This 30th chapter of 1st Samuel,
while David and his men were away, endeavoring to secure peace
and safety for Israel, the Amalekites invaded Ziklag, burned the city
with fire, took all the women and children captive, and thoroughly
spoiled the city so that nothing was left. When David and his
men came home, They saw the city smoldering. You can imagine the
sense of grief and pain they felt. Their wives, their children,
their homes, their cattle, everything was gone in madness of grief. Those men of David's turned on
him and spoke of stoning him to death as if he had been the
cause of their grief. But David encouraged himself
in the Lord, his God. There's a sermon in that. that
every child of God, when trials and sorrows come, encourage himself
in the Lord. Encourage yourself in God's good
providence. Encourage yourself in the knowledge
you have of his goodness, his mercy and grace through Christ
Jesus. But I can't speak about that
now. David waited upon the Lord to direct his steps. He called
for God's appointed anointed priest, Abiathar. And he called
for the effort which God had given. And David inquired of
the Lord. And then under God's direction,
armed with God's promise, David pursued the bandits of the Amalekites. He thoroughly defeated his enemies,
and he recovered all that the Amalekites had taken away at
Ziklai. In addition to that, in addition
to recovering all the wives, children, and cattle Israel had
lost, David took a great spoil from the Amalekites. David recovered
all, we are told, and he took all the flocks and the herds
which they drove before the other cattle and said, this is David's
spoil. As the conquering armies of Israel
returned home, they placed the spoils of victory in the forefront
and shouted with joy, this is David's spoil. Read with me beginning
at verse 18. David recovered all that the
Amalekites had driven away and David rescued his two wives and
There was nothing lacking to them. There was nothing lacking
to them in verse 2 We read that they slew not any though the
Amalekites took all the wives and children hostage None of
them were killed though. They took all the cattle and
sheep. None of them were killed So David recovered all and there
was nothing lacking that the Amalekites had taken away, neither
small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil
nor anything that they had taken to them. David recovered all. In verse 20, David took all the
flocks and the herds which they drave before those other cattle. That is, they put them out in
the forefront. And as they came back to the camp of Israel, they
said, look here, this is David's spoil. This is David's spoil. Now, tonight I'm going to talk
to you for a little while about David's spoil. But as I hope
you have already guessed, I'm not going to talk to you about
this man, David. I'm going to be speaking to you
about another David, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, great
David's great son. I want, by the Spirit of God,
to show you the spiritual message that's revealed in this event
in the history of Israel. As you read this 30th chapter,
and you read of the event at Ziklag, and you read of the Amalekites'
invasion, and David overtaking the Amalekites, if there were
no spiritual message in it, it would be as meaningless as a
piece of history out of any history book. But this thing is recorded
in Holy Scripture for the purpose of pointing us to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Throughout the whole story, David
is a very special type of our Savior. David's conquest over
the Amalekites foreshadowed our Lord's victory over our enemies.
David's recovery of Israel's losses pictured Christ's recovery
of that which we lost by the sin and fall of our father Adam
and David's spoil represents the great bounty of grace Which
was won for us by Jesus Christ when he accomplished redemption
on our behalf We are told that David recovered all that the
Amalekites carried away and We're told that David rescued his two
wives, and that nothing was lacking, that David recovered all. And
then we're told that the men of David put out all of the things
that David brought back from Amalek, and they shouted as they
came to Israel, this is David's spoil. These are the things David
has won for us. When our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
redemption for us by his death upon the cross, He recovered
all that we lost by the fall. Nothing was left in the enemy's
hand. And he also gathered great spoil
on our behalf. If you want to turn with me,
or if you want to jot it down, let me read you a text in Isaiah.
