How Are the Mighty Fallen

Now I want to read three verses
from 2 Samuel, chapter 1. 2 Samuel 1, verse 19. The beauty of Israel is slain
upon thy high places. How are the mighty fallen? Tell it not in Gath, publish
it not in the streets of Ascalon, lest the daughters of the Philistines
rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye
mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let it rain
upon you, nor fields of offering, for there The shield of the mighty
is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not
been anointed with oil." Now David was in his camp. It had been several days he had
been there, the battle with the Amalekites was over, and a young
man came into the camp, very his clothes torn, ashes upon
his head, telling David that King Saul and Jonathan, his son,
were dead. David asked the young man, How
do you know that Saul is dead? The young man said, Well, I happened
to be on Mount Gilboa a few days ago, and I saw him leaning upon
his spear. And he saw me and called to me
and said, Who art thou? And he said, I am the son of
a stranger, I'm an Amalekite, that's an enemy. And Saul told
him, I am weak and I'm wounded, but life is still in me and I
cannot escape. Kill me so that I might not fall
into the hands of the enemy. The young man said, So I took
his spear, and I killed him. And then I took the crown from
his head, and I took the bracelet from his arm, and I brought them
to you. Well, David mourned. He rent
his clothes, and all that were with him rent their clothes and
mourned for Saul and for Jonathan. And then David, the next morning,
I think it was, that was in the evening, The next morning he
called the young man back to him and he said, Young man, by
your own mouth you have confessed to slaying the Lord's anointed.
And he called his soldiers and sent them forth to kill the young
man. And then David gave forth a lamentation,
a psalm of sorrow. that I've read to you a moment
ago. The beauty of Israel is slain upon the high places. And
three times he sounds this one note, How are the mighty fallen? Verse 19. Again in verse 25,
How are the mighty fallen? And then again in verse 27, How
are the mighty fallen? What can we learn from this story?
Does it have a meaning for us? There's a great deal of scripture
here devoted to this incident. I believe it has something for
us. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, now all these things happen to
them, that is to Old Testament people, for examples. And these things are written
for our admonition. Now, we know that when God came
to Abraham and said to him, Take thy son, thine only son, thy
son Isaac, whom thou lovest, to Mount Moriah, and there sacrifice
him as a sin offering unto me, we know that that is a type of
Christ. We know that Abraham took a three-day
journey and came to that mountain took the wood and the stones
and other things that he had brought, the knife, and started
up the mountain with Isaac. And Isaac said to him, Father,
here's the wood, here's the altar, where's the lamb? And Abraham
said, Isaac, the Lord himself shall provide, or the Lord shall
provide himself a lamb. And we know that when Abraham
and Isaac got to the top of that mountain, he put the boy on the
altar and would have slain him, and the Lord said, Touch not
thy son. I know now that you love me above
all things. And Abraham turned, and there
caught in the thicket was a ram. He took the ram and put it in
the place of Isaac and sacrificed it. Isaac went free. That's a
picture of Christ. God didn't only do that to test
Abraham's faith, though he did, But he did it for an example,
for a type. It was written for our learning,
for our admonition. It's a picture of substitution,
how that Christ came and took our place. And then one day when
the people of Israel were murmuring against Moses and against Aaron,
God sent fiery serpents down in the camp. They bit the people
and the people were dying. Moses came to the Lord and prayed
for the people. And the Lord said, Moses, take
a brazen serpent make it into the likeness of the serpents
which have bitten the people, and put it on a pole. And whosoever
looketh on the serpent shall live. And Moses made the brazen
serpent, lifted it up in the wilderness, and the people looked,
and they lived. And Christ said, As Moses was
lifted up, as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. And you can go all the
way through the scripture, the Lord's Table, which is the Passover,
the art of Noah, the blood on the door in Egypt, just go all
the way through the Old Testament, and each of these illustrations
are pictures, they're types, they're teachings, they're warnings,
they're admonitions, examples for you and for me. And as I
read this scripture and looked at it, I've been reading it for
several weeks now, and this lamentations been going over in my mind for
some time and I've been wanting to bring a message and I feel
the direction of the Holy Spirit to bring it tonight. How are
the mighty fallen? How are the mighty fallen? How are the mighty fallen? Over and over again David laments
the fact that the mighty are fallen. Now there are five things
that I want to call your attention to. The first one is this, verse
19. David identifies the mighty. He says the beauty of Israel
is slain. The beauty of Israel. Saul was
the king Saul was the leader. Saul was the captain of the Lord's
host. Jonathan was his son. Jonathan
was the prince in waiting. Jonathan was the heir to the
throne. Now, we're not talking here about
a rabble. We're not talking about an apostate. We're talking about the Lord's
own. That's who we're talking about.
