David the Fugitive: Part 2

First Samuel chapter 23. So first Samuel chapter 23, and we will continue with David on the run from shepherd to king. And, when we're kids, we learn we focus on the the, anointing to be king and even more so on Goliath. And then we tend to kinda jump ahead and voila, David's king. Maybe you talk a little bit about Jonathan because, you know, when you're kids, you wanna talk about friendship.

But we don't talk a lot about several years in between David and Goliath and David becoming king. On the run for several years from Saul as a fugitive, anointed by God to be king and hiding in caves, running from place to place, not always having a lot of provision, not knowing what's around the bend. That was the situation David found himself. Life got a little messy between Goliath and the throne. Sometimes, as we saw last week, David made some some poor decisions.

He decided to lie to the high priest about why he was coming to the tabernacle, and our decisions have consequences. Even if you're a child of God and you make the wrong decision, your decision may very well have consequences, not only for yourself but also for others. In this case, Saul decided he was gonna wipe out 80 some priests and an entire town because they helped David. When they didn't realize that they were actually helping a man running from Saul because that's not what David told them. In the end, it was not David's fault, it was Saul's who, like a crazy man, eaten up with bitterness and anger and jealousy, did the unthinkable and had the priest slain.

That is where we pick up in chapter 23. A man without a country but not without a God. That was David. A man without a country but not without a God. Despite being a great disadvantage to Saul, whose assets and army far exceeded David's ragtag band of soldiers, about 400 at present, David stayed one step ahead of Saul certainly to Saul's chagrin and mounting frustration.

Like I mentioned last week, in Acts chapter five, Gamaliel, wise member of the Sanhedrin, advised his fellow leaders in the council in regards to the disciples and the apostles of the foolishness of opposing God. It did not matter what the Sanhedrin did or decreed. If it was of God, it would what? It would continue. And it was of God.

The apostles were serving the Messiah of Israel. And guess what? It has continued. Two thousand years later, here we are today reading the word of God and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. So it was with Saul, no matter what he did, he could not stop that which God had ordained to be, that David would eventually be what?

King. He he readily admitted at the end of our passage this evening that that was the case. He seemed powerless to resist it, but he also seemed powerless to resist the anger and the jealousy that continued to drive him to oppose David. Bible says, walk in the spirit and you'll not fulfill the lust of the flesh. What is the opposite of that?

Walk in the flesh and not in the spirit and you will find yourself doing very foolish and hurtful and terrible things. And that's where we find Saul. In Hebrews twelve fifteen, it warns us this, looking diligent diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of, what, bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby, what, many be defiled. Saul knew the Lord, Saul turned away from the Lord, and bitterness took root in his heart. Not only was he troubled, but many were defiled, even the priest that he had killed because of the bitterness.

Watch out for bitterness, grudges, and anger, jealousy. They will destroy you, your joy, your happiness, and others around you. This is what happened to Saul. Chapter 23 verse one. We're gonna read verses one through 13 and then we'll we'll kind of pick it apart a little bit here.

First, in this passage, we see David to the rescue. David to the rescue. Then, verse one, they told David saying, behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshing floors. Therefore, David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I go and smite these Philistines? Remember, David had just prior to this, David was the general in the army of Saul, and who were they fighting?

They were fighting the Philistines. They were at war with the Philistines. But now David is kind of sidetracked because he is having to run for his life from Saul. But he hears about this city that's under attack by the Philistines and so he wants to go help. So what did he do?

He did the right thing. He inquired of who? He inquired of the Lord. He went to the Lord for direction. What shall I do?

And the Lord said unto David, go and smite the Philistines and save Keilah. And David's men said unto him, behold, we'd be afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? So David's men naturally said, wait a second. We're going to expose ourselves to Saul if we go up to Keilah to fight the Philistines, and then we're going to be in trouble.

Are you sure? So verse four, David inquired of the Lord yet again. The Lord answered him, arise, go down to Keilah for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. I don't know that David inquired of the Lord the second time because David was in doubt, but who was in doubt? His men were in doubt.

So he needed to encourage who? He needed to encourage and convince his men. So he went to the Lord again. And this time, they were convinced. So David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle and smote them with a great slaughter.