Isaiah chapter 53. It's a commentary on what happened
here with David. Isaiah 53 in verse 12, after
the prophet describes the accomplishment of redemption by Christ. Tells
us how that Christ would live again and justified many we're
told in verse 12 therefore Because of this will I divide him a portion
with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong Because
he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with
the transgressors and he bear the sin of many and made intercession
for the transgressors Now using David as a type of Christ. I
want if God will enable me And as Rex prayed a little bit ago,
it all depends on that, if God will enable me. I want to set
before the hearts of David's men and women, the hearts of
Christ's redeemed ones. I want to set before you David's
great spoil. And I trust that God will enable
me to set your hearts shouting with joy and praise to our God,
this is David's spoil. May God be pleased then to add
his blessings to his word as it's preached to you. First,
we're told that David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried
away. So my first point is this, our
Lord's recovery. It was David who recovered what
Israel had lost. And it is Christ alone who has
recovered that which we lost in the fall of Adam. All the
blessings of grace, which we now enjoy, come to us through
Christ. Without him, we can do nothing. And without him, we can obtain
nothing. All the good that we enjoy comes
to us from God the Father, through Jesus Christ our Mediator, by
the power of the Holy Spirit applying it to our hearts. David's
men defeated the Amalekites, and David's men took their spoils. But it was for David's sake,
and for David's sake alone, that God gave success to the army
of Israel. You see, God's eye was upon David,
always upon David. God dealt with Israel accordingly
as he dealt with David. David was the Lord's chosen servant. David was God's anointed king.
It was not for Israel's sake, but for David's sake that the
Lord led them to the camp of the Amalekites and drove the
Amalekites away as dried stubble before the wind. Even so, it
is for Christ's sake. That the Lord God bestows His
mercy, love, and grace upon His chosen people. In the book of
Ephesians chapter 4, you don't need to turn there, but listen.
The Apostle Paul shows us plainly that God deals with us in kindness
for Christ's sake. You remember how that David dealt
with Mephibosheth in kindness because of his covenant with
Jonathan. Even so, God deals with us in kindness, in mercy,
and in grace for Christ's sake because of the covenant he made
with Christ. He does not do it for our sake. He does not do
it for our sake, but for Christ's sake. Not because of anything
in us, not because of anything we do, not because of any preparations
we make, or because of any lack of preparations. But God does
everything He does with us for Christ's sake. Everything. Here
in Ephesians 4 in verse 32, Paul says, Be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted. Forgiving one another even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Christ alone is the channel
of mercy God's eye is always upon his son God looks upon his
son and says this is my beloved son. He's the only one in whom
I am well pleased And the Lord God deals with us according as
He deals with His Son if we are truly in Christ. Always He deals
with us as He deals with His Son. For Christ's sake, for Christ's
sake, God chose us. He said, well, you mean He chose
us before the world began? For Christ's sake, indeed, so
that Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren. It was for
Christ's sake that He predestinated us unto the adoption of children,
so that Jesus Christ might stand out preeminent, head and shoulders
above all the rest of the family, and that all the world may know
that Christ is the preeminent one of God's heart and affection. The Lord God accepts us. He always
has accepted us. He accepts us now. And He always
will accept us, only because He accepts us in the Beloved.
He has not made us acceptable, but accepted in the Beloved.
For Christ's sake, He accepts us. Our acceptance with God does
not depend on our mood. It does not depend on our behavior.
It does not depend on what we do or don't do. It depends totally
upon us being united to Christ. He accepts us for Christ's sake.
For Christ's sake, God pardons all our sins. For Christ's sake,
He justifies us. For Christ's sake, He regenerated
us and sanctifies us. For Christ's sake, He preserves
us by His grace. And for Christ's sake, He will
glorify us at last. This is what I'm saying. All
the blessings of grace are in Christ. Flow to us from Christ. Lead us to Christ. And glorify
the name of Christ. Everything. Turn over to Ephesians
1. Ephesians chapter 1. Let me show you this. We look at this text of scripture
an awful lot here. I look at it a lot because there's
so much in it. I look at it a lot because so few people do look
at it at all. I preach from it a lot because
it contains the very essence and substance of all true soul-saving
food. In this passage in Ephesians
1 and verse 3, Paul says, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places. Now look at the next two words.
