1 Samuel 18-19

Thanks.

You've just won the Super Bowl.

What are you going to do next?

Well, if you're a sports fan, perhaps you've heard this question before.

The reporter asks a player after they've won some large sporting event, this very question.

You've just won X large sporting event.

What are you going to do next?

And the expected answer is always the same.

I'm going to Disney World.

You see, Disney World is not a place for training to smash your enemies on football fields or basketball courts.

No, Disneyland is a place of frivolity to celebrate a job well done.

But I remember once watching an interview with a basketball player who had just led his team to the NBA championship.

And the reporter asked him, you just won the NBA championship.

What are you going to do next?

Expecting a typical Disneyland answer, Disney World answer.

And he said, I'm going to the gym.

Because this player knew that though he had won this great victory just now, there were yet future games ahead.

And he wanted to win those as well.

We find David in our passage this evening in a similar situation.

He has just slain Goliath, the story that we are brought up with from our youth.

It has a happy ending, unless you're Goliath.

But it's not the ending of the story.

There's no Disney World for David just yet.

Rather, he faces still more challenges.

Harder ones, even than Goliath.

Royal ones that seek his life no less vehemently than Goliath did.

We pick it up in 1 Samuel 18 and 19.

Now, our passage tonight is too long for us to read in full, unfortunately.

So, I'm going to summarize a bit here at the beginning.

And then go back and in the course of the sermon this evening, focus on some particular points.

So, 1 Samuel 18 and 19.

As I mentioned, the story begins after David has defeated Goliath.

He's talking to Saul on a nearby hillside, who asks some personal questions about him.

And Saul's son, David, is there.

And the text says that David loved Saul.

Jonathan loved David at his own soul.

And Jonathan does a strange thing.

He takes off his royal garments and he gives them to David.

That will be important as we go on, so mark that.

And through the course of the rest of the passage,

David, who is now attracted the attention of Saul,

gets closer into Saul's inner court.

Saul learns he's a great warrior, sends him out to battle against the Philistines.

But this sad thing happens.

He kills so many Philistines that when he comes back into the city,

these women say that Saul has killed his thousands,

but David his ten thousands.

And this is the beginning of a fateful relationship between Saul and David.

This will be the beginning of the rise of David

and accruing love to himself

and the decline of Saul as he's consumed with hatred for David.

That hatred overflows in him trying to spear David against a wall a few times,

trying to trip him up by marrying him off to his daughters,

trying to kill him by sending him out in front of all these Philistines,

greatly outnumbered, to get their foreskins.

Weird stuff.

And then he takes the gloves off toward the end

and he goes to kill David himself.

He's ultimately unsuccessful.

And at the end, he goes to this place where David is hiding.

He sent messengers over and over and over to find him.

They go there and are overwhelmed by the power of the Holy Spirit

and they can't bring David in.

Saul says, let me take care of this myself,

goes in and the same effect happens to him.

And at the very, very end of the story today,

Saul strips naked and prophesies.

Lots of weird stuff.

There's a question and answer period coming after the talk.

So get yourself ready.

In the midst of all of this,

these two chapters, long and strange as they are,

I want to pull out three themes.

First, the schemes of Saul.

Second, the devotion of David.

And third, the laughter of the Lord.

The schemes of Saul, the devotion of David,

the laughter of the Lord.

So first, the schemes of Saul.

Saul, though he is the king of Israel,

is a man under a curse.

A few chapters earlier,

he disobeyed God's spokesman, Samuel,

by offering a sacrifice that was not permitted to him.

Thereby, trying to grasp for himself authority

not only over the temporal affairs of Israel,

but also over its religious practices.

At that, God told Saul,

now your kingdom shall not continue.

The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart,

and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people,

because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

But in that story,

Saul is not given the name of the man who will replace him.

He just knows that the throne no longer functionally belongs to him.

Another is going to rise and take it from him,

but he doesn't know the name.

So think of how great must have been his suspicion,

knowing that someone, perhaps even someone he met,

would be the one chosen by God to replace him.

Think of his worry, his paranoia,

when anyone around him had success.

And indeed, we see this in the song the women sing,

Saul has slain his thousands, but David his ten thousands.

And this induces paranoia in Saul.