Saul had been anointed with the oil of the Lord. Saul had been
made by God's directions King of Israel. Saul held his office
by God's appointment. Scripture tells us that Saul
stood head and shoulders above all the people, and the Word
of God tells us that the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. So we're not talking about somebody
that didn't know God. I know that a lot of people have
a lot to say about Saul, King Saul, but King Saul was the Lord's
anointed. David said that over and over
again. When he was chasing David out on the mountain and was lying
there asleep, David came down with one of his soldiers to let
Saul know that he'd been there, and he took his spear and another
piece of equipment, and the soldier said, Kill him. Kill him while
you've got him here asleep. Why, David said, I'll not dare
touch the Lord's anointed. This is God's man. This is the
Lord's man. I wouldn't dare touch him. Whatever
he's done, whatever enmity he's shown toward me, he's still God's
anointed. And that's who we're talking
about here, the beauty of Israel. The Lord's anointed. God's man. God's man. But the Scriptures
are full of warnings. Let's turn first of all to 1
Corinthians 10. The scriptures are full of warnings
to God's men about falling. The beauty of Israel is slain.
The beauty of Israel has fallen, David said. First Corinthians
10, look at verse 11. Now, all these things happen
unto them, for in examples or types, and they are written for
our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Let him that thinketh he standeth,
let him that hath confidence and assurance be careful, lest
he fall. How are the mighty fallen? We're talking about a fall here
now. Now turn to Galatians 6. Listen to this in Galatians chapter
6. As I say, we're talking about
God's people. God's man. In Galatians 6, verse
1, the Apostle Paul writes, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fall,
ye with your spirit shall restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.
Now the attention there is to the man that's fallen. He tells
us to love him, to have compassion and pity upon him, and to restore
him. Not censure him, but restore
him. But he adds a note, Considering thyself lest thou also be tested
and fall. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 3. In the book of 2 Peter chapter
3 verse 17. Listen to this carefully. Here
is a warning. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing
you know these things. He's talking to people who know
these things. They know the gospel. They know the doctrines. They
know the Lord. They're God's men. lest you also, being led away
with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. Beware lest you fall." Now the
Scriptures are full of examples of apostasy. In 2 Timothy 1,
or 1 Timothy 1, let's look at this. 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse
19 and 20. 1 Timothy 1, 19 and 20. Now Paul says to Timothy, writing
in the book of Timothy, 1 Timothy 1, 19, having faith, holding
faith, and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning
faith, have made shipwrecked. These people had faith. They
were holders of faith. But they put it away and made
shipwreck of faith. And he gives two examples, of
whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander. And I've delivered them to Satan,
that they may learn not to blaspheme. These are men of faith. They
made shipwreck of the faith, and he says, I've turned them
over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Now look
at 2 Timothy, chapter 1. Hymenaeus and Alexander are examples
of apostasy. of the fall. 2 Timothy 1, verse
13. Hold fast the form of sound words,
hold them, which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which
is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed
unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. Hold on
to the sound words, hold on to the faith committed to thee.
