You have too, most of you, for
many, many years, that the Old Testament scriptures are bifocal.
We have the story and the application that we read, and then we also
always have a picture of Christ. And you'll see as we go through
our text this morning, this scripture is actually trifocal. We have
the story, we have the picture of Christ, but there's also a
picture here of God calling His elect. And sometimes in this
passage it's hard to tell. What's the picture that the scripture
is giving us? Is it a picture of Christ our
King? Or is it a picture of God calling His elect? It's hard
to tell. Because Christ and His people
are one. That's what John preached on
Wednesday night about the body of Christ. Each part of the body
of Christ being so important. We're the body. Christ is the
head. The head and the body are one. So it's hard to tell sometimes. We see in this text, whether
the picture is Christ our King or God calling his elect. And
I want to spend most of our time looking at Christ our King, but
you'll see as we go through here, the picture of God calling his
elect. We'll see God sending his prophet to his elect. That's
what he does to all of his elect. He sends his prophet to his people,
preaching the gospel, the sacrifice of Christ. When Samuel went to
anoint the new king, he didn't know who it was, just like when
God sends his prophet out to preach the gospel. We don't know
who God's elect are, but God does. God knows them by name. He knows them by name, and he
knows where they're at, just like he knew right where to find
David, and he sent his prophet there to fetch him. And when
Samuel got there, God called the youngest son, the little
one, just like God calls weak men spiritually. First Corinthians,
verse 1, you know the text. For ye see, your calling, brethren,
how not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen
the weak of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and base things of the world and things which are despised
have God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught
the things that are. that no flesh should glory in
his presence. Those are the people that God
chooses to save, just like he chose the youngest of Jesse's
sons to be king. And when God calls a person to
salvation, he always calls a sinner. That's who he calls our bona
fide sinners, just like he sent Samuel to the house of Jesse,
who descended from a Moabite idolater named Ruth. And when
God saves a sinner, that sinner is born a new man. He's not the
same as he was. He's born a new man, and the
Spirit of Christ dwells in him. And you'll see all those things
as we go through this text, primarily looking at Christ our King. Now
in verse 1, And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou
mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over
Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go. I will send thee
to Jesse the Bethlehemite. for I have provided me a king
among his sons." Now, how long this was between the last chapter
and this chapter, we don't know. But all that time, Samuel mourned
for Saul. He liked Saul. He genuinely liked
this man. And he mourned for him because
God had rejected him. And I'm sure he was also mourning
for Israel because the nation's going to suffer because of bad
leadership, that their king has been rejected of God. And certainly
it is okay to mourn. There's nothing wrong with mourning,
but not to excess. Not to excess. Don't ever find
yourself in a position where you mourn so much, where you
grieve so much that you end up questioning God's providence
and murmuring against His will. So God tells Samuel now, it's
time to quit mourning. You've seen I've rejected Saul.
It's time to quit mourning and get on with it. I'm going to
send you to anoint a new king, a king that I have provided. Jehovah Jireh always provides. He's provided himself a sacrifice,
a lamb for the sacrifice, and he's provided himself a king
to reign over spiritual Israel. Saul was the king that was provided
by the flesh, and you see what happens there when the flesh
provides the king. But David is going to be the
king that God provides. He's going to provide a man after
his own heart to reign over Israel. And this is just another example.
God's mercy to his people never runs dry. We never deserve it. And his mercy never runs dry.
God's going to provide David to be king over Israel, even
after they rejected God's rule. He's still going to provide them
King David, who's all throughout scripture, a picture of Christ.
See, Christ is the king that God has provided for a sinful
people. God provided him. Look at Psalm
chapter 2. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
anointed. And that means God made him king. The Father made Christ king. You don't do something to make
Christ king. You know, you don't accept him into your heart and
invite him to be king of your life. God's beat you to it now.
God made him king. Look at Psalm 2, verse 2. The
kings of the earth set themselves, this is what happened at Calvary.
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us
break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have
them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them
in his wrath, and vex them in his sword displeasure. Yet have
I set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou
art my son, this day have I begotten thee." The father has made the
son king. And over in Acts chapter 2, the father made him king. In
Acts chapter 2 verse 36, this is Peter's summation of his message. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God, the Father, hath made that
same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." God made
him King and Savior. Jehovah Jireh provided himself
a land for the sacrifice. He provided the Christ and God
provided the King, and that King is his own Son. God made him
King. And that's the way David became king. God made him king.