Think of the precautions that he,

knowing his days were numbered, must have taken.

Did he set an extra guard at night,

and then set another guard over that guard,

all to protect him in his sleep,

the sleep that escaped him all night long,

because though his body was well-protected,

he left his soul open to attack?

And all because he disobeyed the word of the Lord.

Look here, then, how sin gives birth to worry and jealousy.

When sin infects the soul,

it kills the ability to rejoice in the successes of others.

So Saul is terrified when he hears the Israelite women rejoicing

in the defeat of the Philistines with their song,

Saul has slain his thousands,

David his ten thousands.

Verse 7.

What a sorry situation Saul finds himself in,

to be struck with fear and anxiety

while the people of God rejoice around him.

In response, our text says, in verse 8,

in response to this song,

Saul was very angry,

and this saying displeased him.

He said,

They have ascribed to David ten thousands,

and to me they have ascribed only thousands,

and what more can he have but the kingdom?

The scene here is like in a movie

when a character suddenly realizes

what he himself is saying.

The music goes somber,

the camera pulls in close to his face,

and the face flashes with horror

as he realizes,

what more can David have but the kingdom?

The kingdom.

David will have the kingdom.

David is the man chosen

after the Lord's own heart,

chosen to care for Israel.

David is the favored one of God.

David is the one who will keep

the Lord's commandments.

David!

And now Saul is faced with a choice, it seems.

What will he do with this new information

that his jealousy and his paranoia

have warranted for him,

have gained for him?

What will he do with this?

He has insight into the plan of God.

Will he surrender it?

Repent of his own disobedience,

and praise the Lord as the one

who lifts up kings and deposes kings?

No.

No.

No.

While the people of God rejoice,

Saul will rage.

So in verse 9, the text says,

And Saul eyed David from that day on.

Saul, through the hyper-vigilant eyes of fear,

has seen the plan of God

and chosen to set his face against it.

Around five times our text says

some variation of Saul hated David,

he was afraid of David,

that he schemes against David.

Saul will now take up arms against him.

Saul says in his heart,

This man is the Lord's anointed,

and I will pin him to a wall

and watch him bleed out before my eyes.

Or I will send David out

against a superior Philistine force

that he cannot conquer.

Or I will send assassins into his bedroom

while he sleeps.

And if all this fails,

then I will kill himself,

kill him myself,

with my own royal hands.

He is the one the Lord has chosen,

and I will stop him.

And he tries to do all those things.

Does Saul's behavior here

sound strange to us?

It is possible, you know.

It is possible to set your face

and your intention against the plan of God

when you know it.

It is possible to look at the Lord's chosen man

and seek to destroy him.

Did you not do something like that this week?

Did we not do something like that this week

when the good plan of God for us

was not good enough for us?

When God's trustworthiness

was not a good enough reason

for us to trust him,

and so we worried

and we were anxious about the future?

When God's holiness

was not something to be followed after,

and so we allowed ourselves

to feast our eyes

on the evil of our computer screens?

When we took advantage

of God's patience toward us

by being impatient

with those around us,

did we not see the plan of God for us

and set our faces against it?

It is possible, you know,

to strap on our armor

and take the field of battle

against the living God.

It's called sin.

Saul chose this for himself,

and in the end,

all of his schemes

fell back upon his own head.

Will that be our fate as well

when we choose sin?

Or is there still some hope for us?

Well, we will come to that question shortly.

But we see throughout this text

that even when faced

by the good plan of God,

Saul sustains his schemes.

So the schemes of Saul.

Now we turn our attention

to the devotion of David.

After we've looked

at the schemes of Saul,

we see the devotion of David

in almost perfect contrast.

While Saul is anxious

and scheming throughout,

David seems not to take initiative

almost ever in this story.

He's frequently responding

to what Saul does.

He seems to have

a tremendous amount

of peace about him.

While Saul is treacherous

against David,

his best warrior,

David remains devoted

to the king

against whom

he never retaliates.

Shockingly,

the story seems to imply

that even when Saul

keeps hurling spears to him,

David keeps obediently

and humbly

coming into his presence

to play the lyre for him

and attempt to soothe him.

Look at verse 11 here.

Chapter 18.

And Saul hurled the spear

for he thought,

I will pin David to the wall.

