Psalm 27. I did some studying today in
Psalm 27 for my own benefit and blessing,
and so tonight I'll pass it along to you. The plain path. That's what I call this psalm,
the plain path. The way of plainness. And David says in verse 1, Psalm
27, the Lord, the Lord is my light and my salvation. He's
speaking here even back in that day of Christ, the Messiah. When you see that word, and I've
told you this again and again, but please remember it, all capital
letters, L-O-R-D, that's Jehovah. That's God in Christ, Jehovah,
my Savior. That's not the name of God, the
absolute God Elohim. That's Jehovah, my Savior, who
came to us in love and mercy and put away our transgressions.
That's what that word, wherever you see it in the Old Testament,
it is Jehovah, my Savior. Martin Luther one time said,
I want nothing to do with an absolute God, God out of Christ. God out of Christ is a consuming
fire. But David said the Lord Jehovah,
the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Three things here he says about
his Lord. He didn't say, The Lord gives
me light. He said He is my light. There's
a difference. He is my light. I have no other
light. I want no other light. There
is no other light. He is my light. And secondly,
He is my salvation. He didn't just provide a way. He is the way. He didn't just
provide life. He is life. He is the way, the
truth, and the life. He is my salvation. Christ in
you. That's the hope of glory. And
then he said, He is my strength. He doesn't just give me strength,
enable me to bear up under conflicts and difficulties, enable me to
stand. I stand in Him. He is my strength. The Lord, Jehovah, being my light
and my salvation and my strength, whom shall I fear? Paul wrote
in Romans 8, for whom he did foreknow, them he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, and whom he predestinated
he called, and whom he called he justified, and whom he justified
he glorified. Now, if God be for me, who can
be against me? Whom shall I fear? Whom shall
I fear? Satan? No, he said, Satan has
come and found nothing in me. Our Lord put him to flight. Over
in Hebrews, he says this about Satan in Hebrews 2, verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that's Jehovah, my Savior, that through death,
his death, he might destroy him that had the power of death,
that is, the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death
were all their lifetime subject to bondage. I don't fear Satan. That's a powerful statement for
a little A fella like me, so weak and frail, poor and needy,
to say, I don't fear Satan. If it wasn't for Christ, I would.
If He wasn't my light and my salvation and my strength, I'd
be scared to death. Scared to death. I'd be afraid
to speak His name. I'd be afraid to offend Satan. I'd be afraid to But I don't
have to fear Satan. My Lord has destroyed his power
and conquered him. Don't put him in a bottomless
pit. I don't have to fear the curse of the law. That sounds
pretty strong for a fella that persists in breaking it every
day in some way. To stand before a congregation
and before God and say I'm not afraid of the law. I'm not afraid
of the curse of the law. And the law said, Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things written in the law to do it.
And I'm still not afraid of it. Because he said, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. That's how you can say that. I'm not afraid of the law, nor
the curse of the law. Because Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law. I'm not afraid of ever being
called into account for my sins. And we just read earlier from
over here in Psalms 24, where David, Psalm 25, where David
said, Lord, remember not the sins of my youth. That's why
I'm not afraid of them. He doesn't remember them. Where
did you read that? There are sins and iniquities
I'll remember no more. So David said, the Lord being
my light and my salvation and my strength, I don't have anything
to fear. I had an article in the Bulletin
one time I picked up from somebody who made a study of this. There's
six things. He says there's six things that
people fear more than anything else. People are troubled by
six fears. Think about this now. You may
remember the article, a long time ago. There are a lot of fears, but
these are six that most people are troubled with. One is poverty. Poverty. What shall I eat? What
shall I drink? What shall I wear? Who's going
to take care of me? Now, we've been delivered from that because
David said, I'm old, I've been young, but I've never seen his
seed begging bread. Have you? His seed? Never have. You never will. He said, you
seek first the kingdom of God and these things will be added
to you. What shall I eat, drink, and wear? Secondly, fear of ill
health. People fear sickness and disease. But the believer doesn't because
he knows even that is in the will of his Father. for our good
and his glory, for all things work together for good to them
who love God. And then the third fear, this
author said, is rejection, being unloved. But we're not ever unloved. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'll never forsake you. I've loved you with an everlasting
love. Therefore with a loving kindness have I drawn you. And
down here in verse 10 of Psalm 27, He says, when my mother and
father forsake me, even if my parents disown me, He'll take
me up. I'm never without a friend. One that sticketh closer than
a brother. So I don't have to fear that. And then another thing,
the fourth fear is fear of old age. People really fear. They don't even talk about it.