He said, I provided me king. And when he sent Samuel down
there to David to be anointed, he said, you get your horn of
oil, fill it. You get your horn and you fill
it. Saul, you remember, was anointed with just a vial of oil. This
is a small amount of oil. And he had a very short reign
that was not blessed of God. But David is going to be anointed
with a horn of oil, a large amount of oil. And he's going to have
a 40-year reign that's blessed by God. He's anointed with that
horn of oil. And you know that this oil represents
God the Holy Spirit. And you know what the Scripture
says about our Lord Jesus Christ, that He was anointed with the
oil of gladness above thy fellows. He had the Spirit without measure. Unlike men who had the Spirit
for a time and with measure, Christ had the Spirit without
measure because He is God. So God's going to send Samuel
to anoint a new king. Well, where's Samuel going to
find this new king? He's going to find him in Bethlehem, the
city of Christ. The same city where years later
the shepherds and the wise men are going to be sent to find
the Savior lying in a manger. There he is, the city of Christ.
Well, I don't know how big of a place Bethlehem is, but he
goes to that city. Where's he going to find this
king in this city of Bethlehem? He's going to find him in the
house of Jesse. Well, who's Jesse? Jesse is the grandson of Ruth
the Moabitess. And you remember the story we
studied through the book of Ruth, how the Lord arranged a series
of intricate events spread over a good deal of the world. And
those events all work together to bring this idolater, Ruth,
from Moab to Israel. And she got to Israel and her
hat was a light on a field, she was going to glean there, that
belonged to a man named Boaz. Boaz comes on the field and he
sees that Moabite girl and sets his affection on her and intends
to marry her. He works out all the things that
are necessary by the law to marry her because he set his affection
on her. Now all these years later, her grandson is an old man. And
all this happened all these years later. Now the purpose of God
is coming to light. And God's purpose was the Lord
Jesus Christ. Because not only is that story
in Ruth a picture of Christ, that story shows us the people
who are in the lineage, not just of King David, but in the lineage
of Christ himself. The only women who are listed
in the lineage of Christ are Ruth, the Moabitess, and Tamar
who played the harlot. Christ came to save sinners. I love that. I love reading that
lineage of Christ. It gives me such comfort because
brethren, I'm a sinner. Now I'm a sinner. I need a savior. This is who the Lord Jesus Christ
identified himself with. Sinners, wretches, sinners. He
came to save sinners. That's why he's going to the
house of Jesse. The Lord tells Sam, you go to the house of Jesse,
because I provided me a king from among his sons. God provided
him a king, the king over spiritual Israel, who is his own son. Yet
he's also taken from the sons of men. Scripture calls our Lord
both the son of God and the son of man. He's the God-man. This is some king, the God-man. And that's who David represents.
Now verse 2, Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he
will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer
with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. And
call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou
shalt do. And thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto
thee. Now I thought this was interesting. Samuel is afraid
Saul is going to kill him now? I thought Saul loved Samuel,
respected him, Samuel treated Saul like a son. Treated him
so well? Well, that's this flesh. That
is human flesh. Never forget how quickly flesh
will turn on you. Especially religious flesh will
turn on you just in a heartbeat. And that's just what Samuel,
not only was he afraid, but he knew Saul would do to him. So,
verse 4, Samuel did that which the Lord spake. And he came to
Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming.
and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said peaceably, I am come
to sacrifice unto the Lord. Sanctify yourselves and come
with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his
sons and called them to the sacrifice." Now here's how you can tell God's
prophet. You can always tell God's prophet
if you just watch a little bit. He always comes with the thing
Samuel came to Bethlehem with, a heifer and the oil. He comes
with the sacrifice and the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. God's prophet
comes preaching the gospel of peace and the power of the Holy
Spirit. Now our gospel is the gospel
of peace. This gospel tells sinners how
we can have peace with God through the sacrifice, the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. But now men by nature are terrified
of God. They really are. They're terrified
of God's wrath against their sin. That's why men have invented
so many different religions. They try to come up with different
ways, looking for a way to soothe their conscience and to satisfy
God. And these men of this city were
afraid that God's prophet was come to judge them and destroy
them. And you know why they were afraid? They had a guilty conscience. had a guilty conscience, and
they should have. And you know what? We should
too. Outside of Christ, we ought to
have a guilty conscience because who of what we are by nature,
sinners. But Samuel came, not to destroy
them, he came with the sacrifice. He came with the gospel of peace
and reconciliation through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the only way A man
or a woman can have a clear conscience. It's because we've been washed
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the blood of his sacrifice.