But David evaded him twice.

And then the next chapter over,

it's going to do it again.

This seems to be

a sort of pattern.

And I'm not quite sure

what in the world

David's doing

by continuing to go back.

But it seems to have

something of loyalty about it.

David is devoted

even to the king

who tries to kill him.

David's posture throughout

is not one of scheming,

but of trusting.

He does not grasp

at events around him,

but he allows them

to be guided

by forces beyond himself.

Never, it seems,

for a second,

thinking those forces

are blindly random

or that they unfold

by chance.

So,

when David decides

to marry

one of the daughters

of Saul,

it was Saul's idea

from the beginning.

When David goes out

against the Philistines,

it was Saul's idea

to put him there.

And so on and so on.

David responds

obediently

to the commands

of the rightful king.

This responsiveness

doesn't mean

that David is simply

lazy or inactive.

Simply put,

since he doesn't see

any good reason

to do so,

David doesn't allow

himself to be struck

by the spears

that Saul hurls at him.

He's not being lazy.

He's not being passive.

He's not allowing himself

to be stuck to a wall.

The principle

seems to be this.

When a good plan

of God opens up

for David in this passage,

he acts upon that plan

and does so with wisdom.

But never in this story

do we see him

fretting and doubting.

Consider perhaps

the weirdest story

in this whole,

the weirdest bit

of this story,

the episode

of the foreskins.

Let's read it together

because it's weird.

1820.

Now Saul's daughter

Michael loved David.

And they told Saul

and the thing pleased him.

Saul thought,

let me give her to him

that she may be

a snare for him

and that the hand

of the Philistines

may be against him.

Therefore,

for Saul said to David

a second time,

you shall now

be my son-in-law.

And Saul commanded

his servants,

speak to David

in private

and say,

behold,

the king has delight

in you

and all his servants

love you.

Now then,

become the king's

son-in-law.

And Saul's servants

spoke these words

in the ears of David.

And David said,

does it seem to you

a little thing

to become the king's

son-in-law

since I am a poor man

and have no reputation?

And the servants

of Saul said to him,

thus and so

did David speak.

Then Saul said,

thus you shall say

to David,

the king desires

no bride price

except the hundred

foreskins of the Philistines

that he may be avenged

of the king's enemies.

Now Saul fought

to make David

fall by the hand

of the Philistines.

And when his servant

told David

these words,

it pleased David

well to be

the king's son-in-law.

Before that time

he had expired,

David arose

and went along

with his men

and killed

two hundred

of the Philistines.

And David brought

their foreskins

that were given

in full number

to the king

that he might

become the king's

son-in-law.

And Saul gave him

his daughter Michael

for a wife.

But when Saul

knew that the Lord

was with David

and that Michael,

Saul's daughter,

loved him,

Saul was even more

afraid of David.

So Saul was David's

enemy continually.

What's happening here?

David, a poor shepherd,

responds,

he has no money

to pay a bride price

even though he seems

to like this woman.

No worries,

said Saul.

The king desires

no bride price

except a couple

foreskins.

Now, Saul is not

asking David

to go down

to the local

Philistine children's

hospital and see

what they have

lying around

in the garbage bins.

No.

He's saying

that David is to go

and take these foreskins

from grown men.

And though the culture

in times then

are different

from the culture today,

I think one thing

is in common.

Grown men

don't like having

their foreskins

taken from them.

They will fight

you for them.

And this is the point.

He wants David

to go against

a hundred men.

This is a snare

for David.

And perhaps even

the weirdness of it

is an attempt

to malign David

in the eyes

of the people

around him.

He's going to do

this sort of weird

and barbaric thing.

Perhaps this will

lower his popularity

ranking a bit.

David goes and does it

over and above

200 of them.

He's strategic.

He brings men

with him

and he takes advantage

of the opportunities

that are there

to become

Saul's son-in-law.

David's settled

confidence in the plan

of God

is not an excuse

for foolishness

or laziness

but an occasion

to plan and act wisely

yet without anxiety

or despair

and leave the result

in the hands

of the Lord.

But nevertheless

this is a trial

that Saul sends

to destroy David.

So note this.

Sometimes

God saves David

from the trials

of Saul

for example

when he tries

to kill him

with the spear.