So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. And it came to pass when when Abiathar the son of Ahimelech fled to David to Keilah that he came down with an ephod in his hand. Abiathar is the son of Ahimelech. He was the only priest, it would seem, that escaped the massacre at Nob at the hand of Saul and and his servant Doeg. And Abiathar, who would now be the high priest because his father had been slain, fled to David.

He didn't flee to Saul, he fled to who? He fled to David. So now the high priest was with was with David, Abiathar. And the ephod was, the the breastplate, the upper garment that the the priest wore. It had jewels on it.

It had something called the Urim, Ummun, and the the I get my tongue. The Urim and the Thummim, which were used they were stones that were used in kinda like drawing straws to determine God's will at times, or at least they represented that. And so here came Abiathar with the ephod worn by the high priest to David. Verse seven, it came and it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, go, God hath delivered him into mine hand for he is shut in by entering into a town that have gates and bars.

Evidently, Keilah only had one entrance and one exit. It's in it's it's a walled city, And so he thought, I'll besiege him. He won't be able to escape. And Saul called all the people together to war to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him, and he said to Biathar the priest, bring hither the ephod.

Then said David, oh, Lord God of Israel, thy servant has certainly heard that Saul seek us to come to Keilah to destroy the city for my sake. Will the man of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? Will Saul come down as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the Lord said, he will come down.

Then David then said David, will the man of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the Lord said, they will deliver thee up. Then David, his men, were about 600, arose and departed out of Keilah and and went whithersoever they could go. And it was told to all Saul that David had escaped from Keilah and he forbear to go forth. So, again, David's got a decision to make and he goes to who?

He goes to the the Lord. The Lord directs him and he escapes, capture, not only escapes capture, but he also, in in a way, saves Keilah again by leaving it because if he'd stayed there, he had put the city itself in jeopardy. So he leaves once again. So we see David to the rescue in Keilah. Keilah is a city in Judah, under attack by the Philistines.

David, after inquiring the Lord, responds to the knee, defeats the Philistines despite the complaints and the fears of his men, which he quelled by going to who? By going to to the Lord. In other words, this is David saying to his men, this is not my word, it's whose word. It's God's word. And, that's what we do when we preach from the word of God.

It's not my word, it's whose word. It's God's word. That's where the authority comes from. That's why we preach and teach the word of God. That's why we follow and obey it because it is not just the words of men, it is the words of God.

During this time, Abiathar came to David, escaping the clutches of Saul to bring David the high priest's garment containing Urim and Thummim, furthermore indicating that God was with who? That God was with David because the high priest is with David. And so we see that here. Again, after inquiring the Lord, he departs for departs Keilah just in time to avoid Saul. Wouldn't be the last time that God warned somebody to avoid the clutches of the enemy.

On more than one occasion, God warned Paul, you better get out of town. And I do remember a young couple by the name of Mary and Joseph who were warned to flee Bethlehem just before Herod the Great decided to have all the children under the age of two killed to kill the baby Jesus. God does intervene in the affairs of men when it is needed and when it is his will and desire. And we see that many times, and he has intervened in our life, sometimes in ways that we didn't even recognize. But he cares for us too, particularly when we are putting our life in in his hands, which is always the safest place to be, is it not?

In his hands. So David leaves Keilah. Despite the whirlwind that David David is in, he goes and he saves the city from the Philistines. That does indeed depict the heart of David. He escapes before Saul gets there and he heads to Ziph, the wilderness of Ziph.

So we're verse 14. David abode in the wilderness in strongholds and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his, that is Saul's hand. David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life, and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David into the wood and strengthened his hand in God.

He said unto him, fear not for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee and thou shalt be king over Israel and I shall be next unto thee and that also Saul my father knoweth. And they too made a covenant before the Lord and David abode in the wood and Jonathan went to his house. Just when David needed it, who did who did God send to his side? He sent his friend Jonathan. Saul's son, the guy who was trying to kill him, but also David's best friend.

As I mentioned last couple weeks ago, David never compelled Jonathan to choose a side. Jonathan didn't travel with David. He was still loyal to his father, but at the same time, he was there trying to convince his father to stop going after David. David knew that he had a friend in the palace. David knew that he had a friend for life.

