If you would turn with me to
2 Samuel chapter 23. I want to look at two verses
here before I move on to my text. Just the first two verses of
2 Samuel 23. Now these be the last words of
David. David the son of Jesse said,
and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of
the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." I want
to begin this morning by showing you how from these two verses
and many other scriptures, how David typifies, that means represents,
the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, I would have you
notice by his name. The name David means beloved.
Secondly, by his descent as the son of Jesse. God the Son came
into the world to save sinners. He who was the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us, and he is flesh of our flesh and
bone of our bone. Isaiah 1110 says, In that day
there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign
of the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek,
and his rest shall be glorious. Thirdly, we see him as a type
of picture of Christ in his exaltation from a low estate to a higher
one. Notice in verse 1 it says, The
man who was raised up on high, from a little shepherd boy to
the king of Israel, God blessed this man. Fourthly, by his appointment
as the anointed of the God of Jacob. My, that pictures Christ. That's who Christ is, the anointed
of God. Notice also in verse 1 it says,
the sweet psalmist of Israel. Oh, the one who sings sweet words
and songs of comfort to his people is none other than the Lord Jesus
Christ. And sixthly, the messenger of
God's salvation. He says in verse two, the spirit
of the Lord spake by me and his word was in my tongue. But David
pictures Christ in many other ways. So I want us to go back
to the beginning. There are a couple of verses
in the Bible before the one that I'll have you turn to that refers
to him in the book concerning Ruth, and I think in one other
passage. But David is brought upon the
scenes of history beginning in 1 Samuel chapter 16. So if you
would turn back with me to 1 Samuel chapter 16. Now let me say while
you're turning, most of us know the story of David. David kept
and tended for his father's sheep, his father being Jesse. And we
know that God loved him and he was called the apple of God's
eye. And there's no doubt that God
was with him in all that he did. Let me tell you this morning
is my intention once again today to proclaim to you the great
shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ who loves keeps, protects his
father's sheep. In that comparison, David pictures
the Lord Jesus Christ. And God has infinitely and eternally
loved his beloved son, the apple of his all-seeing eye. And God
was with him in all that he did. Acts 1038, let me read this to
you, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that
were oppressed of the devil. And it says these words, for
God was with him. God was with him. By God's grace
this morning I want to give you somewhat, for lack of a better
terminology, a running exposition of 1 Samuel chapter 16 and 17. So look at verse 1 and I will
move somewhat hurriedly. In verse 1 it says, And the Lord
said unto Samuel, Samuel being God's prophet, He said, How long
wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning
over Israel? Israel wanted a king and they
wanted a king back. And God was presiding himself
as their king. And yet God wound up giving them
what they wanted. And he said, Fill thine horn
with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided," notice
his language, I have provided me a king among his sons. This wasn't the people's choice,
this was God's choice. The Lord had told Samuel that
he had rejected Saul, the reigning king of Israel. whom God had
given the people after their own will and their desire. But
Saul was not God's chosen. Friends, God only accepts those
that He has chosen and ordained. So here we see that the prophet
Samuel was sent to Bethlehem by God's appointment to anoint
the king of God's choosing. Now in verses 2 and 3, Samuel
was told to make a sacrifice. And to call Jesse and his sons
to the sacrifice, and the Lord would tell him what to do. Notice the last part of verse
3, it says, And thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name. unto thee. In verse 6, when the
oldest son of Jesse was brought before Samuel the prophet, Samuel,
I don't know if he said this out loud or just thought it in
his heart, but he said, Surely this is the Lord's anointed,
for he was of great stature. But the Almighty told Samuel
in verse 7, He said, Oh, look not on his countenance or on
the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord
doesn't see as men see. For man looks on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks upon the heart. Oh, how I wish
I could learn that great lesson. God looks upon the heart. I pray that God might give you
who are yet without Christ a new heart that loves and serves Him. This is where God looks. This
is where God looks, upon the hearts of men and women. But
our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Deceitful
above all things, the Scripture says. Thank God that he tells
his people in Ezekiel chapter 26 a new heart Also will I give
you and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away
the stony heart God says I'll take away the stony heart out
of your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh God looks
upon the heart And the heart that He gives is pleasing unto
Him. Now in verses 8-10, and as I
said, I won't read every verse, but make comment. In verse 8-10,
all of Jesse's sons, he had eight sons, seven present this day,
David tending his father's sheep. And all Jesse's sons passed before
Samuel the prophet, and each time Samuel said, the Lord has
not chosen this one. Now to those folks who do not
believe in election, boy, they ought to read this chapter. The
Lord has not chosen this one. Those that think that Christ
died for everybody, the Lord has not chosen this one. Jacob,
have I loved? Esau, have I hated? Oh, friends,
we better get used to the idea that God chooses whom He will.
