One. At the end of first Samuel, we read the sad story of the death of Saul and three of his sons in the battle against the Philistines, which they sadly lost, and, much of Israel was overrun, particularly in Mid To Northern Israel by, the Philistines at that time. David, by God's grace, was spared the battle due to the providence of God. He was busy taking care of something else, battle against the Amalekites to free his family and his things that had been taken from Ziklag while the battle with Israel was taking place. So, he was spared having to choose one side or the other seeing he had had been living in the Philistine territory.

So, that's where we leave off at the end of first Samuel again. First Samuel is largely about three people. First would be Samuel and then following that, Saul, the first king of Israel and a king who started out pretty well but pretty quickly. His pride got the better of him and he began to not fulfill the will of the Lord as commanded him and that cost him greatly. And rather than repenting, he just continued to dig his hole deeper.

And again, that's something that is a warning to us. Yes, we do sometimes allow our flesh, the pride to get the better of us. If we're not walking in the spirit, then yes, sometimes we do fulfill the lust of the flesh and that's why we're told in first John one nine to do what? To confess our sins. That's why we're told in Revelation two, the church of Ephesus to repent and go back and do the first works.

And the Lord will not only forgive, but he will give us victory. And he will do great and mighty things in our lives if we will repent and confess our sins. But Saul didn't do that. Leading up to his death, he decided he was gonna consult with a witch, And that just kind of shows the the depth at which he had, gone to, in his sin and reparibacy. So, that brings us, to second Samuel chapter one, and David's exile comes to an end.

For many years now, David had been essentially exiled, either a fugitive within Israel running from Saul or an exile living in, Philistia. So, but in our story today, his exile ends, and, his reign in Hebron begins. But in reference to shepherd the king, this doesn't finish our story. And you'll see why as we get into it this evening. So second Samuel chapter one.

Now, it came to pass after the death of Saul when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and David had abode two days in Ziklag. That's where he had been living in Philistine territory and he came even to pass on the third day that behold a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head and so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance And David said unto him, from whence comest thou? And he said unto him, out of the camp of Israel am I escaped? And David said unto him, how went the matter, I pray thee? Tell me.

And he answered, that the people are fled from the battle and many of the people also are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. This would appear to be the time that David himself receives the news that Saul has died upon Mount Gilboa and that three of his four sons had died there with him, including Jonathan. This is a retelling of the story, from the previous chapter at the end of first Samuel, but from the perspective that David, receives it, here at the beginning of second Samuel. A different point of view. A point of view, not just of David, but specifically from this young man that shows up to David to tell him the news.

And this young man is not sorrowful, it would seem, over the telling of the news. It would seem that he is thinking that he is bringing good news to David. And we'll see that as we go along here as he tells of the death of Saul and of Jonathan. Verse five, David said unto the young man that told him, how knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? The young man that told him said, as I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his sword and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

Now, we learned at the end of first Samuel that Saul tried to commit suicide at least. He fell upon his own sword after his armor bearer refused to kill him rather than to face the sword of or of the enemy or captivity by the enemy. This is the cowardly way out, not the honorable way out. There are many in our society today that are champions, something called euthanasia or assisted suicide, but that is not the way of the Lord because it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this, the judgment and that time is in the hands of who? It should be in the hands of God and not man.

And we need to lean upon the grace of God and wait for him. There are a lot of people sadly that are buying a lie and a lot of them who are taking their own lives today. In Canada, they're have made quite a a deal of assisted suicide and many, some quite young, that with the government's official sanction have sought help to take their own life. That is not the way of hope. That is a way of what?

Despair. But Christ gives what? Christ gives hope. And it is not death that people need, it is what? It is life that people need, and it is life that Jesus offers.

Not a way to escape, but a way to be rescued and to be redeemed in Jesus Christ. But continuing on, little aside there. So Saul had leaned upon his sword, at least attempted to kill himself. And when he looked behind him, he saw me. He saying, Saul, Saul, this young man, and called unto me.

And I answered, here am I. And he said to me, who art thou? And I answered him. And by looking at the text, watch the young man's answer. I am an Amalekite.

Do you find any irony in that? I am an Amalekite. We'll come back to that. He said unto me again, stand, I pray thee, upon me and slay me, for anguish has come upon me because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him and slew him because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen.

And I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them hither unto my Lord. He made it sound like he was being, you know, helpful. He said, kill me. So, we don't know if Saul actually asked this man to kill him or not, but that's at least the story that he is telling David as though he was saving him from pain. And with him, he had the crown that upon had been upon Saul's head and the bracelet that was on his arm arm that signified that he was the king.