And sometimes

God saves David

through the trials

of Saul.

This is such

an example.

When Saul

sends David

out against Philistines

he routinely

destroys them

and in the process

he wins the favor

of the people.

When Saul

puts a stumbling block

in David's way

God does not simply

whisk him away

he lets him walk

over the stumbling block

or through it.

He redeems

these trials

by allowing David

to go through them.

The result

is consistent.

David's fame

increases

and Saul's rage

burns yet fiercer.

Yet through it all

David maintains

a consistent

peace

and rest.

Perhaps

you have wondered

why God

would do this

for David

or perhaps

for you.

Perhaps

we pray

only

to be saved

from our trials

rather than

be saved

through our trials.

But if

at all of these

moments

God has simply

whisked David

away from the

trials of Saul

from the schemes

of Saul

David would not

have been able

to attain

the heights

of power

that he did.

in all

of these

evil schemes

of the enemy

God was working

for David

a great salvation.

And may it not

be the case

for you

as well.

Perhaps the Lord

will save you

through your trials.

Lord

is

Vault

out

in the

to you to be a sort of weird Christian cliche, trust the Lord and all shall be well. You hear

it often enough and it may sound to you to be trite, like a sort of bland pseudo-wisdom that

you read on the inside wrapper of those dove chocolates or in a fortune cookie. But you know

your experience is more complicated than can be represented in a fortune cookie. Trust God and

it'll all be okay just doesn't seem to work. The world of the Bible, after all, is so very different

than our own world and God is far too absent to be easily trusted, so it seems. But let me ask you

this, if you were a historian transported back into the middle of these very events, how would you know

from within these events that God was working in them? The narrator provides this information for us.

The Lord was with David. The Lord had favor on David. But it's not clear how visible that was.

God never gives a word of encouragement to David while Saul is hurling his spears at him.

Even Samuel doesn't appear as God's mouthpiece to strengthen and bolster David along the way.

The narrator is good to tell us that the Lord was with David, but if you were a reporter investigating

these things while they happened, it seems to me that all you would see is a story of political intrigue,

of secret dealings, of shrewd political calculations wherein it is not easy to trace the hand of God.

The very next toss of the spear could find its mark in David's throat, and then where would God be?

So perhaps this idea of trusting the Lord even when we don't see him is not so unique to our experience.

Perhaps it's not so foreign from the experience of these biblical characters.

Perhaps the world around them was just as confusing and opaque as it is to us sometimes.

But David does not need to hear the audible voice of God or see the visible hand of God in his circumstances

because, it seems, he trusts what the Lord had spoken to him earlier.

Back in chapter 16, David has received a secret anointing from the prophet Samuel, the spokesman of God.

This is the last word up till this point that David has heard from God.

It's not as though they have conversations together every day.

The last word is one of anointing and then silence.

Or rather, violence.

Saul piles scheme on top of intrigue, on top of assassination attempt,

and yet David maintains a restful trust.

Not because he can make sense of all the events around him

and because he sees the hand of God working in each one of them,

but because he has decided to heed and believe the word the Lord had spoken to him back at his anointing.

And perhaps such a thing is true for us as well.

Never, never are we told that we will see the hand of God in the situation of our lives as they unfold around us.

Rather, we are told that God is good and that he loves us.

And when we do not see his hand, we can trust his character.

Is your confidence in the word of the Lord this strong?

The rage of God's enemies against you will reveal what is the bedrock of your confidence.

When the opposition of men and demons and the cares of this life come upon you,

and they will come,

when all of the edifice of your great plans collapses before your eyes,

right before those eyes, once so keen in planning and preparing,

are blinded by ignorance of what will happen in the future,

what then will you do?

If you have built a life and have cultivated the habit of trusting in the sight of your eyes,

the strategy of your schemes,

the strength of your arm,

what will become of you when all these are taken from you,

as they seem to be taken from David?

The rain fell,

the floods came,

the winds blew and beat against that house,

and it fell,

and great was the fall of it.

But when those trials come,

and the deepest foundation of our trust

is not in our strength,

or in our sight,

or our schemes,

but in the love of God

that he has spoken to us,

then we shall not fail.