He'll have mercy on whom He'll have mercy, and whom He will,
He'll have compassion. That's the God of the Bible.
And then in verse 11, Samuel asked Jesse, he said, Are these
all your children? And Jesse said, All but the youngest. who keeps my sheep." He wasn't
really even considered. He wasn't invited to the sacrifice. God told Samuel to tell Jesse
to bring all his sons, but David's not present. So, in verse 12,
they sinned for David, and the Lord told Samuel to arise, anoint
him, and notice the words, the language there, for this is he. This is he. The one that you
thought shouldn't even be invited to the sacrifice. This is He. Don't look any further, Samuel.
When our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized, and also when He stood
on the Mount, what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, God
said, This is My Beloved Son. This is He. This is Him. In whom
I am well pleased, hear ye Him. This is He. This is He. And again,
Samuel did as the Lord commanded. And in verse 13, the Scriptures
say that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day
forward. Matthew 3.16, speaking of the
baptism of our Lord. And Jesus, when He was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the heavens were
opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and lighting upon Him. This refers to God's Spirit. lighting upon Christ, and it
was with Him from the beginning of time. I proclaim to you who
have ears to hear, look no further Look no further. This is He of
whom the Scripture speaks, of whom the Old Testament prophesied.
The Lord Jesus Christ. This is He. God's chosen. God's
anointed. The Lord Jesus Christ who died
for our sins according to the Scriptures. This is He that was
buried and that rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. This is He, the one mediator
between God and man. This is He that came into the
world to save sinners. And yet, while we were yet sinners,
this is He that died for us. Oh, look no further. Now in verse
14, we're told that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. This was the people's king. This
was the people's choice. This is who God gave them according
to their own desire. And it says, The Spirit of the
Lord departed from Saul And notice the next line. And an evil spirit
from the Lord troubled him. Now friends, this proves that
Satan and all his evil cohorts are under the rule of a sovereign
God. Oh, if you don't believe that,
you read Job 1 and 2, chapters 1 and 2 sometime. God said, hast
thou considered my servant Job? He said, you've got a hedge about
him. You won't let me afflict him. He said, you can take all
he has, but you can't touch him. Who was in control there? Who
put the restrictions upon Satan? Listen, Satan is a dog, no doubt,
but he's God's dog and he's on God's chain. The Lord sent an
evil spirit that troubled him. And in verses 15 through 19,
Saul was advised by his servants to seek out a man who could play
the harp to soothe him. And do you know who was recommended?
Any idea? David, the son of Jesse. Our God works all things." Now
listen, he works all things after the counsel of his own will,
Ephesians 1.11. And in verses 19 and 20, Saul
asked that Jesse send him David, and Jesse sent him to Saul. And
in verse 21, the scriptures tell us, and David came to Saul and
stood before him, and Saul loved him greatly. God gave him favor
with Saul, and David became his arm-bearer. Now, we find ourselves
in chapter 17, and here's the picture I want to paint. You've
got two mountains, one on this side and one on this side, with
a valley in the middle. And we find Israel at war with
the Philistines. The Philistines were on one mountain
and Israel was on the other mountain. As I said, there was a valley
between them and every day. Every day, a champion of the
Philistines, named Goliath, went out into the valley. And this,
according to the Scripture, says six cubits and a span tall. I read several people, and people
had different estimations as to how tall that was, but the
most consistent one I found was that he was nine foot six inches
tall. Nine foot six inches tall. And he came armed with a helmet
of brass and a coat of armor that the scriptures say weighed
5,000 shekels made of brass, roughly 200 pounds. 200 pounds
of armor he carried with no effort at all. He wore bronze shin guards
and he carried a bronze sword. His spear, I'm sure, looked like
a fence rail. You ever seen those wrought iron
fence rails? You know, I'm sure that's what
his spear looked like. And the spear tip alone, according
to the Scriptures, weighed over 15 pounds. My, I do good to pick
up 15 pounds anymore. And just the tip of his spear
weighed them. Oh, what am I trying to say? This was a big man. This was
a mighty warrior. And Goliath stood there and he
called out to the Israelite troops. And I'm paraphrasing here, but
I'm not stretching the truth of Scripture at all. He says,
why bother using your whole army? That's what he's saying. He said,
am I not Philistine enough for you? He said, you are committed
to Saul. He's your king. You trust his
judgment. So why don't you let Saul pick
your best fighter and pit him against me. And if he kills me,
the Philistines will all become your slaves. And if I get the