And he told them, come with me to the sacrifice. Sanctify yourselves
and come, let's worship together. And we're going to worship the
Lord through the sacrifice. Well, verse six, it came to pass
when they were come and he looked on Eliah and he said, Samuel
said to himself, surely the Lord's anointed is before him. But the
Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord
seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." Now it seems like
Samuel had told Jesse what he was there to do. He was there
to anoint a king, but he didn't tell the brothers. He didn't
tell Jesse's sons. So Jesse, he brings out the oldest. Seems to make sense to him. If
one of his sons is going to be the king, it's going to be the
oldest. He brings out Eliab. And Eliab is an impressive looking
young man. He's handsome. He's tall. He's
got great strength. And Samuel said, that's him.
That's got to be him. He just looks like a king. That's
got to be him. This flesh, I'm telling you,
it's plumbed on. That's James' word. Plumbed on.
There is no hope for any flesh Even the prophet Samuel, who
spoke with God for God, this is exactly how Israel got Saul,
because he was tall, dark and handsome, strong and impressive
looking to the flesh, just like Eliabes. And that very mistake
is the same mistake that men did when they looked at the Lord
Jesus. And they did not see the Christ.
They didn't see God's Son. All they saw was a man, because
all they looked at was the flesh. They didn't see anything spiritual,
and they were offended by him. They said, this man can't be
the Messiah. We know his parents. His parents
are Mary and Joseph, who we know. This can't be the Savior. Look
at his hometown. Can any good thing come out of
Nazareth? This can't be the king. Now, the king's got to know something.
Look at his education. He didn't have any. How knoweth
this man letters, having never learned, they said. He came unto
his own, and his own received him not, because all men can
do is look at the outward appearance, and they miss Christ. But now,
thank God, everyone did not miss him. Everyone didn't. When that
whole great multitude left the Lord, they said, this is a hard
saying. Who can hear it? Lord turned to the twelve and
he said, will you also go away? And Peter spoke for every believer. He said, Lord, to whom shall
we go? You have the words of eternal
life and we believe and we're sure that thou art the Christ,
the son of the living God. Oh, everyone didn't miss him,
did they? Now, men in the flesh, they missed
him because all they see are the things of the flesh. But
a spiritual man, see spiritual things because God gave him eyes
to see. Men look on the outward countenance,
but God looks on the heart. God sees past. We can't see past
this veneer of the flesh, but God just sees right through it
like it's glass and looks to the heart, looks to the inward
truth of a man. And God deals with men and women
in the heart. That's why we need a new heart.
God's not going to deal with the heart that we're born with.
It's wicked and depraved. It's desperately wicked. Who
can know it? We need a new heart. And it's not dressed up flesh
that commends us to God. What commends a man or a woman
to God is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. God looks
on the heart. Well, Samuel and Jesse went through
this same routine with all the sons, starting with the oldest
on down the line. There in verse 8, Jesse called
Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel, and he said, Neither
hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass
by, and he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again,
Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, and Samuel
said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. And Samuel
said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And 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." Now, all the sons, from the oldest
on down to the next to the youngest, the one just older than David,
were all rejected of God. And Jesse said, Well, now there's
the youngest that remaineth. And that word youngest means
little one. And that's David. He's the little
one. But now David at this point is not a little boy. He's not
some 13-year-old out there keeping the sheep. He's about 20 years
old, and he's described later on in this chapter as a mighty
man, a valiant man. And he's a picture of Christ,
the mighty conqueror. He is the mighty conqueror. Even
though he's not esteemed very highly of men, he's the youngest,
the little one. But this term youngest is also
a term of endearment. Now Jesse loved David. He loved
his sons. That's the picture of Christ.
The only begotten of the Father. And the Father loves the Son. I heard this on TV yesterday. God loves you and so do I. That
man was lying on both counts. The Father loves the Son. And he loves all those and only
those who are in the Son. And this beloved Son was a shepherd. And he was a good one. Look over
in chapter 17, verse 34. Like I said, this is no little
boy now that did this. David said unto Saul, thy servant
kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear,
and took the lamb out of the flock. Now, if I was watching
the sheep and a lion and a bear came and took that lamb, I'd
say, lamb's a goner. I'm not going after him. David
did. I went after him and smote him
and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he rose against me,
I caught him by his beard and I slew him. I mean, David just
grabbed that thing by his beard and slit his throat or broke
his neck or something. He's a good shepherd. You know,
God does not choose military generals to rule over his people. Never. God chooses shepherds. Moses at one time was kind of
a military fellow, wasn't he? God wasn't going to use him then.