Everyone, Jesus says,

who hears these words of mine and does them

will be like a man wise,

who built his house on a rock,

and the rain fell,

and the floods came,

and the winds blew and beat on the house,

but it did not fall,

because it had been founded upon the rock.

What is the word of the Lord

that the Lord has spoken to you?

What proof do you have of the Lord's love for you?

David had an anointing,

and a hope to look forward to,

of some future Messiah

who would really come

and make all things right.

But we're not there yet in the sermon.

If you are a child of the Lord,

God promises that he is working for you

a great salvation

in the midst of all of your trials,

every single one of which

will end up with your good.

of course you can't see that salvation

while it unfolds.

Of course you can't.

It was never promised to you

that you would.

So do not set your gaze fervently

to spy out

all of the intrigue of the plan

as it unfolds around you.

Rather,

direct your ears

to the word the Lord

has spoken to you,

that word that was

in the beginning with God,

that smiling face of Jesus.

Jesus.

That word that says

that God is

willing to be reconciled to us.

That God is willing

not to count our trespasses against us.

That God is willing

to give us a hope and a future.

That word,

Jesus.

Trust in that.

after the angel Gabriel

comes to Mary

to announce to her

the birth of Jesus,

she goes to visit Elizabeth

and after recounting to her

the story,

Elizabeth says,

blessed is she

who believed

that there would be

a fulfillment

of what was spoken to her

by the Lord.

Let that be true for us.

It was true for David

and as we have seen

in the face of great opposition

and touch to his life,

David defends his devotion.

So we've seen then

the schemes of Saul

and the devotion of David

and we end now

with the laughter of the Lord.

So,

if it's true

that this last chapter,

18 and 19,

have little to say

about the actions of God

in the midst of all this

and you couldn't see him

if you were a reporter there

at the time,

and if it's true

that David trusts in the Lord

despite clearly seeing his face,

where is the Lord

in all of this?

Especially if he does not

speak for himself.

I submit that though

he cannot be seen

except through the eyes

of faith,

God is right in the middle

of these events,

laughing.

So the third

and final part of the evening,

observe the laughter

of the Lord.

David is the Lord's

anointed one.

Saul is the king of Israel

and is throwing spears

and sending assassins

out against him.

How are we to think

about this theologically?

What happens

when a king

goes against

the Lord's

anointed one?

To understand that

we have to look

at another passage.

So turn with me

to Psalm 2.

Psalm 2.

Psalm 2.

We don't know

if the psalm

is Davidic,

but we know

that the characters

involved in David's

life here

are in a similar situation.

So listen to this Psalm.

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples

plot in vain?

The kings of the earth

set themselves

and the rulers

take counsel

against the Lord

and against his anointed

saying,

let us burst

their bonds apart

and cast away

their cords from us.

The kings of the world

rage against

the anointed one

of the Lord.

Rage.

They will destroy him.

And what is the response

of the Lord

to all of this?

He who sits

in the heavens

laughs.

The Lord holds him

in derision.

He will speak to them

in his wrath

and terrify them

in his fury

saying,

as for me,

I have set my king

on Zion,

my holy hill.

I will tell the decree.

The Lord said to me,

you are my son.

Today I have begotten you.

Ask of me

and I will make

the nations your heritage,

the ends of the earth

your possession.

You shall break them

with a rod of iron

and dash them

in pieces

like a potter's vessel.

Saul

thinks he poses

a threat to David.

The Lord doesn't think so.

The Lord's plan

will not be stopped.

And if Saul

chooses to take

the feel of battle

against the Lord,

only Saul

will be the loser

for it.

But it's not only

Saul here

that the Lord

laughs at

when he opposes him.

It's all of the kings

of the world.

It's all of the nations.

All the combined

military power

of NATO,

all the diplomatic

skill of the UN,

all of it poses

no threat to him.

The Lord laughs

and yet they rage.

And perhaps there are

no two more

fundamental principles

of political theory

in the Bible

than this.

The nations

will rage

against the Lord

and his anointed

and the Lord

will laugh.

From the opening

pages of Genesis

when the people

of the world

threatened to take

heaven by storm

until the last

chapters of Revelation

when the whore

of Babylon

makes war

against the people

of the Bible

with stubborn

and dogged

consistency

the kings

of the world

make war

against the Lord

and his chosen ones

and the Lord

just as constantly

frustrates

and dashes

their attempts.

