ain't.

People today would be crying, well, that's not fair. That's not right. Our Lord Jesus said in Luke 10, verse 21, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight. And that's what God revealed to Jonathan.

This is for my good, that I'm not king. It's for my good. It's for those that I love's good. It's for the nation's good. It's for the good of all God's people. God does what seems good in His sight. Aren't you glad? Whether God hides or whether God reveals, whether God saves or whether God condemns, it's always, always, always good and right.

And here we have a beautiful picture of sacrificial love. David mourns Jonathan with words that describe love and loyalty that exceeds what most are even capable of. This foreshadows the way that Christ loves us. We really don't have an inkling of how much the Lord Jesus loves us. Why? Because we can only base love on the way we love. But in a far greater way, Christ's love for His people saves and secures and it brings into eternal fellowship with God. It puts away our sin. It gives us His perfect righteousness. We stand justified before the throne of God. And we don't have any strength. We didn't do a thing to deserve it, merit it, or earn it.

Yes, Jonathan's love for David was costly. He stripped himself of his robe, his armor, and his royal claim. He repeatedly put himself at risk to preserve David's life. You remember those occasions? But where Jonathan risked his life, Christ actually gave his. Where Jonathan strengthened David's hand in God, Christ reconciled us to God completely. No comparison. Jonathan gave up his royal claim as future king, but Christ gave up his royal throne as king of kings.

He did so by condescending. We know what condescending is, being brought down. That's the beautiful thing about Christ's condescension is that he voluntarily did so. We try to sit on our throne as long as we can until God dethrones us. But our Lord Jesus willingly left His throne on high and came to save wretches like you and me. He became a man. That's condescension. He was made of a woman. That's condescending.

He was made under the very law that He Himself gave. Why? To redeem them that were under the law. We're under the law. The law condemns us. He came to fulfill the law and now the law has no claim on us. Why? Because He kept the law for us perfectly. And why did He do that? That we might receive the adoption of sons and daughters.

Our Lord did not strip Himself of armor. He stripped Himself of righteousness. Our Lord, who knew no sin, was made sin in order to clothe us with His perfect righteousness. Now that will either mean everything to you or it won't mean nothing to you. And this wondrous salvation doesn't stop at rescue. Christ's substitution gives us something that Jonathan or no one else, even David, could ever provide eternal life.

Reconciliation with a God that we've been alienated from by our sin. Forgiveness. God's not angry. God's angry with the wicked every day. God's no longer angry with us. Why? Because we're not wicked in His eyes anymore. We're as righteous as Christ Himself.

It's just so simple. and yet impossible to believe apart from God's divine revelation. Jonathan's love for David is just a shadow of Christ's love for us. It was real. It was meaningful and it was sacrificial, but it only mirrors pictures. It typifies the love of the Lord Jesus Christ which is stronger and deeper and saving and everlasting. have the need of a greater King. That's what this is teaching us. And guess what? We got Him. We got Him. God provided Him for us.

The death and fall of Saul leaves Israel without a King. The throne is empty. The people need a ruler who will not fail. And this is where we see the Gospel clearly. Every King in the Old Testament ultimately failed. Saul failed. Even David later fell into great sin. The Old Testament is filled with broken crowns and fallen rulers.

Why? Because God was preparing His people for a greater King. A King who would never fail and a King that would never fall. A King that would conquer sin and death in the grave. That's why we can face death without fear. Because death and grave have no authority over us. He's a King that conquered sin and death in the grave. That's King Jesus Christ. Unlike Saul, Christ obeyed God perfectly. Unlike all earthly kings, Christ conquered death itself. And where Saul died in defeat on the mountain, Christ died in victory on another mountain, Mount Calvary.

And this Scripture, this passage of Scripture reminds us of the mighty who fell and the mighty who rose. Now the tragedy of 2 Samuel 1 is the fall of the mighty, but the Gospel tells us a whole other story. The Gospel story doesn't end in lament for the dead. Because three days later, the one who died for our sins, his tomb was empty. The mighty King that we trust in rose again.

And He said, I am He that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Do you know what that means? That means that you and I will live forever, because we're in Him. He said, I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am, you shall be also.

That's what departing this life is. It's a promotion. It's a departure. It's leaving this ungodly world and going to where Christ is. Well, I'd be looking forward to death, not dreading it. But that's just how much sin we got in us. We'd do everything to hold on just another day longer. That's just human nature. How are the mighty fallen? Verse 27.

This is the cry of history. This is the cry of every fallen life. This is the cry of a broken world, broken by sin. But the gospel answers that cry with, the mighty may fall, and kings may die, but there's one king that conquered death, and that's my king. And He's the King of all kings. And He's the Lord of all lords. And His reign will never fail. And His kingdom will never end. That's King Jesus Christ. And all who trust in Him share in His victory.

Just like David shared his foils with his men, that's what Christ is going to do for us. So the final word's not going to be lament. It's going to be triumph. Not how are the mighty fallen, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. May God be pleased to cause us to truly see what we have in Christ and enable us to look forward with confidence and assurance as to what awaits us. This isn't just fables. This isn't myth. This is truth from the very mouth of God Himself. May God give us the life and the ability to believe.