God didn't use Moses until he sang the backside of the mountain,
and what did he do over there? Kept his father-in-law's sheep.
Became a shepherd. Now God can use him. Gideon was
a shepherd. David was a shepherd. Jacob was
a shepherd. Sheep don't need generals. Sheep
need a shepherd. That's just exactly what we need.
And David is a picture of Christ, the great shepherd. Look over
at John chapter 11. Christ is the great shepherd
of the sheep. Not only does Christ protect his father's sheep, he
bought his father's sheep. They already belonged to his
father, but he bought them anyway. He bought them with his own blood
that they might live. John chapter 10, verse 11. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. We live because he gave his life
as a substitute, as a ransom. for our souls. Down in verse
15, he says, If the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father,
and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ,
the great shepherd of the sheep. And that's what David is a picture
of. Well, back in our text in verse 12, let's read on. And
he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and with all
the beautiful countenance and goodly to look to. And the Lord
said, Arise and anoint him. This is he. This is the man. David is described as ruddy,
having red skin. Maybe he was kind of sunburned
from out there keeping the sheep every day. And he was a beautiful,
handsome man. Just, you know, he was goodly
to look to. It says he was of a beautiful
countenance. And that means his eyes. beautiful
and just the windows of the soul. And it was just a beautiful young
man. And this is the Lord's king, but not because of his physical
attributes. He was a handsome man, but he
wasn't king because he had a beautiful exterior. He was God's king because
God had given him a heart that loves God. He'd given him a heart
to pants after the righteousness of Christ. And God saw that heart
before Samuel did because God put that new heart in him. Now
if you look over at Song of Solomon chapter 5, I'll show you how
David here is a picture of Christ. Song of Solomon chapter 5, this
is the bride describing her beloved in verse 10. She said, my beloved is white
and ruddy. Same word used to describe David,
white and ruddy. And that word ruddy means red.
exactly like Adam, who was taken and formed from the red clay.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Yet he became a real
man in order to be the substitute for his people. He's white and
ruddy, the cheapest among 10,000. His head is his most fine gold. His locks are bushy and black
as a raven. And his eyes, remember our text
talked about David's eyes? The eyes of our Lord Jesus Christ
are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water. washed with
milk, and fitly set." Now David, he may have been something else
to look at. I'm sure he was. I've seen that
statue of him, you know, and the different paintings of David.
I always paint him as a pretty good looking fella. But I'm telling
you, he is nothing compared to the Lord Jesus Christ. Absolutely
pales in comparison. Look down here at the end of
this chapter. In verse 16, here's how she sums
up her beloved. His mouth is most sweet, yea,
he is altogether lovely. He is altogether lovely. One
look at the Lord Jesus Christ and your soul shall live. One
look at him and nothing else will do. You won't want to see
anything or anyone else. Once you get one look at Christ,
nothing else will satisfy. Well, back in our text here,
verse 13. This is he, God said. So 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. So Samuel rose up and went to
Ramah. Now, we actually don't think that David was anointed
in front of his brothers. Now, we've seen pictures and
all the brothers are gathered around with Jesse and Samuel
anointing him. That wasn't the case. This word missed means
from among. David was chosen from among his
brothers to be anointed king. Remember, anointing this new
king was a covert operation of Samuel's. He didn't tell anybody
what he was doing, so he didn't tell the brothers what he was
doing there either. And if you look over a page here
in chapter 17, I'll show you another reason why we think his
brothers did not know he was anointed king. And Eliab, his eldest brother,
heard him when he spake unto the men, and Eliab's anger was
kindled against David. And he said, Why camest thou
down hither? and with whom hast thou left
those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness
of thine heart, for thou art come down that thou mightest
see the battle." You don't talk like that to many of those anointed
king. I don't think Eliab knew he was an anointed king. And
David, despite the fact he was an anointed king, he's still
the little brother. He said, what have I done? What
did I do? You just don't speak like that
to the man you know is going to be king to make your kid brother.
What did I do? I didn't do anything. What did
I do? He didn't know David was anointed king. But you know,
that's a picture of Christ. And even though David was anointed
king, he went right back out there and kept the sheep. And
he actually didn't sit on the throne and reign in Israel for
10 years. Well, that's a picture of Christ. He's always been king.