Don't even talk about it. How old are you? They won't tell
you. They won't tell you. But even down to old age, all
my people shall prove my sovereign, unchangeable, eternal love."
Right, John? Don't have to worry about getting
old age. Because he's with you then, just like he was when you
were a boy. More so. Don't have to worry
about old age. There's a glory to old age. White
hair, the scripture says, is a glory. It's a glory. And you can be an example, you
can be a help to people who are young. You've been over the road,
you can help them. They need guidance and direction
from people who are old. What would we do without our
older people? They're just like putting whipped
cream on the cake. They make it sweeter and better.
And then another thing, people fear number five, they fear death. Just flat scared to death of
death. But not the believer. Because he knows if this earthly
tabernacle be dissolved, he has a building of God, not made with
hands, eternal in the heaven. He's not afraid to die. In fact,
Paul said, I really would like to die so I can go be with the
Lord. Which is far better. And then the next fear that people
have, number six, is fear of the judgment. But not the believer. Because God emphatically says,
there is therefore now no judgment to the infirmary in Christ. We'll
never be judged. We've been judged. And found
not guilty. Isn't that right? Not guilty. Acquitted. Justified. So, if he's my light and my salvation
and my strength, of whom shall I be afraid? And then the next two verses,
he says, when the wicked even mine enemies and my foes. You
know, the Lord's people are peaceful people. They don't like to fight. God's people are peaceful people,
loving people. But because they're His people,
they have enemies. That's the reason I have enemies,
and you do. It's for what we preach and what
we believe, basically. That's so. The Lord's people
are peaceful people and are loving people, but they have enemies
and they have foes. And our Lord tells us about it
over in John 15, and that's in turn John 15. That's the reason. That's the reason. It's whom
you believe. what you believe, what you preach,
the gospel. John 15, verse 17, he said, now
you love one another. You're going to need to love
one another. You need the love of one another because the world's
going to hate you. If the world hates you, you know it hated
me before it hated you, and that's why it hates you, because it
hates me. Look at the next verse. If you were of the world, of
the way of the world, and the philosophy of the world, and
the religion of the world, The world would love you, but because
you're not of the world, I've chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. The believer has enemies. Enemies. Who are his enemies? Satan's
his enemy. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities,
powers, rulers of the darkness, spiritual wickedness in high
places, and all the people whom he commands. Satan's not at peace with your
Lord, so he'll never be at peace with you, and he'll never allow
those under him to be at peace with you. He'll agitate you.
He'll go about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He's the enemy of God's people.
Another enemy that we have is religious people who hate the
gospel. Religious leaders who hate the gospel hate those who
preach the gospel. They hate those who believe the
gospel. Our own sinful self is our enemy. Paul said, when I do good, I
find a law in me warring against the things of Christ. I've got
enemies. Enemies. He says in verse 2, the wicked,
my enemies, Satan, religious foes, those who hate Christ,
they come upon me. to eat my flesh, but they stumbled
and fell." He's not going to let them harm us. He said, they
encamp against me. They encircle me just like an
army camped all around me. And they rise against me and
they make war. This is a warfare. That's what
he called it, a warfare. They war against me. But they
stumble and they fall. The war should rise against me.
In this will I be confident. In what? The Lord is my light,
and my salvation, and my strength. I'm confident in Him. The wind's
going to blow, but we have a hiding place. That's what we studied
last Sunday, wasn't it Cecil? The wind's going to blow, but
we have a hiding place. A man should be a hiding place
from the wind. The storms are going to rise.
But we have a refuge, a covert in time of tempest. The places
are going to be dry, but we've got water in a dry and thirsty
land. The days are going to be weary,
and the nights are going to be dreary, but we've got the shade
of a rock in a weary land. The religionists of our day deny
the storm and the wind and the dry places and the weary days,
but they're still there. And I wouldn't blame them. I'd
deny the storm and the tempest and the wind and the dry places
if I didn't have a refuge and a hiding place and water and
a rock higher than I. I'd deny it too. I surely would. But I don't need to tell a lie.