This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away
from me of whom are figellous and homogenous. They've turned
away. They've turned away. Now look
at 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 10. Paul says in verse 9, Come
to me, do thou diligence to come shortly unto me, for Demas hath
forsaken me. Why? He loved this present world,
and he's departed under Thessalonica. He quit. Verse 11, only Luca's
with me. Demas has left me. There's no
place in the flesh that's safe from a fall. No place. The angels,
the Scripture says, kept not their first estate. Adam lived
in a perfect garden. walk with God in the wind or
the cool of the day. Noah stepped from the ark into
sin. Lot, delivered miraculously and
powerfully from Sodom, committed incest. David, king of Israel,
added murder to adultery. Ananias and Sapphira, pillars
of the early church, lied to the Holy and was slain. Demas, of whom we've just read,
the companion of the Apostle Paul, departed and deserted and
left him. So what we're talking about here
in the Scripture tonight which serves as our text, we're talking
about the beauty of Israel. We're talking about people of
God. We're talking about men of God, the beauty of Israel.
is slain. How are the mighty fallen? Now
the second thing that I note here, look at verse 21. He fell,
and the word is used vilely, vilely, scandalously, disgracefully,
as though he were not God's anointed. His fall was the fall of a reprobate. His fall was the fall of a coward. His fall was the fall of shame. It was such a terrible, scandalous
fall, it didn't look like he even belonged to God. He did,
he belonged to God, but his fall gave no evidence that he belonged
to God. David, in verse 21, cried out,
he was so distressed over there, so brokenhearted, He looked back
at these precious mountains of Gilboa, and that was in Israel.
We're not talking about over yonder in the enemy territory.
These are Israelite mountains. David said, ye mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew. David was saying of this place
where Saul fell that he could wish that it never rained on
that place again. This place where Saul fell, David
said, I could wish it didn't happen because we know dew has
fallen on that mountain. One writer I read said he was
there and it rained, just a torrential rain. But David was saying, I
could wish that this place where Saul fell would never again be
visited with dew or rain or fruitful harvest. Why? For there, verse
21, look at it, The shield of the mighty is vilely cast away. Now let me point out some things
here. Mighty men of old, before the
invention of the automatic rifle and the sidearm and these things,
anointed their shields and carried them with pride. Their shields
carried their family crest and their colors. Their shields were
the story of what they believed. Their shields represented the
things in which they believed. Their shields were their principles
and convictions. And they used to say to these
soldiers when they left home with their shields, carry your
shield home, or be carried home upon your shield. But don't cast
it away. Don't sell out. Don't run. Don't cast it from you. And here
he says, the shield of Saul, the mighty, the beauty of Israel,
the man of God, the shield of Saul is vilely cast away. Look at the next line. As though
he had not been anointed with oil, as though he were a pagan.
as though he were not a king at all, as though he didn't even
know God. All principle deserted, all conviction
cast aside, all covenant promises cast into the dust. These principles
and convictions which he carried into battle for the glory of
God through the days of old and the days of victory and the days
of happiness, this mighty shield of principle is thrown aside.
and cast into the dust of shame and scandal and reproach. The
shield of the mighty is vilely cast away and the scene and the
situation gives the appearance that here's a man who never knew
God. Here's just another pagan. Here's
just another heathen. Here's just another man who had
no principle. It brings to mind Peter down
there sitting by the fire with the enemies of Christ, warming
his hands as though he was not anointed at all, as though he
didn't know God at all. There he sits, warming his hands
around the fire of the enemy, and a little girl comes by and
says, why, he's one of the apostles, and he cursed and swore and said,
I don't know him. Why, he acts like he's not anointed,
but he has been. He has been. Ye mountains of
Gilboa, I hope it never rains again on you. I hope your fields
never bring forth fruit again. For on your mighty mountains
the shield, the principles, the convictions, the victory of the
mighty of God, the beauty of Israel, has been thrown into
the dust and left as though God wasn't even in his life. Now look at verse 25. Here's
another thing that I note. How are the mighty fallen? And
these words came forth with a powerful meaning. Look at them, the next
few words. How are the mighty fallen? In
the midst of the battle. The battle wasn't over. The journey wasn't complete.