His reign is eternal. But you know the first time Christ
appeared on this earth, he didn't appear as king, did he? He appeared
as the priest and the sacrifice. The next time he appears on this
earth, he's going to appear as judge and king to reign. It's like David didn't appear
to be king for a time, even though he was. And as soon as David
was anointed, The Spirit of the Lord came upon David. From that
day forward, he never left him. And that's the experience of
every believer. If you believe the Lord Jesus
Christ, you've been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
and he'll never leave you. Now, we have him in measure,
unlike Christ who had him without measure. And the Holy Spirit
gave David wisdom and prudence. He gave him valor and the ability
to lead. You see that throughout the story
of David's life. But more importantly, the Holy
Spirit gave David a knowledge of Christ, gave David the spirit
of prophecy. If you don't believe me, just
start reading the Psalms. The Holy Spirit gave David a vision
and a knowledge of Christ. Now, that's much different from
Saul. Remember when Saul was anointed,
God gave him another heart and made him another man. He didn't
give him the Holy Spirit. He just made him another man
for a time, giving him for a time some political understanding
and ability to reign, but it was just temporary. Because look
at verse 14. The spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. God
sent one spirit to help Saul. He sent another spirit to trouble
him after Saul rejected God. I know this. If God does not
rule in your heart, Satan will. One or the other is going to
rule. The first spirit made Saul fit for service. The second spirit
from God made him unfit for service. Josephus says it was like Saul
was demon possessed. He would just get thrown down
on the ground, just writhing around the ground and choking
seizures and so forth. He wasn't fit for service anymore.
And his servants knew it. His servants knew this is not
a normal physical ailment. This is something that's come
from the Lord. Look at verse 15. And Saul's servants said
unto him, Behold, now an evil spirit from the Lord troubleth
thee. Let our Lord now command thy servants which are before
thee to seek out a man who is a cunning player on an harp,
and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit from God is upon
thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can
play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants,
and said, Behold, I have seen the son of Jesse, the that is
cunning and playing, and he is a mighty, valiant man, a man
of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the
Lord is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers
unto Jesse, and said, Send me now David thy son, which is with
the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with
bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David
his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood
before him, and he loved him greatly, and became his armor-bearer.
And Saul said to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand
before me, for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came
to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that
David took an harp and played with his hand. So Saul was refreshed
and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. Now David's
fame reached the king's court. You know, you cannot hide it
when God does something for you. When God does something in you,
the spirit comes upon you, you can't hide it, especially if
God intends to use you in a public manner. And David came and he
played this harp to calm this evil spirit, make the evil spirit
leave Saul. Now, I love music and the worship
service I love is a good part of worship. But it's bad when
it's used to obsess. And that's what modern religion
has done. They've replaced preaching with music. And they use music
to obsess, you know, to kind of soothe the emotions or rile
up emotions in people. And they use it instead of preaching
to save men's souls. But here's the picture. This
is what I wanted to leave us with here. We're born with that
evil nature. That evil spirit is our evil,
wicked nature. And only Christ can calm that
troubled soul. It's not just music, it's the
word, it's the gospel. In verse 18 there, when it says
that the Lord is with him, actually translated, that is, the word
of the Lord is for his help. And Josephus says, David just
didn't play music. While he was playing his harp,
he sang. And you know what he sang? Songs. The scripture. The scripture
he was going to write, that's what he's saying. He's saying
the Word of God. And it's the Word of God that
soothes the soul of God's people. If God's Word does not soothe
your soul, be troubled. Seek mercy from the Lord. But
if the Word of God soothes your soul and you find comfort and
encouragement in the Word of God, give thanks. Because that's
the experience of every believer. initially troubles the soul,
doesn't it? The Word does not gloss over our sin, gloss over
our nature. The Word initially troubles the
soul, but nothing will trouble that, will soothe that troubled
soul other than the Word of God, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. I think particularly in my experience
about Wednesday evenings, you know, you've been out in the
world, you're tired, your feet are dusty from walking through
this world, you just absolutely Had it. Wouldn't it be easier
to stay at home and sit in your recliner and just try to recover,
you know, from being out there in the world? It's a hard place
to be. But you come to the worship service and you leave refreshed. Your
troubled soul has been refreshed. That evil spirit that troubles
you is gone for a time because nothing calms that troubled soul
like the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel of Christ. When all the attributes of Christ
are preached together in harmony, like good music, you're refreshed. It's the gospel. It's the word
of God that comforts God's people, comforts the troubled soul. All
right. I hope the Lord will bless that
to you.