I don't need to deny facts. I know the wind blows, and you
do too. And I know the storm arises,
and I know the enemies encircle us, but He prepares a table in
the presence of our enemies. He's my light. He's my salvation, and He's my
strength. And in this will I be confident,
in Him, never in myself. When I'm weak, I'm strong. When
He's my strength, I'm strong. So I write verse poker. I love
this. I like one thing. I love it when
the Lord says one thing. You know, he used that quite
frequently. He said to that rich young ruler
who bragged about himself so much, he said, one thing you
lack. One thing. I remember he said to Martha
when she came in, wanting to interrupt the love feast, Mary
and some of them were sitting at his feet listening to him
preach and teach, and Martha came in wanting him to get up
and help her. And he said, Martha, you're cumbered about with so
much activity and duties and things. He said, Mary has chosen
the one thing needful. It cannot be taken away. Sit
at my feet. And David says here, one thing,
one thing, one thing, two things about that one thing. He said,
one thing have I desired, and that one thing I'll seek. Now
let's see what I got out of it, what the Lord is pleased to show
us here. Now David is a man of experience. Oh, how much experience. A man of renown, a man of knowledge,
a man of God, a writer, a warrior, a statesman, a king, a wealthy
man. But this man of God had brought
down to one thing his life's desire and his life's pursuit. One thing. And he said, this
one thing is what I desire and this one thing is what I seek
after. And I believe if one thing becomes
a man's desire, he will seek after it. But I just know that. I know if a person has one desire
above all things in life, I believe he'll seek it. There won't be
any indifference or lack of interest, he'll seek it. And here's that
one thing that David desired and seeked after, that I may
dwell in the house of the Lord. Now don't confine that to a building,
or a temple, or a tabernacle. This is the household of God. It's like when Jacob was lying
there in the field, his head cradled on the rocks, and God
appeared to him. And God showed him that ladder,
think of it, a ladder, a brilliant ladder, leading from him right
into the throne of God, into heaven. And the angels of God
ascending and descending upon that ladder. And God spoke to
him and said, you're mine and I'll be with you. I'll guide
your life and keep you, hedge you about. You're mine, you're
my child, I'm your God. And Jacob got up and named that
place Bethel, house of God. And David said, O to be of the
household of God. or to be in the family of God,
or to be a home-born child, living with the Father, in His love,
under His care, wearing His name. And I will forget one time when
Carrie was a little girl, just about five, four, five years
old, And she was there in the house visiting with Doris and
I. And Doris looked over at her and said, honey, you're off a
good company. She said, Mimi, I'm not company.
I'm family. I'm family. Don't call me company. And that's what I want to be
is family. I don't want to visit his house.
I want to live there. I'm not company. I'm family.
Isn't that right? That's what he's telling me.
One thing have I desired. I want to be family. I want to
be a home-born son under the Father's care and under His love
and wear His name. I want to wear His name. He said,
I want to behold Him, listen, the beauty of the Lord. 24 hours a day, the beauty, the
glory, the majesty, the holiness of my God. I want to see His
glory. Show me Your glory. That's what
Moses said. That's my desire. And don't you
imagine that if that is a man, woman, young person's one desire,
he'll seek after it. Don't you believe so? It's like
the pearl of great price. It doesn't matter what it costs.
It really doesn't matter what it costs. I've got to have that
blessing to acquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble, if
I'm a home-born son, living in the household of God, under his
love and care, wearing his name, when trouble comes, three things
I see here. He'll hide me. in his pavilion. We don't use that word much.
Back then, I'll tell you what that is. It's a royal pavilion. It's a royal tent, more than
just a tent. It's a place like a butterfly.
It's where the king dwelt. The king's pavilion, the royal
pavilion. was erected right in the center
of the army, in the center of everything. That's the king's
pavilion, the sovereign. And that's where he'll hide me.
Under his sovereign wing. That's right. Sovereign, the
king's pavilion. That's what that is. He'll hide
me. And then he'll hide me in the secret of his tabernacle.
You know where that is? The tabernacle. The tabernacle
in the wilderness, it had a courtyard. That's not the secret place.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Where is the secret
place of his tabernacle? Not out in the courtyard. It's
not even in the holy place where the priest walked around all
the time, lit candles and brought in fresh bread. His sovereignty. He keeps me. His sacrifice, His
blood in the secret place is already applied. And then, verse
5, and He sets me up upon a rock. And you know who that rock is.
That rock is Christ. His sovereignty, my King. His sacrifice, my Redeemer. His Son, my Foundation. In time of all trouble, There's
no trouble that can handle that. And there's no trouble he can't
handle. That's it. Set me up on a rock. And it's a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. Christ is the rock that followed
them. Now let's move on. And now, my head being lifted
up above mine enemies in the king's pavilion under the sovereign
care of the Lord, they can't reach me. And he shall provide
me with a feast. Over there is one page, Psalm
23, verse 5. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil.