upper hand and kill him, you'll all become our slaves and serve
us. We can stop a lot of bloodshed
here. Just send the man out to fight. I challenge the troops
of Israel this day. Give me a man and let us fight
together. And in verse 11 of chapter 17,
when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine,
they were dismayed and greatly afraid. And friends, so would
I. So would have I. When Saul and his troops heard
the giants' challenge, they were terrified, and they lost all
hope. By nature, friends, we are all
slaves to sin. Sin is that great giant who,
by nature, we're all enslaved to, every single one of us, born
in sin, born condemned, the Scripture says. If this giant of sin can
be defeated, then we can become sons and not slaves. Stand fast,
Paul wrote in Galatians 5.1, in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage." The defiance of Goliath, the giant. This went on for 40 days and
40 nights. 40 days and 40 nights, and no
man dared go up against him. During this time, David traveled
back and forth from serving Saul and feeding his father's sheep.
Finally, one day, as the giant, oh what an opposing figure he
must have been, when he was present and appeared in the valley, David
was there. And the tormented army of Israel
was there shaking in their boots, just cringing, just horrified,
terrified. He said, David later asked, he
said, why do your hearts melt? And David asked in verse 26,
he said, can I ask you guys a question? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
that he should defy the armies of the living God? Who is he? And in verse 32, David says to
Saul, he said, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Don't let your heart melt. Don't
be worried, thy servant. Me, a shepherd boy, will fight
with this Philistine. Let me ask you between thoughts
here, has your sin caused your heart to fail? Sin is a great
giant. Perhaps your heart fails you
because you're constantly fighting an inward war. Perhaps you fear
because in yourself you see little change. You're in good company. The Apostle Paul said in Romans
7.23, we mentioned this in the Sunday School Hour, he said,
I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my
mind, and bringing me into captivity, enslavement, bondage to the law
of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me? Who can deliver me from this
body of death? There's only one. Only one. And he tells Saul, don't let
your heart fail you. I'll go out and fight it. And
the Lord Jesus Christ met the giant of sin head on, dear friends,
for his people. As we said last week, fear is
a result of sin. And God has said, fear not. God
didn't ask us to fear not. God commands us to fear not.
Fear not! For I am with thee. Be not dismayed. I am thy God. Oh, that's why
we don't fear. Fear not, dear ones, and call
to mind that our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom He
hath anointed, is He that fights for you. We've seen that. Those that have come regularly
to the Wednesday night services, we've been teaching through the
book of Joshua. And that's the theme of that
whole book. The Lord has fought for you.
The Lord has delivered them into your hand. This day, tomorrow,
the Lord will give them unto you. And you shall take their
land over and over again. We're reminded that it's the
Lord that fights in His people's battles. But this man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on
the right hand of God. And verse 14 of Hebrews 10 says,
For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. So why should our hearts fail?
Why should we be afraid? Now look at verse 33. And Saul
said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine,
to fight with him, for thou art but a youth. He said, youth,
you're nothing but a boy. And he is a man of war from his
youth. Not counting the fact he's nearly
ten foot tall, probably weighs six hundred pounds, got two hundred
pounds of armor on, he's carrying a spear that's bigger than you.
We look on the countenance of men, don't we? Not on the heart.
Not on the heart. And unfortunately, this is the
attitude that most professing believers have. And when I say
professing, I'm being kind, because that professing is all they do.
They don't prove themselves to be believers by their actions
and by their faith, and they prove it by preaching this little
boy Jesus, not the God-man, This little boy Jesus, men and women
by nature have no issues with the baby Jesus in a manger. Everybody
loves the little Jesus, baby Jesus in the manger. Oh look,
it's the baby Jesus in the manger. But they hate, despise the Christ
who rules all things by His sovereign will and purpose. They hate Him. Why? Because this religious world
has a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. And Paul said, from such, turn
away. Turn away from them. Don't listen
to them. The believer confesses with the
apostle Paul, who said in 1 Corinthians 2, that your faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit
we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, mature, yet not
the wisdom of this world, nor the princes of this world, that
come to naught, but we speak the wisdom of God." In a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world
unto our glory. Saul said, he's a man of war.