There is a friend that sticketh closer to a brother and that friend was Jonathan. The man who would be king under normal circumstances. He was Saul's oldest son. Normally, the the rule fell to the eldest son. But as Jonathan encourages David here, he says, and thou shalt be what?

And thou shalt be king over Israel. We don't know a whole lot about Jonathan. We do know a little. But the little that we do know should cause us to respect this man greatly. Willing to give up position for the will of God, for his friend, a man of courage, a man of strength, a man of faithfulness.

And here he is right when David needs it, encouraging him again. Maybe maybe we are Jonathan to somebody else. Maybe sometimes we get too self focused on ourselves, and there's somebody else that God has put in our path that we should be there to help and strengthen and encourage like Jonathan was today. So we continue on, and we're in verse 19, then came up the Ziphites to Saul, to Gibeah, that's where Saul lived, his palace, saying, doth not David hide himself with us in strongholds in the wood in the hills of Hachilah, which is on the South of Jeshimon. Now, therefore, oh king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul, come down, and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.

And Saul said, blessed be ye of the Lord, for ye have compassion on me. Go, I pray you, prepare yet and know and see his place where his haunt is and hath seen him there for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly. You know, here, Saul's trying to make, you know, David sound like the bad guy here. That's not actually the case. See therefore and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself and come ye again to me with certainty and I will go with you.

And it shall come to pass if he be in the land that I will search him out through all the thousands of Judah. I will find him. I won't fail. Well, you will of who's standing in your way? God.

If God is standing in your way, you're gonna fail. And, fail, Saul does again and again and again and again. So Saul also and his men went to seek him and they told David of let's see here. Did I skip ahead? Verse verse 23 or verse 24.

And they arose and went to Ziph before Saul, but David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon in the plain on the South Of Jeshimon. So Saul's men went to Ziph, and David managed to squirt out and go to a different place. And so they thought they had him and guess what? They didn't. It was during this time that David wrote, we believe, Psalm 54.

So I'm gonna read Psalm 54. It's a shorn of the shorter Psalms. David wrote it while he was on the run, it would seem. The title of the Psalm is the chief musician of Neginoth, a masculine of Psalm of David with the Ziphims. When the Ziphims came and said the Saul, doth not David hide himself with us.

So the Psalm says this, save me, o God, by thy name and judge me by thy strength. Hear my prayer, o God. Give ear to the words of my mouth for strangers are risen up against me and oppressors seek after my soul. They have not set God before them, Selah. Who is he talking about?

He's talking about the people of Ziph that are betraying him to what? To Saul and offering to help Saul find him. Verse four, behold, God is mine helper. The Lord is with them that uphold my soul. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies.

Cut them off in thy truth. I will freely sacrifice unto thee. I will praise thy name, oh Lord, for it is good. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble and my eye has seen his desire upon mine enemies. What is David saying?

David's saying, I trust in God and God is gonna take care of me and God is gonna deal with who? With them. The psalm can be divided in three points, a prayer for deliverance in the first three verses, an anticipation of that deliverance, and then thanksgiving for that deliverance, which reminds me of Philippians chapter four. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. As he kept David's, while he was running, running, running, running from Saul and not sitting on the throne that God had promised.

The Bible also says, they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wing with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. We see that here in David.

And then David heads to Maon. So he goes to Keilah, to Ziph, and then to Maon in verse 24 or verse 25. Saul also and his men went to seek him, they told David wherefore he came down into a rock and abode in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that he pursued heard that, he pursued after David in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul went on this side of the mountain, and David and his men on that side of the mountain.

And David made haste to get away for fear of Saul, for Saul and his men compassed or surrounded David and his men roundabout to take them. I'm not sure if Saul knew exactly how close he was to getting David. As David was on that side of the mountain, Saul was on this one, and they were coming around the mountain and they had him what? They had him trapped. They had him surrounded.

It did not look good. Uh-oh. Is there times in life when things don't look good? There are times in life when you go, uh-oh. I thought I had it figured out.

