1 Samuel chapter 18 and verse 1,
and we'll read about a dozen verses. And it came to pass when
he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that is David, that
the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. And Jonathan
loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and
would let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan
and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him
and gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and
to his bow and to his girdle. And David went out whithersoever
Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely. And Saul set him over
the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people,
and also in the sight of Saul's servants. And it came to pass,
as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of
the Philistines, that the women came out of all cities of Israel,
singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tabrets, with
joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered
one another as they played and said, Saul hath slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, are
angry, and the saying displeased him, and he said, they have ascribed
unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but
thousands, and what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul
eyed David from that day and forward. And it came to pass
on the morrow that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and
he prophesied in the midst of the house. And David played with
his hand as at other times, and there was a javelin in Saul's
hand. And Saul cast the javelin, for
he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. and David
avoided out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David
because the Lord was with him and was departed from Saul. Amen. May the Lord bless to us
this reading from his word. David's heroic victory over Goliath
and the ensuing victory over the Philistine army earned the
young man immediate fame and reputation in the whole country. Now the whole country comprised
of Judah, which was the largest tribe, and that was the tribe
from which David came, and then all the rest of Israel. So the whole of the country recognized
and applauded David. If Saul had had trouble recalling
who David was from earlier meetings, remember, we've noticed that
Saul keeps saying to people, who is this young man? Who is
this young man? Despite the fact that he's met
him before. And it's understandable. We've
explained some of the reasons in the past. He was just a shepherd
boy. There wasn't anything really
notable or memorable. about him apart from the services
that David performed in the court from time to time. But if Saul
had had trouble remembering David in the past, he would not forget
him now. But something else happened too. David was brought into Saul's
company, but he was also now kept close to Saul. And David's life now began to
become closely entwined with the lives of Saul and his family. And in this chapter, chapter
18, we learn that David and Jonathan, who was Saul's son, formed a
strong friendship that lasted all their lives. And this was
the time in which that friendship was established. And we learn
too that David was supposed to marry one of Saul's daughters. That was one of the conditions
or privileges that was to be afforded if he slew Goliath. He ended up marrying another
one of Saul's daughters, not the one that he was supposed
to marry. But we also discover that he increasingly gained the
hatred and the envy and even the fear of Saul. And while all these relationships
were developing, David's reputation, his bravery, his military expertise, and the qualities that he had
as a man, continued to grow as the Spirit of the Lord dwelt
with him and upon him. And we discover that these things
greatly pained Saul. So let me just take a few of
these relationships. We've mentioned them there. I
just want to touch upon them today. And here's the first one. This relationship between David
and Jonathan. Saul's son, Jonathan, took an
immediate liking to the young David. And they may have been
about the same age, although I think it's likely that Jonathan
was a bit older. And we read in this passage that
the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. They seemed to hit it off as
friends as soon as they met. And that friendship grew and
developed. It developed and it became stronger
as time went by. And Jonathan appears to have
been a man who respected the manly qualities that David possessed. He respected boldness. He respected
bravery and truth and integrity in his fellow man. And he found
these qualities aplenty in David's character. And I say that because
we also discover another aspect to Jonathan, and that is that
as his love for David grew and his appreciation of the qualities
of David increased, Jonathan also lost his previous affection
and allegiance to his own father. As Saul's depressions grew, And
as Saul began to hate David more and more, that dark spirit, that
unsavoury attitude, that deceitfulness that ate away at Saul also drove
Jonathan, his son, from his father more and more. And Jonathan took
David's side, ultimately, against his father's unreasonable conduct. When David first arrived at the
court in the early days of his fame, remember, he had just come
out of the fields to come to the army with the cheeses and
the provisions that he brought for his brethren. Saul wouldn't
let him go back to his own home. And as part of the appreciation
that Jonathan had for David, we discovered that Jonathan provided
his friend with all the things that he might need at the court.