The crown had not been won. The race was not finished. Saul was out there fighting the
Amalekites, and he asked that young man to kill him and destroy
him, and his shield of principle was cast aside right in the middle
of the battle. Right in the middle. It wasn't
over. It wasn't time to lay the shield down. It wasn't time to
stack arms. It wasn't time to have a parade,
a victory celebration. The battle wasn't over. It was
in the middle of the battle. Our Lord said, He that endures
to the end, the same shall be saved. Our Lord said, The man, many
start the race, but the man that gets the victory crown is the
man that crosses the finish line. And when hoary hairs shall my
temple adorn, Then, like a lamb, I shall in his bosom be born." We are the house of Christ if
we hold fast the principles of our confession firm unto the
end. The Apostle Paul said, turn to
1 Corinthians 9, listen to this, 1 Corinthians 9, verse 27, the
Apostle Paul said in this scripture, I keep my body, verse 27, and
bring it into subjection. Subjection to whom? Myself? Why,
certainly not. Subjection to the Holy Spirit,
under the subjection of my Lord, lest that by any means, when
I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway. No time
to lay aside the shield of faith in the middle of the battle.
It's no time to lay down the sword of the Spirit in the middle
of the battle. It's no time to be done with a fight in the middle
of the battle. But here, right in the midst
of the conflict, right when he's needed the most, right when the
enemy is coming down upon him, right when the people need a
leader, an example, he gives up and asks somebody to kill
him. How are the mighty fallen right in the middle of the battle?
And then this next line in verse 25, Jonathan, O Jonathan, and
this is a sad thing here, Thou wast slain, watch this, in thine
high places. Now the mountains of Gilboa were
very high, and the mountains of Gilboa were not in enemy territory,
the mountains of Gilboa were right in Israel. right in the
land of God, right in the midst of the people of God. So there
are several applications here concerning the fall of Saul and
Jonathan on the high places. Number one, the high places can
denote high office. Saul was king. Even the king
was not immune from falling. Jonathan was the prince, heir
to the throne. Judas was an apostle. Demas was a companion of an apostle. And the high places denote here,
the first thing, high office. High office. Thou art fallen,
thou art slain in a high office, in a responsible place, in a
responsible position. And then the high places, like
the mountains of Gilboa, were supposed to be strongholds. The
high place is the safe place from enemy attacks. They were
easy to fortify, they were easy to protect, they were easy to
defend. The high place, the mountains, is the place where you'd expect
a man to be well fortified and well protected, but that's where
the enemy hid him, right there in the high places. And then
the high places were located here in his own country, surrounded
by friends, surrounded by his own soldiers, and yet Saul chose
to stand alone. He refused the aid of his soldiers. He turned his back on God's people.
He turned his back on God. And there he chose to stand alone.
And there he perished. And he perished alone. Mr. Spurgeon was writing about David's
fall. And this is what he had to say.
He said there are three things about David's fall. In the first
place, when David fell, he was at the height of success. He
was no longer the runaway hunted on the mountain. He was no longer
the one who had escaped from the Spear of Saul and gathered
the despised and the people in debt and those who also were
hunted around him and became a captain among them. The victories
were all won. The battles were all over. The
people were singing his praises. He was at the height of success. That's when he fell. Secondly,
when David fell, he was at the height of security. The crown
was on his head. He was king. He no longer had
to struggle to prove his loyalty. He no longer had to struggle
to prove his ability. He no longer had to struggle
to attain the place that God had appointed for him. He no
longer had to seek the Lord. He was on the throne himself.
And the crown was on his head. That's when he fell. When David
fell, he was at the height of prosperity. He was no longer
the shepherd boy sitting out on the hillside tending his flock. He was no longer the shepherd
boy sitting on the hillside eating a crest of bread. He was no longer
the runaway anointed king, yet not ascended to his throne, depending
on the help of other people, depending on a word of comfort
or a word of exhortation. He was no longer the hunted,
depending on the help of God. He lived in a palace now. He
lived in the lap of luxury. He had all that money could buy
and all that the heart could wish. And that's what he failed. And that's when he fell. How
are the mighty fallen? Right in the middle of the battle,
and right in the high places. And then last of all, verse 27. David's lamentation over his
friend. How are the mighty fallen? And the weapons of war perished. Not only was Israel's leader
slain in this battle. Not only were many of her soldiers
killed, but all their weapons of war were destroyed. Now these
leaders and these weapons were used against the enemy. They
were shields, they were protectors for the kingdom against the enemy.