You're just a boy. He's a man of war. He's a giant. Why, he'll destroy you. You're
not able to fight against him. Now listen, the giant sin is
too powerful an opponent for you and I. It is no match for
our Lord Jesus Christ who is God. Now let me say this, faith
in Christ, faith in God, doesn't have an age limit. It's for the
young and old. Some are old before Christ is
revealed to them, and sometimes it pleases the Lord to reveal
to young men and women faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The
real question is, do you have faith in Christ? Do you have
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you trust Him as David did? Yes, David was but a youth, but
a boy, a young lad, but God had poured His Spirit out on him. Didn't we read that in chapter
16? With thy measure He poured His
Spirit out on him. He said from that day forward,
and he believed God. Do you believe God? Then don't
fear, you're a giant. The message is titled, The Giant
Killer. I should have told you that in
the beginning. God had proved himself to David over and over
and over again. Look at verse 34. And David said
unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep. And there came
a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went
after him. Smote him and delivered it out
of his mouth and when he arose against me I caught him by his
beard and smote him and slew him thy servants slew both the
lion and the bear and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of
them Seeing he hath defied the armies of the Living God and
David said moreover now listen to me Saul This is what I'm saying
the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out
of the paw of the bear. He will deliver me out of the
hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go,
and the Lord be with you. Oh, how many times had God proved
himself to David. How many times has God proved
Himself to you? Oh, may God give us this kind
of faith. God's servant, the Lord Jesus
Christ, keeps and takes care of His Father's sheep. We've
already said that. God's people are referred to
as sheep, and they have been sheep before time began. God
doesn't take goats, as I said last week, and make them sheep.
They're sheep. They're just not yet of the foe.
They've wandered far from God's foe. There was a time when we
were all in the clutches of Satan, who Scripture says, who is as
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But in the time
of love, our Great Shepherd went out after our captor and delivered
us. And slew he that had us in the
clutches of his mouth. That's what he came to do. He
came into the world to save sinners. I never grow tired of saying
that. You say that a lot, brother. I don't say it enough. Christ
came into the world to save sinners. And He saved sinners by putting
away their sin. Sin rose up against our Lord. And it was sin that nailed Him
to the cross at Calvary. But it was His people's sin.
Not His. Don't mistake that. Sin put him
on that tree, but it wasn't his sin. He knew no sin. At least it was your sin. It
was my sin. All of you who trust in Christ,
it was your sin. He died for all the sin of all
the people, of all His people, throughout all time. Our loving
Savior and Substitute slew the handwriting of ordinances that
were against us, which were contrary to us, and He took it out of
the way, nailing it to the cross. And David knew assuredly that
this same God that delivered him out of the paw of the lion
and out of the paw of the bear would deliver him from this giant. He knew it. He knew it. He had
faith. He believed God. His faith and
confidence was in God Almighty. Now let me ask you, is yours?
Is yours? Is this of any interest to you?