The gates of hell

will not stand

against the church

of the Lord.

To be a Christian

is to recognize

that we will

sometimes be the

object of rage

in high places.

but it is also

to recognize

that the Lord

is stronger

than any power

in those high places.

From kings

to demons

our God

has fearsome

enemies

like Saul

and when we

choose to enlist

in his service

we enlist

to be their targets.

This is what

we sign up for.

It's what we see

here with David.

Does Saul

scheme for David's

downfall?

God will laugh

at him.

Even while he

works for David

a great salvation.

And here

icing on the cake.

When God

vindicates his king

he makes even

his enemies

submit to him.

Look back

at the end

of 1 Samuel 19.

The story goes

like this.

Saul has sent

his messengers

to fetch David.

They've all failed.

Now he himself

goes and on his

own personal

royal assassination

attempt.

The spirit of the

Lord overwhelms him.

He strips off

all of his clothes

and worships.

Look there

at verse 24.

He too

stripped off

his clothes

and he too

prophesied

before Samuel

and lay naked

all that day

and all that night.

Thus it is said

is Saul

also among

the prophets.

Again,

weird stuff.

Ask about it

in questions

and answers.

But do you

remember how

the story began?

Do you remember

what Jonathan

did when he

loved David?

He took off

his royal garb

and he gave it

to David

as if to say

that you David

and not I

are the rightful

king of Israel

the rightful

heir to the throne.

This Jonathan

did willingly

but not Saul.

Saul will never

give David

that sort of

legitimacy

willingly.

But at the end

under the

influence of

the spirit

of God

he will

take off

all of his

clothes

symbolically

representing

that he himself

has lost

legitimacy

in the throne

of Israel.

Saul's

attempts

to frustrate

the plans

of the Lord

will never

succeed

and the Lord

will laugh

over him.

So how

will you

grant your

submission

and obedience

to God?

As Jonathan

did

willingly

or as Saul

did

by compulsion?

And have

the kings

of this world

ceased to

rage against

the chosen

ones of God?

Any even

cursory glance

at the news

will tell you

that they

have not.

From China

to Pakistan

to Nigeria

the kings

of the world

rage

and rage

and rage

against the

Lord's

beloved ones

against his

chosen ones.

A recent

example

on February

15th

the Islamic

state

released a

video showing

the execution

of 21

Egyptian

Christians

who were

targeted

precisely

because

they were

Christians.

In the

video

the

Christians

clothed

in their

orange

jumpsuits

are marched

out by

individual

men

clad in

full black

with daggers

tucked into

their belts

they're pushed

to their

knees in

the sand

and each

of the

Islamic

state

fighters

saws

off

their

heads.

King

Saul

could not

have thought

of anything

as heinous

as this.

The kings

of the

world

rage

to this

day

against

the Lord

and his

anointed.

And yet

mere seconds

before he

is killed

one of the

Christians

in that

video can

be seen

muttering

to himself

a prayer

over and

over.

Save me

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Help me

Lord Jesus

Christ.

These are the

last words

from his throat

before it

slit in his

head severed

from his

body and

thrown across

the sand.

the sand.

What can

explain that

sort of

confidence?

I think

it's this.

That there

was yet

another

anointed

one

after David.

There was

another one

against whom

the kings

of this

world

spent all

of their

rage.

this one

did not

flee the

spears of

the kings

of the

world as

David did

but allowed

them to

pierce his

side.

This one

did not

run when

kings and

demons conspired

against him.

Saul could

not nail

David to a

wall but

David's

offspring,

Saul's

offspring,

got their

vengeance on

David's

offspring when

they nailed

our Jesus

to a cross

and watched

him bleed

out and

die.

And where

is the

laughter of

the Lord

now?

Perhaps

it was

silent.

Then for

a few

days,

low in

the grave

he lay,

Jesus my

Savior,

waiting the

coming day,

Jesus my

Lord.

Do dead

lords laugh

as this

psalm suggests

they do?

Perhaps

not.

But our

Jesus has

risen from

the dead.

And there

is no

laughter like

resurrection

laughter.