In Christ. Not in the church, not in a decision,
not in activity, not in something you did, not in the waters of
baptism, not in the Lord's table, but in Christ. God blessed us
with everything God can or will give to men for the glory of
Christ. The Apostle Paul then begins
to enumerate many of the blessings of God's grace in Christ, God's
election, God's predestination, God's adoption, God's acceptance,
God's redemption, God's forgiveness, God's prudence, God's revealed
will, God's purpose, God's predestination, God's inheritance, everything
given to sinners in Christ for Christ's sake. What I'm saying
is this all fullness is in Christ. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. A better translation is, in Jesus
Christ dwells all the fullness of the divine being, Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost. All his attributes, all his goodness,
all his grace, all his power, all the fullness of God dwells
in that man in a body. All the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in him. More than that, all the fullness
of grace which we receive, we draw from Christ. For of His
fullness have we received grace for grace. And Christ alone,
in being Himself the fullness of God, in having in His hands
as a mediator all the bounty of grace to bestow upon us, now
by virtue of His mediatorial character, by virtue of His grace,
by virtue of His divine being united with manhood, Jesus Christ
is preeminent in all things. For it pleased the Father that
Christ should be preeminent in all things. Because everything
comes to us for Christ's sake, we may say of every covenant
blessing, this is David's spoil. We see upon every blessing of
grace the mark of the cross. These are the fruit of our savior's
death. These things were purchased for us by the blood of our precious
redeemer. David's men won the victory. Because of David and David's
men won the victory over Amalek because of their association
with David and by David's direction, if David had not been there to
lead them. When they came back to Ziklag
and saw what the Amalekites had done, there lays the city. I tried while I was preparing
this message today to get a picture of what must have gone through
their minds. I've left town to go on a preaching
mission, go preach the gospel. I come back home as I drive up
34, I smelled smoke. So I drive into
town to see the city of Danville burned to the ground. Every house
in Boyle County burned to the ground. And I start looking around
and there's nobody here. Everybody's gone. All my friends
are gone. All these boys and girls that
that we watch with tenderness as they grow, they're gone. Our
wives are gone. Everything's gone. These men
came back and they were so grieved in heart, they wept until they
had no more power to weep. And if David hadn't been there,
if David had not been in their midst, they would have said,
let's throw in the towel. Let's go scatter ourselves among
the Philistines and among the Amalekites. And let's let's not
be any more identified as this peculiar people. But David encouraged
himself in the Lord. And when David encouraged himself
in the Lord, he encouraged these men in the Lord as well. And
that's exactly the way it is with us and our Lord Jesus Christ. David led these men into battle
and David accomplished the battle for them by his wise, prudent
direction. David was with them. And it was
because of their association with David that they won the
victory. Blessed be God. Our great David,
the Lord Jesus Christ, is always there. He's always he said, Lo,
I'm with you always, always good times and bad. I'm with you always. Most of the time, God forgive
us. We take it for granted. Most
of the time, we just take it for granted. Most of the time. We do not. Walk as men and women
consciously aware of his blessed presence. But his name's still
Jehovah Shammah. The Lord is there. And whenever
we are finding ourselves in time of need, draw near to him. You'll find him. Seek him. You'll
find him. Call on him. He'll answer you.
He's there. He's there. Just as David was
here with these men at Ziklag. Following our master, we fight
the foes that rise up against us as we walk through this world,
following in his steps, following his direction. We're certain
to meet with opposition in the world, the flesh and the devil.
And we must fight those foes. And by His direction, by virtue
of our union with Jesus Christ our Lord, we shall overcome our
enemies and win the victory at last over all our foes. As God
promised to beat down His enemies before Him, we following in the
band of Jesus Christ, the captain of our salvation, God shall beat
down our foes before us until at last He bruises Satan under
our heels. That's the promise of Scripture.
Turn over to the book of 1 John, 1 John chapter 4, verse 4. John's talking about Antichrist.
He's talking about the deceivers who've gone out into the world,
by which many are deceived. And he says, ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them because this is the reason for
your overcoming. Because greater is he that is
in you than he that is in the world Look in chapter 5 in verse
4 for whatsoever is born of God Overcometh the world and this
is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith Yes,
God's own will overcome the world's approval. God's own will overcome
the world's recognition. God's own will overcome the world's
policies. God's own will overcome the world's
acclimations. God's own will overcome the world
and all the lusts thereof, because greater is he that's in you than
he that is in the world. Turn over to Romans chapter 8.