I thought I escaped and, uh-oh. Has God forgotten you? No. He said, I'll never, what, leave you nor forsake you. And sometimes indeed it is darkest right before the what?

Right before the dawn. Verse 27. Again, I don't think Saul knew quite how close he was. Verse 27, but there came a messenger under Saul saying, haste thee and come for the Philistines have invaded the land. Wherefore Saul returned from pursuing after David and went against the Philistines.

Therefore, they called the place Selah Hamahlikoth. And David went up from thence and dwelt in the strongholds of Engedi. So once again, did what? He he escaped. Why did he escape?

Because he was the shrewdest the shrewdest of all strategists. No. He was about he got himself hemmed in. He was about to get caught. But who was watching out for him?

God was. And once again, when things look bleak, God took care of the situation. In Psalm 20 verse seven, David wrote this, some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. Why? Because again and again and again, God had shown himself trustworthy and faithful.

He had promised David that one day he would sit on the what? On the throne of Israel. And God was gonna see to it that it happened. God keeps watch over his own and will keep all his promises to David sometimes despite himself. David's self.

Us too. And so David escapes once again and escapes now to En Gedi. So chapter 24, came to pass when Saul was returned from following the Philistines that it was told him saying, behold, David is the wilderness of Engedi. Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men out of all Israel. David now had a total of, I think, 600 men against 3,000.

Saul took 3,000 chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheep coats, by the way, where was a cave and Saul went in to cover his feet and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. So Saul took 3,000 men. He chased after David. He knew he was in En Gedi.

En Gedi is a somewhat open place. He thought for sure, I've got him now. It's up against the Dead Sea, and so therefore, it was going to be hard to get away because you had the Dead Sea trapping him in from behind. And so, Saul thought, boy, I've got him now. Just a few pictures.

These are pictures from my trip to Israel back a while ago now. These are pictures of the Judean Wilderness. When we think of wilderness, sometimes we think of like, you know, jungle. Okay? When you read about wilderness in the New Testament, it's desert.

And this is the Judean Desert. It goes on and on and on and on for miles and miles, barren desert, hardly any vegetation at all, very dry, only rains three or four times a year around the Dead Sea in the southern part of Israel called the Judean Wilderness. So these are just pictures I took as we were traveling through through the wilderness there. So a few more. In Gedi.

So on the map there, you see the Dead Sea. That is so the Sea Of you got Sea Of Galilee to the north. The Jordan River flows south out of the Sea Of Galilee down to the what? To the Dead Sea. It's called the Dead Sea because nothing lives or grows in the Dead Sea.

That's because all of the minerals and stuff that's brought by the Jordan River dumps in the Dead Sea, and the Dead Sea has no outlets. So the water just sits there and it evaporates and all the minerals are left behind in the Dead Sea. And it's so thick with these minerals that that there's no fish to speak of living in, the Dead Sea. If you stick your hand in the water of the Dead Sea, you pull it out, it's you're covered with oil, an oily type substance. You gotta go wash your hands with soap and water to get the the oily off your hand.

If you go out into the Dead Sea, you can, just float extremely easily. It's it's kind of impossible hardly to to drown in the Dead Sea because the so many minerals in the content, it's like being in the ocean, but many, many, many times more dense and so you very, very easily float in the waters of the Dead Sea. They're not particularly drinkable. Okay? You don't want to drink them.

Sometimes if you go to a store, you will find lotions and that kind of stuff that's made from the minerals in the Dead Sea. That's kind of popular even in The US these days. So he was hemmed in against the Dead Sea with his men in this place called Ein Gedi. The reason he oops. How did I do that?

The reason he went there okay. Let me see if I can get back out of this. Okay. The reason he went there, was in order, because there was a oasis. So there were springs that came up there off this side of the Dead Sea, so there was water to drink.

And so here's some pictures of En Gedi. You're traveling along, going down the road around the Dead Sea. There's nothing but desert, desert, desert, and then all of a sudden you see a bunch of palm trees. Guess what? You've arrived at En Gedi where there is springs, and it's a tourist trap now.

I don't think there were red umbrellas when David was there. Alright? So there is a picture looking out over the Dead Sea. It's hard to see in this in this picture, but there is snow capped mountains in the in the distance. Okay?