Up from

the grave

he arose

with a

mighty triumph

over his

foes.

He arose

a victor

from the

dark domain

and he

lives forever

with his

saints to

reign.

He arose

he arose.

Hallelujah.

Christ

arose.

Back in

Psalm 2,

if you have

the ESV,

you'll see

that Psalm

2 too has

anointed

capitalized.

Why?

Because later

on in the

book of Acts,

the apostles,

when trying to

explain what

happened to

Jesus,

will use

this very

psalm.

The kings

of this

world conspired

against him

to put him

to death,

but God

vindicated

him,

preserved

him.

this

anointed

one humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient at

the point

of death,

even death

on a cross,

and in

response,

God

highly

exalted

him.

And he

gave him

a name

above all

the name,

so that at

the name

of Jesus

every knee

should bow

in heaven

and on earth

and under

the earth,

and every

tongue confess

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord,

to the glory

of God

the Father.

this,

I think,

is the

good word

the Lord

has spoken

to us.

This is

the word

of love

that must

be the

foundation

of our

lives,

lest when

the storms

come,

they ruin

us.

This,

I think,

this word

of love

in the

person

of Jesus

is the

motivation,

is the

passion

of those

martyrs

on the

beach

in Libya,

of King

David

himself.

If you

look at

your bulletins,

I've

inserted

two

pictures

into the

handout

in the

middle,

and both

have to

do with

this event

in the

beach

last month

in Libya.

The top

one you

see is

essentially

a reenactment

of the

video itself,

but in the

front,

in the

orange

jumpsuit,

is the

Lord

himself

carrying

a cross.

The Lord

never asks

us to

suffer

something

that he

did not

suffer

first,

and does

not suffer

with us.

And below

that you

see the

men once

again,

now with

halos around

their heads,

signifying that

they have

attained their

goal in

heaven,

and they are

receiving the

crowns that

the Lord has

given to

them.

I give this

to you so

that you can

both pray for

our brothers and

sisters throughout

the world,

against whom the

kings of this

world are

continually raging

even these

days.

And I

give them to

you so that

you can

remember that

there is for

us laid up

a crown of

righteousness.

David trusted

the Lord and

received a

crown.

There is hope

that we shall

do the same.

Because when

the Lord works

his salvation

over his

people,

the Lord

makes

worshipers of

his enemies.

enemies.

He will

receive the

worship of

both his

loyal followers

and also of

his enemies.

One willingly,

another one

forced.

But this is

the conviction

that this

passage in

1 Samuel

gives us.

That there is

no tyrant

that has ever

put a knife

to the neck

of a Christian

who will not

one day,

either in the

fires of hell

or beyond the

gates of splendor,

bow the knee

to the rightful

king of heaven

and earth.

There is not

one who will

not do that.

There is not

one assassin

who has ever

held the gun

to the head

of one of

God's beloved

who will not

either willingly

or unwillingly

confess that

Jesus is

king of kings

and lord of lords.

David did not

see this in

his lifetime.

David did not

see this sort

of lord of lords

and king of kings

held out before

him, but we do.

We have the

good word of

love that God

has spoken to us

in Jesus.

Do you remember

earlier I asked

what would become

of us if we

like Saul

set our minds

and our wills

against the plan

of God?

Is there hope

for us?

The word of the

cross is that there

is yet hope

for us.

That though we

are dead in our

trespasses and

sins and though

we bear the

rightful curse,

that curse and

the guilt of sin

can be taken

away by one

look at the

cross of repentance

and believing

that Jesus,

his sacrifice

is enough for

us.

If you have not

done that tonight,

I encourage you

to do so.

Do not be like

Saul and rage

against the plan

of the Lord.

Why would you

die?

Why would you

die like Saul

died?

And if it is

your confidence,

hold fast to

that confidence

as David held

fast to that

confidence.

In the middle

of the raging

of your enemies

and the

uncertainties of

your life,

hold fast.

Know, as

David knew,

that the glory

held out for us

is greater than

the trials we

face now.

And though we

will not see

the plan of God

unfolding around us,

one day we

have the hope

of seeing God's

face.

So sing the

wondrous love of

Jesus.

Sing his mercy

and his grace

in the mansions

bright and

blessed.