Romans the 8th chapter. Here, the apostle Paul is describing
that blessed, confident assurance that God's people have in Christ
Jesus. He cries, who shall separate
us from the love of God or from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation
or distress? You're going to have that. Our
persecution or famine or nakedness? You may even have that. Our peril
or sword? As it is written, for thy sake,
we are killed all the day long. We are looked upon, accounted
by men as sheep for the slaughter, useless sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things, in all these things, we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In our leader's name, we triumph
over every foe. It has been so, it shall be so. By the grace of God in Christ
Jesus, we shall overcome our enemies. And as David recovered
all that Israel lost to the Amalekites, so our Lord Jesus Christ has
recovered all that we lost in the fall of our father Adam because
of sin. By nature, by reason of sin,
we had lost everything. We lost paradise with all its
joys. We lost the world. That which
was once the fertile field of vegetation now yields thorns
and thistles to us. We lost life, hope, peace and
the favor of God. But Christ has restored all.
All that the first Adam lost, the second Adam has restored.
David recovered all and Christ recovered all. We were lost,
but Christ recovered us. He says concerning his elect,
I plucked the spoil out of the enemy's teeth. We are all as
firebrands plucked from the burning. David rescued his two wives that
had been taken into captivity Christ Jesus has himself snatched
his beloved bride from the very hands of the law from the fires
of divine wrath and from the hands of Satan himself We had
forfeited life But Christ recovered life for us We had forfeited
our eternal inheritance, but Christ recovered all, so that
in him we have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and
fadeth not away. I say to you, look at all God's
elect. In your mind's eye, picture those
great, redeemed, thronging multitudes around the throne of God in heaven.
Look at them, all of them. Not one of them is lost, but
they're all gathered round the throne. These are David's spoils. And look at yourself. Look at
yourself. Look to the rock from which you're
hewn and to the hole of the pit from which you've been digged
and declare to the praise of God, this is David's spoil. This
is what the Lord Jesus has done. He's recovered all. These are
the things that our Lord recovered for us. But there's more. There's
more than just the recovery of what we had lost. Our Lord says,
then I restored that which I took not away. But as Israel was enriched
by the Amalekites, so God's elect are enriched by their enemies.
By Christ Jesus, God's promise is now fulfilled. He said, They
that spoil thee shall be a spoil. They that spoil. Turn over there.
Let me show you that. Jeremiah, chapter 30. Jeremiah,
chapter 30. And verse 16. Therefore all they that devour
thee shall be devoured and thine adversaries every one of them
shall go into captivity You remember what Paul said in Colossians
2 he hath led captivity captive and look at verse verse 16 again
and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil and they that prey
upon thee will I give for a prey and And I will restore health
unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord,
because they called the outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no
man seeketh after." Now, this is my second point. I want to
show you just a little bit about our Lord's spoils. Not only has
he recovered for us all that we lost in Adam, But he's gained
much more for us. Look in verse 20 of 1 Samuel
30. 1 Samuel 30 and verse 20. David took all the flocks and
the herds which they drove before those other cattle and said,
this is David's spoil. The spoils which David brought
back to Israel were things that Israel could never have enjoyed. They were things that Israel
could never have possessed had the Amalekites not come and burned
Ziklag. Now hold on till you see. We're
fixing to take a trip. The captivity of Israel by the
Amalekites was a very painful, sorrowful thing in the experience
of it. But it was a most blessed thing
in the end of it. They came back to Ziklag and
they saw their wives gone, their children gone, their cattle gone,
their homes gone, and they wept sore. But they came back rejoicing
in that which God accomplished for them because of the burning
of Ziklag. Do you follow me? Israel lost
nothing by their captivity. We're told in verse 2 that the
Amalekites slew not any. They lost nothing by their captivity,
but they gained much in their recovery. And God's elect really
lose nothing by our fall in Adam. In the end, that fall, though
it's painful in the experience, in the end, that fall will prove
to have been as great an act of God's mercy Was the redemption
of our souls by Jesus Christ our Lord Now that's a mouthful
But I'm positive it so in the last day God Saints will give
praise to him indeed all the universe will stand in awe of
him and magnify his wondrous wisdom as much in the fall of
Adam as as in the glorious redemption accomplished by Christ the second
Adam. Now I can't tell you everything
about the fall, but I can tell you this. God didn't cause Adam
to fall. God didn't cause Adam to sin.