Welcome guest. You know the Lord said when I
came into your house you didn't wash my feet. You didn't anoint
me with oil. But my head he anointed with
oil. and my cup runneth over. You
know what that means? Well, the most welcome guest,
I'm told, I never lived in those days, I know I look like I did,
but I didn't live back then, but they tell me back in those
days when a person came into a home as a guest, a welcome guest, a wanted guest,
a special guest, that when he held out his cup and they poured
the wine, they ran it over. Just kept pouring, just didn't
give him a damn. Ran it over. My cup runs over
with his welcome, with his grace, with his blessing. And now shall
my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me. They're
still there till he banishes them. And therefore, I'll offer
in his tabernacle sacrifices not of blood, that's already
been done. but sacrifices of joy and happiness
and praise and gratitude. And I'll sing, I'll sing praises
unto the Lord. Now David turns from praise to
prayer. Oh, for balance. Don't you want
balance? I want balance. There's a time
to praise, there's a time for prayer. There's a time for rejoicing,
there's a time for instruction. I wish these folks in this modern
religion, with all of its singing and singing and singing and singing
and singing and singing and singing, would find out there's a time
to sing and there's a time to teach. There's a time for rejoicing,
there's a time for instruction. There's a time for fellowship,
there's a time to study. There's a time to be merry, there's
a time to be sober. And David stops this time of
praise here and resorts to prayer. And he says, Hear me, O Lord,
when I cry, not only with my whole heart, but with my voice.
Have mercy on me and answer me. I saw in these verses a good
definition of prayer. These two verses, see if you
can see it with me. I'm always looking for some help
on faith, love, and prayer. But here's something about prayer.
Number one, to whom is it offered? Here, O Lord, Jehovah, my Savior,
the one who is my light and my salvation and my strength. Hear
me. Hear me, O Lord. Secondly, how
does he pray? I cry with my voice. Not only my heart, but my voice.
I cry. I form some words. I express
my heart's desire. I cry. And a cry is fervent. And a cry is sincere. And a cry
is out of the depths, born of trouble. I cry. I'm sincere. That's how it's
prayed. I cry. And thirdly, on what basis? Have mercy upon me. Not merit. Not because of who I am, but
because of who He is. Not because of what I've done,
but because of what He's done. Not because I deserve anything,
I don't. Mercy, mercy, mercy, have mercy. David prayed that in Psalm 51. Lord, according to your loving
kindness and your tender mercies, Answer me. To whom? The Lord. How? I cry
out of trouble. On what basis? I need mercy.
I'm asking for mercy. Why? Answer me. I need to hear from you. We were walking along, walking around
the park today, and Doris looked at me and said, Why? And she
said, Why is it so difficult to find the will of God? You
have that trouble. To know. To know what to do. Just to know. Show, answer me. Answer me, I need help. I need
to know. That's what David's saying here.
Lord, I cry. And I cry on the basis of a need
mercy. Now answer me. Isn't that what
he's saying? Show me. See this in a few moments. Show me your way. Show me the way I should take.
Show me. And then here's the fifth thing
about prayer, the reason to pray. Verse 8, you say it, seek my
face. That's the reason. I've got no
other reason to even hope he'll hear me except he said he would.
Isn't that right? He said, pray. He said, men ought
to pray, didn't he? He said, don't faint, pray. He
said, seek my faith. He said, seek my faith. So David said, my heart said,
that's exactly what I'll do. He said, seek my faith. And my heart said, here I am.
Seek in your faith. Now in verse 9, don't hide your
face from me. Listen to these four things.
Don't hide your face far from me. Do you know the word far
there is in italics? It doesn't need to be there,
because if he hides his face even a little ways, it's far.
I mean, my, don't hide. Lord, don't hide your face from
me. Look at the second thing. Don't
put me away in anger. I'm your servant. Boy, he never
lifts himself above anything. I'm a servant, but don't put
the servant away in anger. You've been my help. Fourthly,
don't leave me. Don't forsake me. Now why does
David say things like that? You know in another psalm, he
said, Lord, are you clean gone? He said in another Psalm, aren't
you ever going to hear me again? Why does he say things like this?
David knew the Lord would never forsake His people. David knew
the Lord would never take His presence away from His people.
His presence, He dwells in them. David knew God would never forsake
the work of His hands. He said that. He said, I'll never
leave them, they'll never leave me. He'll never forsake his covenant
till the last part of it is fulfilled. Paul said, I'm confident God
will finish he that hath begun a good work, and you'll finish.