He provided David with clothes. He provided him with armor and
with weaponry. Such was the bond of affection
and trust that developed between these two men that they were
inseparable. They covenanted together. They
promised each other that they would always look out for one
another. They would protect one another's interests. And should
anything happen to one of them, the other committed, promised
that he would take care of the other's family. So that this
great bond of love for each other has become one of the greatest
friendships in the history of mankind, in the history of the
world. We speak in these terms of the
love, of the affection of David and Jonathan. And that was one
relationship which grew and blossomed at that time. Another one was
David's relationship with a lady called Merab. Merab was Saul's
eldest daughter. And according to the offer that
Saul made concerning the man who could slay Goliath, Merab
was betrothed to David and due to marry him. However, before
the wedding could take place, Saul gave Merab to be married
to another man. And the reason for this isn't
clear. We're not told why that should be. Maybe it was political. Maybe it was intrigue in the
palace or something like that. It may simply have been to taunt
and embarrass David in the eyes of the people. In these matters, it's good for
us to notice David's humility and his patience and the way
in which he always felt that he was being blessed beyond his
merit or his worth. David did not grasp for power
in the way that other men and women might. He didn't seek influence
in the kingdom. He had been told that he would
certainly be influential in the kingdom, that the kingdom someday
would be his, and he believed it and he trusted God for it,
but he did so patiently. David showed patience and trust
in the Lord's timing. It was Saul who was growing more
desperate. And in order to try and rid himself
of David, he asked David to fight the Lord's battles. But secretly,
he hoped that the Philistines would kill David in the process. And I think it's interesting
as well to see how Saul used God's name. We sometimes
say that we shouldn't take the name of the Lord in vain and
that's true, we shouldn't. We should always be careful about
the way we talk about the Lord and even derivations of the Lord's
name. It's wise, it's polite for us
not to employ them. But there's a difference even
here. We need to be careful when we're
speaking about the Lord. To give the Lord the respect
that he is due. When we come to him in prayer,
when we come to him in worship, when we think about him, when
we speak about him, Taking the Lord's name in vain isn't just
saying the Lord's name, God or Christ or Jesus, in a flippant
way. It is thinking about him wrongly. And here we see that Saul used
God like a tool in order to try and snare and trap and ultimately
have David killed. And Saul showed that he had long
ago turned his back upon God, even in the way in which he treated
the Lord in times like this. Another person that David met
and had a relationship with at this time was a lady called Michael. And Michael was another of Saul's
daughters, and she fell in love with David. And when David's
marriage to Merab didn't happen, Saul decided that he would give
Michael to David for a wife instead. But even that wasn't done in
kindness, but in an effort to build up resentment against David
amongst Saul's enemies. Saul thought to himself, you
know what? These people hate me, these enemies
of mine that I have. If I give David my daughter,
then the people that hate me will hate David as well. And
so Saul was twisted in his thinking and he used lots of different
schemes in order to try and make life difficult for David. He
said, I will give him her. That's Michael. that she may
be a snare to him. He only gave, despite the fact
that she loved David, despite the fact that David loved her,
the only reason Paul consented, Saul, I'm sorry, consented to
the marriage was that she might be a snare and a difficulty to
him. Michael, however, proved herself
to be a good wife, at least to begin with, and she protected
David, and on several occasions, she protected him and delivered
him from the hand of her father when Saul tried to kill her husband. But what a family this was proving
to be, and all the machinations that were going on amongst these
people. And then there was Saul. Out
of envy, dread, emotional and spiritual darkness, Saul grew
first to hate David and then to fear David. And perhaps Saul
realised that the Lord was with David. I think he did. Perhaps
he discerned the hand of God bringing success to all that
David did, earning David love and admiration in the eyes of
the people. Whatever it was, Saul grew to
hate the young man and he sought every opportunity to kill him
and to be rid of him. and one thing in particular annoyed
Saul. After a victory against the Philistines,
it may be the battle in which Goliath was killed or another
victory that was had sometime later, because this was a running
war. This was a war which went on
for many years. But after the victory against
the Philistines, the women of the towns and villages came out
to greet the returning army with singing and with dancing and
with music. And one of the songs that they
sang was, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. You can understand why Saul would
begin to be jealous of David when he heard the people speak
like that. David seemed to be gaining more
glory and greater reputation than Saul. And this made Saul
even more jealous and envious. He was determined to slay David. Of course, David was a hero.