There was no constraint, no compulsion placed upon Adam. There was nothing
in Adam or out of Adam that God did to cause Adam to sin in the
garden. I know this too. Had it been
his will, his pleasure and purpose to do so, God could have easily
prevented Adam's fall. Could have easily done it. You
remember the story of Abraham and Abimelech. When Abraham was
in the land of that heathen king. Now Abimelech is a fallen creature. Abimelech is a sinful king. Abimelech
is a pagan idolatry. And he took Sarah, Abraham's
wife, and God came to him and said, I wouldn't let you sin
against me with her. I would not allow you to do the
intention of your heart. I would not allow you to perform
the evil you had determined to perform. Now, if God could easily
restrain Abimelech from sinning against Abraham, Sarah, and himself,
God could easily have prevented innocent, righteous Adam from
sinning in the garden. But I know this too, though God
did not cause the fall and God could have prevented the fall
had it been his pleasure to do so. God most certainly ordained
the fall. He most certainly did in Genesis
chapter one. Did you ever notice how that
when God spoke to Adam or chapter two, I believe it is. He said
to Adam, now you can have all of this. Of every tree in the
garden, you may freely But of this tree, of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, don't eat that. Don't eat that. And
then the Lord said, if you eat of that tree, you're going to
surely die. That's not what he said, Rex. He said, in the day
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. Read your Bible. God said to Adam, now Adam, when
you sin, you die. You say, how can you say that
God ordained the fall? Because He ordained everything.
Nothing takes God by surprise. For of Him and through Him and
to Him are all things. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise Thee, and the remainder of wrath wilt Thou restrain.
Not only did God ordain the fall, but God ordained the fall for
our good and his glory, and he uses it to accomplish our good
and his glory, so that it's best, it's positively, absolutely best
that Adam sinned in the garden. Best. Best for God's glory and
the good of God's elect. Let me see if I can make good
on that. As David turned Israel's loss into great gain, our Lord
Jesus Christ has turned our fall into a great blessing. I know
what I'm saying. I'm not speaking rashly, without
thought. I know that some will take what
I'm preaching tonight and pervert it, misuse it, and perhaps even
use it to reproach me. But I'm not preaching for the
entertainment of men. I'm preaching for the comfort
and the edification of God's elect and for the glory of Christ. Let others do what they will
with what I have to say. As Martin Luther once declared,
I say concerning the fall of our father Adam, oh, happy fall. I'm convinced that in the end,
God's elect will find great reason to praise and give thanks to
God for their fall in Adam as much as in their recovery by
Christ. You see, had there been no fall,
just imagine now, just think with me. Had there been no fall,
there could never be that song of redemption which we read of
when the saints of God are gathered round the throne. Turn over to
Revelation chapter 5. Revelation 5. Now somehow this
vision here in Revelation 5 is intimately connected with
that seven-sealed book, that book of God written within and
without, the purpose of God, the eternal decree of God. This
vision that we have here somehow is connected with the opening
and the fulfilling of God's eternal purpose by the Lamb. In verse
9 we read, And they sung a new song. And this is their song
of praise unto Jesus Christ. This is the end for which God
made all things. This is the end for which God
designed all things. This is the end for which God
does all things. so that in the end God's saints
might sing, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof. For Thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and every
tongue, and every people, and every nation, and hast made us
unto God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And you go on and read the last verses of this chapter, and you'll
find that all the creation, all the angels of God, all creatures,
all the events of God's providence, everything shall in that last
day stand before Almighty God and give praise to God and to
the Lamb who sits upon the throne. Everything. And had there been
no fall, there would have never been a Lamb. There had never
been a lamb sacrificed, never been a lamb to praise, never
been a redemption for which to praise that lamb. Indeed, the
lamb was slain from the foundation of the world in anticipation
of the fall. The lamb was sacrificed in anticipation
of sin entering the world. The lamb stood as our covenant
head, our surety, our representative, our substitute, our redeemer,
in anticipation of the fall. In Christ, you see, There are
many things given us which we could never have enjoyed had
there been no fall. In Christ, manhood is lifted
to the place of highest possible honor and glory because in Christ
we are made to be one with God himself. Adam was made a little lower
than the angels. But the Lord Jesus Christ brings
manhood up to the throne of God and makes angels the servants
of men. You read it in office, Bob. Under
which of the angels said he at any time, thou art my son, this
day have I begotten thee. And yet he says that concerning
every one of his elect. We see man. crowned with glory
and honor. He was made a little lower than
the angels, but now he's crowned with glory and honor. For there's
a man sitting at the throne of glory, and we see all things
put under the foot of man. And it's hard to distinguish
as you read the chapter whether Paul's talking about Christ or
us. He's talking about both. We don't see yet all things put
under him. I don't yet see everything put under your feet. I don't
yet see Satan bruised under your feet. I don't yet see you ruling
as kings over the earth. But we see Jesus, who was made
a little lower than the angels. And as He is now exalted, we
shall be exalted, for we're exalted in Him. Indeed, we're one with
Him, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. Oh, what a mystery. But I'm talking about Christ
and His church. I'm talking about the union of believers with Christ.