Being confident of this very thing, the Apostle Paul writes
in Philippians chapter 1, that he which hath begun a good work
in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Now
I want to hurry here, but I think every one of you know the rest
of this story. I was told this story from a
young, young child almost. Read Bible stories. Oh, I always
loved the story of David and Goliath. I think a lot because
his name was David. And in verse 43, this giant Goliath
said to David when David went out to meet him. We skipped over
a few things. Saul tried to put his armor on
David. My goodness, it just swallowed
him up. He wasn't but a boy. Saul was said to be a big man. He said, I improved these and
I don't need them. I don't need your armor. I don't
need your sword. And then verse 43, as I said,
Goliath said, Am I a dog? Yeah. You are. You're a Philistine dog. Uncircumcised,
worthless dog. But he said, am I a dog that
you come out to me with a staff? And the scriptures say he cursed
him by his gods. Now that's little G gods. I'm
going to tell you something. I am not worried about gods. Little G gods. I'm not worried
about them. Why? Because they don't exist. Why should I fear something that
doesn't exist? And men can make a little G-God
out of anything. But I serve, believe, and trust
the Living God. The One whom this book proclaims. The One who has bore witness
in my heart and given me His Spirit. And His Word tells me
to fear not. For I am with thee. I am your
God. I'll help you. I'll strengthen
you. I'll be with you. Oh, what more do we need? What
more do we need? And old Goliath, he said, you
come and fight me with a stick? A piece of wood? Now listen,
our great giant sin was defeated by God using a piece of wood
called the cross. It was the means. There's no
efficacy in the cross. It's the Christ who hung upon
the cross that saves. But he said, you come to me with
a piece of wood? Sure do. Sure do. And David said in verse 45, he
turned it right around on him. He said, you come to me with
a sword and a spear and with a shield? I come to thee in the
name of the Lord of hosts and the God of the armies of Israel. You see, sin brings every weapon
it has. Every device imaginable to make
us its eternal slave. That was the point of Goliath's
challenge. I defeat and kill your man. You're
our slaves forever. And sin brings every weapon,
every device. But the weapons of our warfare,
Paul said in 2 Corinthians, aren't carnal. They're not fleshly or
natural, but mighty through. Mighty through God. And in verse
46, David says with confidence, the Lord deliver thee into my
hand. My hand. You're mine, Goliath. You're mine. You see, friends,
the hands that were pierced are the hands that saved us. The old hymn writer wrote, our
God is able to deliver thee. He is able to deliver thee. Now
verse 47, the Lord does not save with a sword and a spear, for
the battle is the Lord's, and He will give. Do you notice that? He will give. Never ever forget
that salvation is a free gift from God. John 3.16, for God
so loved His people and the world that He gave. It's a free gift. It can't be earned, merited,
or deserved. His Son gave His life for us. Salvation is about the free gift
of God in Christ. For He had made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. That sounds like a gift to me.
He made Him to be sin. He gave Him to be sin. And in
48, and it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, oh God,
can you picture this in your mind? Here's a little boy. I
don't know how old he is. Young lad. Compared to even his
brothers, he was small. Wasn't even considered when Samuel
the prophet came. And he came to pass when this
Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David. Now here's this big giant coming
after you. Try to put yourself in his shoes. That David hastened. and ran
toward the army to meet the Philistines. He ran! Oh, for the joy that
was set before Him, He ran. Our Lord Jesus Christ, from His
birth in a manger, hastened and ran toward our enemy for that
joy that was set before Him. And He endured the cross, despising
the shame, sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. 49
and David put his hand in his bag and took this a stone and
he slang it and he smoked the Philistine in his forehead that
the stone sunk into his forehead and He fell upon his face to
the earth So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling
and with a stone but there was no sword in the hand of David
and Now, friends, I think here the sling could very well represent
God's servants. You see, God's servants proclaim,
they project, in a sense, sling forth the stone, which is the
rock of ages, Jesus Christ and Him crucified, whom we preach.
Our message is simply this. Christ has prevailed. He has
smitten the giant. And He says, O death, where is
thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Oh my! Look at 51, Therefore David ran,
and he stood upon the Philistine, and he took his Goliath's sword. He didn't have one. He didn't
need one until now. And then he took his. And he
drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his
head therewith. And when the Philistines saw
their champion was dead, They fled. By the manifold wisdom
of God, let me say this to you in closing. By the manifold wisdom
of God, Christ defeated and he killed sin. And he killed sin
with his own sword. You see, Satan and sin were defeated
by convicting condemning and killing an innocent man. Satan
thought, oh boy, I've got him. And it was the very thing that
God used to save his people. He used his own sword on him.
You see what I'm saying? And then when it says he cut
off his head, what significance is that? Satan only bruised our
Lord's heel, but our Lord Jesus Christ crushed his head. Isn't
that what it says in Genesis, I believe, 315? And when the
Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. Now listen,
dear believers, sin is defeated, dead, and gone in Christ. Put
away forever. Forever. But Satan will still
accuse you. Don't you think he won't? You
see, he's the father of all lies. But you submit yourselves, therefore,
unto God. And you resist the devil and
he will flee from you. He'll flee from you. What a picture
David is of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that God give you eyes
to see, ears to hear, and hearts to believe. And that he might
make these words effectual to your heart and cause you to see
that the victory has been won. The Lord said it's finished.
It's finished. It's done. It's over. Salvation
is accomplished. Can you put your trust in Him?
Only if God enables you. That's what I'd be praying for.
God enable me to trust Christ, to cling to Him, to hold on to
Him. Those that endure until the end
doing that will be saved.