Those mountains are over these just barely see it right here. Those are snow capped mountains up there. They're over in Jordan, neighboring country. In David's time, it was called Gilead. One of those mountains over there, I'm not sure which one, is Nebo, and that's where Moses died before they entered into the land of Canaan.

So in this picture, you can see that that brown rock on the left right here. It kinda the light kinda shines off of it. That's because it's covered in this oily substance that that you have there in the Dead Sea. There's a bunch of those palm trees that are there. There's a picture.

You know, it's just this big clump there and place where there's a spring of water so they grow. So one other thing to notice, right here in this picture, you'll see that black area there, that's a cave. You see that black area there? A cave. A cave.

A cave. They're all over in these mountains. There are caves and caves and more more caves where people could go hide. They've been washed out by the flow of water. There's one.

And so David and his men were hiding in in one of these caves. And there, it mentions wild goats. There is the wild goat. It looks sort of like a gazelle or an antelope, but it's what they called wild goats in the scripture here, and they still live there. When they get larger, their horns get larger.

And when they cut them off, they make what's called a shofar or what they refer to in Scripture as a trumpet. So what my son plays over here when you see trumpet is not what it's referring to. It's referring to a ram's horn or a shofar, and they come from animals like these when they get larger, cut them off and you can blow into them. You can actually play notes on them. We have one that that someone gave us.

David can play several notes on the thing. But I can make a couple rather aggravating noises on the thing. But but anyway, but they come from these these wild goats that were mentioned here in the passage. So this is the situation. Now let's look and see what happens.

Okay? So we're in verse four. So they're hiding in the cave. Saul and his men are are coming by and the men of David said unto him, well, Saul and his men in verse three are coming by and Saul went into the cave to cover his feet. That means he's he's going to the cave to relieve himself.

Okay? That's why he's in the cave. And unbeknownst to him, guess who is hiding in the cave? David and his men are hiding this must have been a pretty sizable cave, Must have had maybe one more than one kind of room in it. And David and his men are off in the back here.

Of course, there there is no electric lights or even candles much. Nothing way of light in the cave. So if they had any candles or anything, the minute Saul walks in, all their candles went off. So it's pitch black in there and Saul was in there, doesn't realize that just a few feet from him is who? David and his several of his men hiding in the cave.

Verse four, the men of David said unto him, behold behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand that thou mayest do to him as it seemed good unto thee. So what did David's men said? Look. Look. God has has, you know, brought him to you on a silver platter.

There he is. Just waiting for you to get rid of him. God served him up. What did David do? Well, David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privately.

So Saul had taken his robe off and he had thrown it over to the side. And so David quietly cuts a piece of his robe off. Doesn't kill Saul, doesn't threaten Saul, just cuts a piece a corner of his robe off. Verse five, it came to pass afterward that David's heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. David felt guilty about cutting a piece of his robe off, his his kingly robe because he was at time the king.

His his soldiers wanted him to kill him. He cut a piece of the robe off, and he felt guilty about cutting the piece of the robe off. His man must have thought he was crazy. Verse six, and he said unto his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed. You see, before the Lord anointed David, he first anointed who?

Saul to be king. To stretch forth mine hand against him seeing he is the anointed of the Lord. In other words, God chose him and he's gonna be king until God decides what? Otherwise, until God decides to take him out, until God decides to make me king, that is whose prerogative. That's God's prerogative and it's not mine.

Now, how easy would it have been for David to justify killing Saul? I mean, he's just doing what? He's just defending himself. He could have so easily justified killing Saul, but he didn't because he knew the best thing was to leave that in the hands of the Lord. The Lord who had anointed him and told him he would be king would take care of Saul when the Lord when the Lord determined and not when David determined.

So David, verse seven, stayed his servants with these words. In other words, he kept them from killing Saul, suffered them not to rise against Saul. So Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way. Saul never knew he was there. David also arose afterward and went out of the cave and cried after fall of Saul saying, my Lord, the king, and when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself.