You say, why does David talk like this? I'll tell you why. He's so conscious, listen to
me, he's so conscious of his sins, he's so conscious of his
unworthiness before God. He said one time, who am I? And
what are my people that you should show mercy to us? Now just who
am I? He's so conscious of his failures
in the flesh. God told him not to count Israel,
he did it anyway. God told him this, he did it
anyway. God told him that. God had to whip him every other
day nearly, didn't he? And he's so conscious of that. And he knows that were it not
for God's grace and love, he deserves to be left alone. The reason a little child says,
Mama, don't leave me, is she thinks she might, because she
deserves it, in misbehaving. So David, that's
what he said. Turn to Psalm 51 a moment. He knows deep in his heart God
will never leave him, God will never forsake him, but he knows
this in his heart, that he's unworthy of his love, he's not
worthy. If God left him, it'd be what
he deserved. If God did leave him, he'd get just what it is.
That's what he said, listen, Psalm 51. Have mercy upon me,
O God, according to your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of
your tender mercies, brought out my transgressions. Wash me
thoroughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge
my transgression. My sin is ever before me. Against Thee and Thee only have
I sinned and done this evil, that You might be just when You
speak and clear when You judge. If You judge me, condemn me,
it be just. Now look at verse 9. Hide your face from my sins. Blot out my iniquity. Create
in me a clean heart, O God. Renew the right spirit within
me. Cast me not away from your presence. Don't take your Holy
Spirit from me." I deserve it. If you did it, you'd be just.
But he prays that the Lord won't forsake him. He said in verse 10, when my
mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me up. You
know, we have a picture of that over in Ezekiel 16, when that
mother and father, that baby was born, and they cast it out
in the field, the mother and father threw it out in the field.
That's the way David is describing himself here. Unwanted. Unloved. Cast out into the field
to the loathing of my person, and there was none to help. And
the Lord came by and said, Leave. When my mother and father forsake
me, the Lord take me up. And that's the man that just
got through saying, Lord, don't leave me. Don't forsake me. Don't cast
me off away from you in anger. Keep me. I heard a preacher one time give
an illustration. He said that talking to the boys
and girls in the congregation. And this was in the day when
Mother and Daddy used to go out and cut a peach tree limb. We had a peach tree in our yard.
It didn't have many limbs left on it because my mother would
go out and get a peach tree limb. I don't know, maybe they had
birds on them or something, but here she came with it, you know,
with that peach tree limb. That's when you could whip a
child. You can't now, they'd put you
in jail. But anyway, this preacher told a kid, and he said, young
people, I learned something when my mother and my daddy would
get that peach tree limb and switch me. He said, don't run,
because they can reach out and pop you good. It snaps, you know.
Just get right up close to them and grab hold of the leg. And
the hardest thing in the world is to whip a kid that's hanging
on to your leg. You just can't reach him to save
your life. It gets right up under you, you
know. That's what David's doing here. I deserve the peach tree
whipping. But he gets right up close to
Him. Right up close to the Lord. He said, You'll help me. You're
my salvation. You're my help. My mother and
father desert me. You'll take me up. And then he
prays something here. He says, Lord, teach me Your
way. Your way. Not your ways, your
way. There's the way of the Lord.
Moses says, show me your way. That's the way of grace, the
way of life, the way God can be just and justify, the way
of mercy, the way to glory. That's what he's talking about.
Teach me your way. You know, if there's any doubt
that that's what David's saying, turn to John 14 a moment. If
there's any doubt in your mind, listen to this. John 14, verse 3. And when I
go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again and receive you
unto myself, that where I am there you may be also. And where
I go you know, and the way you know. And Thomas said, Lord,
we don't know where you're going, how can we know the way? He said,
I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father
but by me. David, way back yonder, show
me your way. And listen, and lead me in a
plain path, in a path of plainness, simplicity. I talked about this
last Sunday, no use going into it again. But there are those
who will beguile you, and there are those who will entice you,
and those who will come to you with philosophy, and intellectualism,
and strange and unusual ways. And David said, show me your
way, the way of plainness, a plain path. Satan will come, entice
you like you did Eve and take you away from the simplicity
of Christ. He's the way. He's the way. Lord, teach me your way and lead
me in a plain path, in a path of plainness and simplicity.