In the person of Jesus Christ, the mediator. In the person of
Christ, the second Adam. All of God's saints are united. Oh, wondrous mystery. United with
the eternal God. United with God. United with
God. One with God, the God-man. One with Him. I can't preach
on it. I can hardly even think about
putting it into words that can express it, as it ought to be
expressed. But as Jesus Christ is one with
the Father, even so we are one with Jesus Christ, our Savior,
one with Him. If we had not fallen in our Father
Adam, we could never have known the blessedness and the glory
of redeeming love. You see, when Christ Jesus came
into the world, verily He took not on Him the nature of angels,
Hebrews 2.16, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. I wonder
why Paul said that. He said it for good reason, to
demonstrate the sovereignty of our God and Savior. The angels
who fell, they all fell one by one. The angels who fell, they
all fell because they individually, personally, deliberately chose
to rebel against God and follow Satan's delusion. And God passed
by them. He provided no redeemer for them.
He provided no substitute for them. He provided no hope for
them. But they were all reserved in chains of darkness unto the
day of judgment. But now, there's a man. And God
created that man Adam. in the image and likeness of
another man who was to come long after Adam was made. You understand
what I'm saying, don't you, Merle? God made Adam because God had
already ordained another Adam to come. God made Adam a representative
man because God had already established another representative man. God
made Adam the head of a race because God had already made
Jesus Christ the head of another race. And the Lord God ordained
the fall in Adam. I don't like the fact that we
are chargeable with Adam's sin. I love it. It's a glorious gospel
doctrine. It's delightful. If I had fallen
on my own, I must be raised up by my own. But I fell in a substitute,
and now I'm raised up in a substitute. I fell in a representative, and
now I'm redeemed by a representative. I delight that God didn't allow
us to fall like He did the angels. I delight that He didn't, but
rather that He put us in Adam and made Adam our representative,
even as He put us in Christ and made Christ our representative.
One of the greatest glories of heaven shall be the eternal remembrance
and endless celebration of redemption. In Revelation 7, verse 14, John
saw the redeemed multitude. He said to the angel, who are
these? Who are these folks singing the praises of the Lamb? Who
are these folks gathered round the throne of God with gratitude
in their hearts and a song in their hearts and lifting up their
hands in holy praise to Jesus Christ? Who are they? Why, these
are they that have come out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. God's
highest praises from all his creation shall be revealed in
that great multitude of redeemed sinners who show forth the exceeding
riches of his grace. Look over in Ephesians 2 and
verse 7. Ephesians 2 and verse 7. Paul has described our death. We were dead in trespasses and
sins. He's described our walk according
to the course of this world. He's described our natural, proper
curse under the wrath of God as children of disobedience.
He's described us being taken captive by Satan at his will,
walking in this world according to the prince of the power of
the air. He's described how that God who is rich in mercy for
his great love even when we were dead in sin have quickened us
together with Christ Saved us by his grace and raised us up
together made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus Now, why did God do all that? Why did God do all that
look at verse 7 that in the ages to come he might show I? Don't
know who's gonna show it to but he's gonna show it somebody I
He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. All other creatures, angels and
men, all other creatures, if God has created 10 million worlds,
all other creatures are but the work of God's hand. But you and
I are the product of his sweat and tears, of his blood and his
death. This is David's spoil. In heaven,
you and I shall be creatures who have known and have been completely recovered
from sin, its pollution, its guilt, and its penalty. We've been preaching through
the book of Revelation. I've been preaching, you've been listening.