In other words, as long as Saul lived, and Jonathan his son,
and the captains, and the mighty host of Israel, and they had
these swords and spears and shields, the enemy was kept back. But
David said, now they're gone, and the enemy has free access
to lay siege to the kingdom of Israel. You see what he's saying
there? The mighty are fallen, and with
them are the mighty weapons of war perish. We've got no defense. We've got no defense. Now the
pulpit is a weapon of war against error. Pulpit is a weapon of
war against false doctrine. The pulpit is a weapon of war
against the attacks of Satan on our nation and on our homes
and on us individually. It must stand. When it is destroyed,
when the weapons of war, God's warfare, perish, then the enemy
has free access to lay siege to our Lord's kingdom, to come
in great force and great power. And the church is a fortress
of strength, a testimony to the saving power of God. And while
it stands impure in truth, the enemy is kept back from our homes
and from our children and from our nation. The individual believer
is a pillar of spiritual strength to others. He's an encouragement
to others to fight. As Saul stood there fighting,
he gave courage to the others to fight. When he fell, they
fled. The individual believer is a
pillar of encouragement and strength for all to stand for Christ,
to believe in Christ, to hold to the words of Christ. He must
not fall. He must not lay down his shield.
He must not lay aside his sword. He must take it up bravely and
battle for the glory of his Lord. And one thing I note here. The
young man who had a part in Saul's death was destroyed. He had no time to be rewarded
for his deed. He had no time to gloat over
his news. David killed him. But by whatever
instrument Saul fell and whatever happened to the instrument that
was destroyed, David lamented, How are the mighty fallen? How are the mighty fallen? Let us bow and pray. Our Father in Heaven, we pray
humbly and sincerely that we may be protected by Thy grace
in this life, in this conflict, in this journey. There are many
trials and there are many temptations and there are many places of
danger. Leave us not to ourselves. Deliver us not into the hand
of our enemy. Our Lord Jesus Christ has taught
us to pray. Deliver us from the evil one. Lead us not into temptation.
We pray tonight by thy power that thou would protect this
testimony in this place for the glory of Christ our Lord. Not
just the pulpit, but the elders of this church and the deacons
of this church and the members of this church and every one
of us who have professed publicly and privately our faith and our
confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ and our love for his kingdom
and our faith and confidence in his blood and in his saving
grace. We pray, O Lord, that we may
hold high the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit,
that we may carry it triumphantly and successfully and victoriously
for the glory of our Lord. There is nothing in us or about
us that is worthy of thy mercy and thy grace, we are the chief
of sinners. We cannot be left alone for one
moment lest we fall. We depend upon thy strength and
thy mercy, thy grace and thy power. O Lord, do not desert
us. And O Lord, we pray that we may
be compassionate and understanding and we may have a heart of love
and mercy for all who do fall by the wayside, that we may strive
to lift them, that we may strive to be an encouragement to them,
considering ourselves lest we be tried in the same manner.
But, O Lord, lift the fallen, restore the backslider, encourage
the weak believer, Give assurance and confidence to the doubter
and those who fear. And let us seek the Lord with
all our hearts. Let us cry with David as the
deer panteth for the water brook, so panteth my soul after thee,
the living God. Leave me not, O God, nor forsake
me, the God of my salvation. Grant me, Lord, that I may endure
to the end. Grant me, O Lord, that I shall
stand firmly by the cross of Jesus Christ until the call comes,
the Master is here and he's calling for thee. Get glory, majesty
unto thyself from each of us. Make us trophies of thy grace.
In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.

How Are the Mighty Fallen

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