Christ, because my enemies will do their best to confuse the
way. They'll try to deny the way and
destroy the way. I'll show you an example. Turn
to Acts 9. This was what Saul of Tarsus
was busy doing when God arrested him, brought him to Christ. In
Acts chapter 9 verse 1, And Saul, breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any, any of this way, whether they were men
or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. My enemies
hate this way. They're trying to deny and destroy
this way. You show me your way, a plain
path. Simple path. Christ. It's all
in Christ. And you know the amazing thing
about this way? When God first deals with a sinner,
with the gospel, a true messenger, he learns the way. Now he learns
it more perfectly, he appreciates it more, he rejoices in it more,
but he knows the way from the beginning. It's simple. It's profound but simple. He's
the only one who can show it to you. He's the only one who
can show you the way and the only one who can lead you down
that path of righteousness. But if he ever shows you and
puts your feet in that path, you'll never get out of it. You'll
never turn back. Nobody will touch you. Enemies
never touch you. It's a plain path. But the world doesn't know even
where it is, or where it leads, or who it is. It's got to be
taught. Verse 12, don't deliver me over
into those enemies' hands. Don't deliver me into their hands,
to the will of my enemies. You know, I saw something here
somebody wrote. It's a dreadful thing for a person
to be delivered into the hand of Satan. It's a dreadful thing
for a person to be given over to his own will. That's dreadful. Don't deliver
me into the hands of my enemies, to the will of my enemies. And this will is an enemy. It's
a dreadful thing to be delivered into the hands of false preachers,
false witnesses. That's what he said, false witnesses
are risen up against me. Don't let me. Oh, keep me. from the will of Satan, my will,
and the will of those preachers. They'll have you if they can.
They prey on God's children. False witnesses. Don't deliver
me into the hands of false preachers, false witnesses. And don't deliver
me into the hands of false religion without blood and righteousness. They're all there. don't deliver me." And then I
close, he says, I would have fainted, I would have quit, unless
I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. So wait, be of good courage, and he'll strengthen your heart.
Wait. Wonder when these times were that David would have quit.
I would have fainted, unless I believed. that God was going
to have the victory, and I was going to see it. I believe one
time was when he was a young man, and he was sitting up there
on the hillside tending sheep, and everybody in his family were
down there at the house in a feast with the prophet of God, Samuel. Samuel was in town to offer sacrifice
and pick a king, and his daddy said, You go take care of the
sheep, we don't need you. That's quitting time almost,
isn't it? When nobody wants you. When your daddy sends you to
the field, you know, on the most important day that that household
had ever had. Samuel was there. David wasn't
on it. But he believed God. And then
another time was when the armies of Israel were stymied by a giant,
held at bay, defeated. And this young man came down
believing God. Believing God. God sent him to
encounter the giant. And when he got there, they laughed
at him. They laughed at him. His brother
says, who's watching those few sheep you're in charge of? Do
you leave them by themselves? Laughed at him. Wonder he didn't quit. But he
believed. Another time when he knew he
was God's anointed king, God had anointed him, and yet Saul,
the king, and all the people cast him out. He was a fugitive,
a hunted dog, hunted by the whole army and the whole nation. He
had about 400 people with him out of all of Israel. Here I
am king, what's going on? I'm your servant. I'm your anointed
king, Lord. What in the world? And I'm hiding
in a cave. I'm depending on enemies of Israel
to give me food. And it went on for months, didn't
it say so? Months and months and months. I ought to quit,
he said. But I believed. Another time, listen, he might
have quit this time when his son Absalom won the hearts of
the people. He set at the gate, and the people
would come to the palace to see David with their troubles, and
Absalom would say, David's too busy. Tell me your problem. Old Absalom will fix it up for
you. And he sat there so long, he won the hearts of the people.
And they kicked his daddy out. That was the lowest point of
his life, I suppose. He was out there with a few men,
wandering away from from his own kingdom. And there's a fellow
sitting by the side of the road, I forget his name, but he started
cursing David. He started throwing rocks at
him. Throwing rocks at the king. And he said, you're a bloody
man, David. The Lord has bested you because
of the blood you've shed. And brought you to account for
all the blood of the house of Saul because you're a man of
blood. That's pretty hard to take, isn't
it? And one of David's men said, I'll cut that son of a dog's
head off. David said, no, you won't. Nope. No, you won't. Leave him alone. Let him curse.
If God will for him to curse me, let him curse me. God put
me here and put him there. I believe. Wait on the Lord. There are other
times I could mention. But David said, I would have
quit. I would have fainted. I would have given up. But I
believe. I believe God. And I'm going
to see the glory of God. So we'll wait, and we'll be of
good courage, and He will strengthen our hearts. He will. He'll come
along with verses just like this and strengthen our hearts. While
we wait on Him.