And David said to Saul, wherefore hears thou men's words saying, behold, David seeketh thy hurt. In other words, people are telling you that I'm I I seek your injury? I seek to depose you? You know better than that. Behold this day, verse 10, thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave and some bade me kill thee, but mine eye spared thee and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my Lord for he is the Lord's anointed.

Moreover, father, see ye see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee, but mine hand shall not be upon thee. David called him what? He called him father.

In a way, he had been like a father to David. How sad a story. What what what jealousy and anger and bitterness had done to Saul. Saul took David in to be his musician. Saul exalted him to high rank in his army.

Saul had was there when he killed Goliath. And yet Saul now is running all over the wilderness trying to to kill David. Not walking in the spirit, but in the what? But in the flesh. David was given the opportunity to take him out and David said what?

No. And he called him father. He said the Lord will take care. Verse 16, it came to pass when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul that Saul said, is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

And he said to David, thou art more righteous than I for that thou has rewarded me goodness whereas I have rewarded the evil. Thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt well with with me for as much as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killest me not. Or if a man find his enemy, will he let him go? Go well away? Wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.

And now behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king and that thy kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand. So what happened at En Gedi? Well, God served up Saul to David on a silver platter. And David said what? David said, no.

You deal with him. I'm I I I can't. I won't do it. I won't do it. He refused.

It was not his prerogative. Sometimes it seems that it may seem that a door opens and an opportunity arises and it must be what? It must be God's God's will. Be careful. Make sure you inquire of the Lord first to find out if it actually is God's will.

Make sure that the decision you're about to make because the door will open wide open, it must be God's will, is in line with the guidance that God gives in his his word. I don't know how many times I have spoken with people and they've had a decision to make and something happened, a door opened and an opportunity came available and they they say, well, it it must be God's will because look what happened. When sometimes if they would just step back for a moment and think about the decision they're about to make, they might see that just because a door opens doesn't mean that you're supposed to what? That you're supposed to walk through it. There's some doors that open that you're not supposed to walk through.

There's some situations that when they show themselves are not what at first you might think they they be. So take time to step back and listen to the Lord and His word, and do not be too quick to jump. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord. Psalm 37.

You wanna turn there? I'm gonna read from Psalm 37. This is my wife's favorite favorite Psalm. Guess who wrote it? You find it?

You have a caption in your bible who wrote it? That would be David, Psalm 37. I don't know when David wrote this. It doesn't tell me in the caption when he wrote it, But this is what he wrote, fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do what? Do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. What was David's determination?

I don't think God would want me to what? To kill the king. I'm gonna trust too. I'm gonna trust the Lord to take care of that in his time. Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass.

He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, forsake wrath, fret not thyself in any wise to do what? To do evil.

And we could continue. It's a wonderful song that reminds us to trust in the Lord, not to jump ahead, and to think through the principles we find in God's word, to listen to his holy spirit, and to be good and let God take care of the rest. In Romans chapter 12, Paul writes this, and with this I am done this evening. In Romans 12, Paul writes this beginning in verse 18. If it be possible as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

In other words, you do your part. You can't control them, but you do what? You do your part. What was David's part? David's part was I'm not killing Saul.

I'm not gonna do it. He continues on. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place under wrath for his written vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. I'm sure David could have justified getting vengeance on Saul, but he wasn't Rambo and he wasn't Arnold and he wasn't. No.

He he decided to let God as we should. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

You know what David did that day? By sparing Paul's by sparing Saul's life, he made a point not only to Saul who eventually sadly would go back on his promise he made here, but also to the men that surrounded Saul because one day those men were gonna be in whose army? Many of those men were gonna be in David's army, and he was teaching them. Let God let God take care of things. Don't jump ahead.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding and all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. Let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for all that you've given us today, the opportunity to to be in this place again, to worship you, to praise your name, to learn from your word, and be encouraged by the words of the Lord and the words of David here. Lord, we thank you for the good examples as well as the bad.

May we learn from both, and may we learn to trust you more. For you will take care of us. We seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness. All these things will be added unto us. Lord, help us to trust you more and get out of your way and watch the great and mighty things which you can do.

And indeed, Lord, the great and mighty things are coming for David. But sometimes we just gotta be patient. Help us to be patient. In Jesus' name, amen. Jake, you're