Have you not noticed how throughout the book, throughout the book,
the praises of God our Savior are praises coming from the lips
of redeemed men who have known sin and who have known deliverance
from sin's pollution, sin's guilt, and sin's curse. throughout the
book. When David had Nathan the prophet
come to him and expose his sin, David bowed with a broken heart
and he confessed, I have sinned. The next words we read, Nathan
the prophet said, God has put away thy sin, thou shalt not
die. I don't know how soon afterwards
David wrote these words, but I expect it's real soon. We read
that man, David, as he goes before God in private, he cries, Oh,
blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity. Blessed is the man. You see,
David learned something about God through his sin. He could
not learn apart from his sin. And we learn something about
God having experienced sin. And it's our fault. The pain
is ours. The sin is ours. The guilt is
ours. We chose our own way. We turned
everyone to his own way. But all the while, God is doing
us good. We learn something about the
character of God by recovery from sin. Should Gabriel himself
offer to trade places with this ransomed sinner, I could not
be persuaded to trade places with him. You see, it is infinitely
a greater honor and a greater privilege to be the least of
God's children than to be the brightest angel of his presence.
We have blessings of grace that Adam could never have known in
the garden and blessings of grace that sinless angels can never
know in heaven. We're chosen of God as his adopted
sons. Oh, behold, what manner of love
the father had bestowed upon us that we should be called the
sons of God. What love. Not only are we God's
chosen adopted sons, But we know something nobody
else, no other creature can possibly know. I know something Adam could
not know if Adam had lived in the garden from the day of creation
to this day. I know something Gabriel cannot
possibly know. I know something that the angels
of God surrounding his throne cannot possibly know. I know
the forgiveness of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ. And you
think that was an accident? You think that just kind of happened
by by something getting out of control? Oh, no. God's accomplishing
the work. We are preserved today by God's
grace. And in the last day, we're going
to sing his praises, knowing full well better than we know
now that we're preserved only by his grace. We know the love
of God. But Don, don't the angels know
God's love? Yeah, sorta. Sorta. But didn't Adam know God's love
in the garden? Yeah, sorta. But that man knows God's love
best. Fullest. most clearly, who knows what it is to be sinking
in the deep miry clay of his own corruption. But the curse of God upon him
and the gaping fires of hell below him And he sees the good shepherd,
his glorious Lord, come into the pit where he is. With wounds in his head and his
hands, his feet and his side. By the power of his grace, through
the merit of his blood, that glory Savior picks him up and
lifts him out of the deep, my reclaim. Now he knows the love
of God. He knows the love of God. Oh,
happy fall. Oh, happy fall. Today, I cannot think of my sin
without pain. And that's only right. Today, we cannot think of our
fall without tears, and that's only right. God forbid that that
should ever change. But there's a day coming when
we're going to see things as our Savior sees them. And we
will know fully, more fully than we know now, we're going to know
all about our fall and all about our sin. And God will wipe away
all tears from our eyes. There won't be a tear shed in
glory because of the fall. Bob Ponce, there won't be one
tear shed in heaven for any evil you now experience. So won't
you know it? Well of course we'll know it!