He'll prepare

for us a place.

When we all

get to heaven,

what a day of

rejoicing that

will be.

When we all

see Jesus,

we'll sing and

shout the victory.

So let us then

be true and

faithful,

trusting,

serving every

day,

just one

glimpse of

him in

glory.

Will the

toils of

life repay?

When we all

get to heaven,

what a day of

rejoicing that

will be.

When we all

see Jesus,

as King David

and those

martyrs on the

beach in

Libya now

see him.

When we all

see Jesus,

the name at

which every

knee will

bow and

tongue confess

to be King

of Kings

and Lord

of Lords.

When we all

see Jesus,

we'll sing

and shout

the victory.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord,

thank you that

though you

have appointed

us to bear

the rage and

the schemes of

evil men,

we can bear

those with

confidence,

knowing that

you are stronger

than them.

Your appointed

plan will not

fail.

You have it in

your heart to do

good for us.

You've proven it

in Jesus.

I pray now you've

given us the

faith and the

trust to believe

that you love

us and you

are glad

with us.

You have a

plan for us.

You will

protect us.

Be with us

this week as

we go about

our business.

Help us to

preach this

gospel to

others and

to believe it

ourselves.

In the name

of Jesus,

I pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Questions?

Yeah, let's do it.

Five minutes.

Five minutes of questions.

Ask them quick,

I'll answer them quick.

There are too many

good things in this

passage,

Justin,

didn't I?

There are weird

things in there

too.

Questions?

Works for me.

Why did Saul get

naked to prophesy?

Sorry?

Why did Saul get

naked and prophesy?

Why did Saul get

naked and prophesy?

It's not clear.

The immediate answer

is that the spirit

of the Lord overtook

him and it seems

like it was an

attempt to foil the

assassination attempt

against David.

The other, I think,

sort of bigger sign

was it was a mark

of humiliation.

That Saul is on

his way toward being

basically very deranged

in this passage.

And here's a sort of

public weird example

of that.

He's stripped naked

and that's not the

sort of thing that a

nice civilized king

should do.

Therefore, perhaps,

Saul's not a nice

civilized king.

I'm just sure.

In the back, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What I want to know is,

well,

Saul's saying, like,

he,

well,

you know,

the evil spirit

started,

but he had

control of it

after that.

Like David,

the Lord would have

done it,

and he would have

made it right.

So why did

God do it?

Good question.

Yeah.

So the question,

it seems like,

is about the evil

spirit from the Lord

thing that goes on.

Is that right?

Yeah.

Good.

So, yeah.

Thank you.

It seems like,

so the question,

I think,

has to do with

chapter 18,

verse 10.

The next day,

a harmful spirit

from God

rushed upon Saul,

and he raved

within his house

while David was playing,

and then he threw

the spear.

Why the harmful

spirit from the Lord?

It happened already

to him,

to Saul,

in chapter 16,

when the spirit

of the Lord

was upon him

that signaled

his anointing

as king,

and he rebelled

against it,

and the spirit

withdrew,

and that seemed

to open up

some sort of space

for this other

spirit to come in.

Now,

it doesn't seem

like it's sort of

God's evil spirit

in the sense of

it's like a part

of God,

that sort of thing.

I think the analogy

could be that

in the book of Job,

you see that

God sort of

has a roll call

with his cabinet,

and among them

are Satan,

or is Satan,

and Satan wants

to go and do

all these nasty

things to Job,

but the Lord,

he can't do it

without the Lord's

permission.

So what seems

to be happening

here is the Lord

gives permission

to this evil spirit.

Interestingly,

in the earlier

parts of the book,

the music that

David plays

seems to work

against the evil

spirit,

and then Saul

increases in his

anger toward David,

and then it seems

like this spirit

increasingly has

control over him,

following his own

anger.

Meanwhile,

Saul never repents

of all of it,

all the way along.

So it doesn't seem

like this spirit

is leading him

without his own

will.

It seems like

Saul is going

right along with it,

willingly scheming

against the Lord.

Does that answer

your question?

Yeah,

thank you for that.

Yes, sir.

Do you hear

if Saul

had a choice

about the

need to be

given that

the Lord

would be

going to?

Yeah,

weird question.

I think he did.

I think that