David was loved by the people. So Saul had to act carefully. He had to act with some subtlety,
which he did. He made David the commander of
the army and he sent him on dangerous missions, hoping each time that
David might be slain. But each time David was successful
and his reputation grew. sometimes when Saul was depressed
and David still came and played his harp to him. These things
were taking place at the same time, which they appear to be
in the narrative that is before us. Saul, on at least two occasions,
tried to murder David with a javelin, with a small spear that he had
by his bedside and he hurled it at David. desiring to, he
says, pin him to the wall. And both times, the Lord preserved
David's life. In the end, David had to flee
from Saul's presence completely, and he became a renegade and
an outlaw in his own country. But more about that on another
day. I just want to say a couple of
things by way of application, and maybe just leave these two
thoughts with you today. I think that the principal picture
that we have here from this chapter, the principal picture of application
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is to be discovered in the close
bond of love and care that formed between David and Jonathan. The men, we're told, made a covenant
together. They promised one another certain
things by which we are reminded of the Lord's covenant care for
his people. When the Lord Jesus Christ covenanted
with his father to save his church, he also made promises to each
of his people. to care for us, to protect us
and to safeguard us. The Lord tells us, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love and with loving kindness have
I drawn thee. And Jonathan had a love for David
and David had a love for Jonathan. And the Lord's love is reflected
in that love and the covenant and the commitment that was had
between these two friends. God has a covenant love for his
chosen people. It is special, it is powerful,
it is generous, it is plentiful, It is enduring love towards his
elect. And he tells us he will never
leave us or forsake us. Jonathan loved David and provided
for him such things as David lacked, as David needed. So Christ
loves his church and provides for us such things as we lack. We're clothed with a righteousness
that is not our own. We are equipped with the whole
armour of God to experience and enjoy the blessings of our salvation. We have promises made to us that
the Lord will safeguard and protect us. As David says, God's goodness
and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. And when
we are the Lord's, when we trust him for spiritual life, it has
an effect on our everyday life as well, because we can face
trials and problems knowing that the Lord is with us just as he
was with David. Saul tried to kill David repeatedly,
but David's life was in God's hands. not in Saul's hands. No matter what Saul tried to
do to harm the Lord's anointed, David prospered and the Lord
took care of him. And David's experience of God's
help and grace and goodness will be our experience as well. We can trust the Lord just as
David trusted him. And as the Lord protected and
provided for David, so the Lord will protect and provide for
us as well. The second thing I want us to
note about this little passage today is how Saul's fear of David
grew. It seems strange in many ways
that Saul, the older man, the king, he had all the power, he
had an army. We talk about hard power. He was able to do what he wanted
in the kingdom. He could have put David in jail. He could have had him court-martialed. He could have had him executed.
He could have done anything he wanted. He was the king. And
yet it was Saul who feared David. And this isn't something that's
easy to explain because we're entering into the mind of Saul,
we're entering into the heart of Saul. And yet the explanation
is simply this, that God's plans are accomplished in ways that
we cannot even begin to comprehend. For many years, Satan has tried
to hurt Christ's body. For many years, Satan has tried
to do damage to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which
is Christ's body. He sets traps, he digs holes,
he conspires to do us ill. And each time, his plots are
frustrated and his plans fail. Saul tried. every conceivable
way that he could imagine to make David's life hard and to
be rid of David. And each time the Lord uses the
schemes of the devil to do his people good. Maybe you're worried
about what the future holds. Maybe you're not sure or confident
about what you're going to be doing in the weeks and months
and years ahead. Maybe you feel others have all
the power and you're weak and vulnerable and insecure. The
truth is, while we often feel apprehensive about what is going
on in this world around about us, and we often feel as if it's
quite out of control, it is actually the world that
is really afraid. Because deep down in the heart
of rebellious men and women, they know there are powers at
work that they can't control. and they fear because God is
on his throne. David still has lots of troubles
ahead. He'll have great danger and disappointments
to face, but he will begin to learn what it is to trust the
Lord. In trusting his Saviour, David
will never be forsaken, never without a kind and loving friend. And if we trust David's Saviour
as well, we shall share David's blessings. May the Lord bless
these thoughts to us today. Amen.