But we'll see the hand of God overruling it and accomplishing
good for us and glory for Him and we'll shout His praise forever. As fallen redeemed sinners, we
see the glory of God in Christ. As fallen redeemed sinners, we
are heirs of covenant mercy. As fallen redeemed sinners, we've
experienced the faithfulness and the immutability of our God
who swears, I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. And you and I shall stand. Because of our fall and recovery
by Christ In the last day as men and women
Granted the privilege of a glorious resurrection Such as Adam would
never have known had he not fallen Innocent Adam would never have
died Innocent Adam would have never come to the grave Innocent
Adam would have never known the penalty of sin. And innocent
Adam would never have known the resurrection power of God. You
follow me, Oscar? The Lord God, one day soon, will
cause us to sleep in Jesus. That's all right. That's all
right. Doesn't really matter to me much whether I am taken
out of this world by death or taken out of this world by the
resurrection. It doesn't matter. They say, well, death is always
associated with pain. Well, that's absurd. Living is
associated with pain. A fellow who's dead is over the
pain, as far as physical life is concerned. And for God's elect,
they're over all pain forever. Our Lord, when He rose from the
grave, He left something behind. You remember, He left behind
a napkin by itself. and the grave clothes folded
up neatly. He left a napkin behind because
those who sleep in Christ don't need the napkin. You that are
left behind need the napkin to dry your eyes with. He left the
grave clothes folded to let us know that those who sleep in
Him, though they are entombed in death and though their bodies
go to the earth again, those very bodies shall rise and bear
the image of the second Adam. As we born the image of the earthly,
so we must bear the image of the heavenly. Again, because
of what Christ has done for us, both in allowing us to fall and
in recovering us from the fall, the full glory of God shall be
manifest in us to the wandering worlds around. In Ephesians 1,
Paul tells us three times God's done it all through the praise
of the glory of His grace. In chapter 3, in verse 10, he
tells us that God shall by us show forth the manifold wisdom
of God to principalities and powers above. Here we are, gathered around
the throne of our blessed Savior. and sprinkled through the congregation,
scattered around of the multitude of the heavenly host. And for
eternity, for eternity, they shall look in our eyes, in our
faces, hear our words, and they shall learn in us the wise purposes
of God from eternity. They shall learn in us the goodness,
the love, and the mercy of God in Christ. They shall learn from
us and in us both the justice and the grace of God, both the
righteousness and the truth of God, both the power and the compassion
of God. Oh, I have not seen nor heard,
neither has it entered into the heart of man the things which
God prepared for them that love him. This is David's spoil. That which we willingly give
to our Lord Jesus Christ because of His grace might also be called
David's spoil. I can't develop this, but turn
over to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians 6. And listen. In the year 1741, an old preacher by the name of Philip
Doddridge had an acquaintance who had been found guilty of
a capital offense and was sentenced to be hanged. Doddridge was convinced
the man was innocent, and so he expended great labor and time
soliciting the authorities for that man's release for his pardon. And at last, he was successful. And when that man was pardoned,
Doddridge was there He was aware of all that this preacher had
done for him. And this is what the man said.
He looked that man, Philip Doddridge, in the eye and he said, every
drop of my blood thanks you. For you've had compassion on
every drop of it. You are my deliverer. You have a right to me. If I
live, I am your property. And I will be your faithful servant."
I know what he meant. I know what he meant. For you're not your own. 1 Corinthians
6, 19, you're not your own. For you're bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which
are God's. Here, Lord, I give myself away.
is all that I can do. This is David's spoil. This is
David's spoil. And before I send you home, let
me very briefly give you this one last thing. Look in 1 Samuel
20, or 1 Samuel 30 rather, and verse 25. Here is our Lord's statute. Verse
24. There were these men of Israel
who went out to battle. Samuel calls them wicked men,
men of Belial. When they came back across the
brook, Vesor, there were those fellows who'd been faint. They
couldn't go over to battle. And these wicked men said, don't
give them anything. Give them their wives and children
and send them away. They didn't go down to the battle,
they don't get the spoils. And David said, look at verse
24, who will hearken unto you in
this matter? But as his part is that goeth
down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by
the stuff. They shall part alike. God has some children who are
kind of faint. weak, feeble. And many of them, by reason of
poor instruction or ignorance, suppose that somehow maybe they
might get to heaven, but they're going to be left
out when it comes to the distribution of heaven's glories. And it's
not so. It's not so. Listen to me, faint-hearted
ones. In God's Canaan, there are no
back settlements. There are no slums. There are
no shabbily dressed or shabbily provided for inheritors. But
we all have the same father, the same elder brother. We're
redeemed by the same blood, called by the same spirit. And we all
have the same right to heaven. And we shall all have the same
portion forever. which is Jesus Christ our Lord.
That's David's spoil. Are you his? Then learn the lessons
of our text and rejoice. Sin, this is what I've been trying
to tell you. If you've got a piece of paper
in your hand, jot these down. I've got something. I got it
from somebody. I got it from somebody who got it from somebody
else. I don't know where it came from originally. But sin, contracts no guilt that
grace does not remove. Sin brings no deformity that
grace does not correct. Sin loses no blessing that grace
does not restore. Sin causes no grief that grace
does not turn to joy. You mark it down. Because where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound, and it shall
yet abound. Amen.