Then David took hold on his clothes and rent them and likewise all the men that were with him. Obviously, this is a sign of great distress and sorrow then David took hold and they, verse 12, and they mourned and wept and fasted until even for Saul and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword. And David said unto the young man that told him, whence art thou? And he answered and said, I am the son of a stranger and a malachite. And David said unto him, how was thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?

And David called one of the young men and said, go near and fall upon him, and he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed. So we have the retelling the story of the death particularly of Saul in the ears of David by this young man. Back in first Samuel 15, what did God tell Saul to do? He told Saul to go and to kill all of the Amalekites.

Now, as I'm reminded by someone at times, you have to be careful how you bring Old Testament into the New Testament. We are told to love our enemies and the times are different in some respects, in ways than they were then. Yet, God is a God of righteousness and a God of justice and He had promised or sworn that he rightly would have seen justice and vengeance taken upon the Amalekites. He sent Saul to take care of it, and did Saul finish the job? The answer to that is no.

He did not. It was the Amalekites who had just attacked Ziklag where all of David's men and his families had lived and all of their stuff had been taken, their wives and children, and they had to chase after them to in order to get them back and praise God miraculously, they did. But yet, still dealing with the Amalekites because the job was not was not finished and doesn't seem it was actually finished until we get to the book of what? Where's the last place in the Bible you hear about Amalekites? We're studying it in Sunday school.

The book of Esther. Okay. That's the last place we hear about any Amalekites, particularly Haman who was an Agagite, which would identify him as likely related to Agag, the king of the Amalekites whom Saul spared initially. So so we see here that Saul is killed by the hand of an Amalekite just in a way, behold, your sin will find you out when he didn't finish the job that God had called him to do and excused himself or justified himself for not doing it. We see the expectation of the young man.

Young man who brought the news thought he was going to be what? Why why was he so ecstatic about excited about telling David? Because he thought he was going to get a reward. He thought, boy, he's coming out. He he must have known that Saul and David were at each other's odds with one another and he thought, oh, I'll David will surely reward me for being one that killed his enemy.

But as the Bible does say in the New Testament, to love our enemies, to pray for them who despitefully use us, Saul in some respects was David's enemy, but Saul was still, in some respects, David's mentor and friend. The world is more complicated than just putting everybody in nice boxes, adversary and friend. When we show the love of Christ, sometimes we'll actually turn our friend our enemies into our what? Into our friends. I'm sure it was David's hope that Saul would one day quit trying to kill him and would welcome him.

And the decree that God had made that he would be king after Saul, but it didn't happen. It didn't happen that way. What was this young man's reward? It was his execution fueled by his own confession that he and Amalekite had taken the life of the king of Israel. He dared to lift his hand against God's anointed.

David was not seeking the death of Saul and particularly not the death of who? Jonathan. Which he will continue to express sorrow for here in the passage to follow. And to feed fuel with fire, the man that did it was an Amalekite. Couple thoughts in relation to the end of this young man and and this part of the story, the Bible stands that sadly many will stand before God on that day seeking God's favor thinking that, hey, I've done something to surely merit God's favor and they won't get the reward they are expecting.

Matthew seven twenty one to 23 reads, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? In thy name have cast out devils, in thy name have done many wonderful works, and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that work, what? Iniquity.

This man is an example of that. There ever was one. He thought he was going to get his reward as he came to David for what he had done. Sadly, many will stand before God and will hear, depart from me, ye that work iniquity, who had done many incredible things in the name of God, but they were not God's what? They were not God's will because they didn't know God.

Therefore, they did not know his will. And the fact is there is nothing we can do to merit or to earn God's favor except to receive who? To resect his son Jesus Christ, of whom David is an ancestor and type of in the Old Testament. And there are some things more important than power. David wasn't happy that his enemy had died.

David was sorrowful because he had lost his friends. Yes, he now had an opportunity to take his throne, but the loss of his friends he would not have traded for the crown that was now laying before him. There is a man that sticketh closer than a what? Brother. That man was Jonathan.

And that news hit David like a ton of bricks. He had lost his friend, at least until the day that he might see him again. But for now, he had lost him, and that brought far more sorrow than satisfaction that the throne might be his. And so David gives a eulogy following the execution of the messenger. A lament, sorrow, it is given here in verse seven begins here in verse 17.

And David lamented with his lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son. Alas, he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow. Behold, it is written in the book of Jasher. If you have maybe perchance a newer translation, it it won't say that he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow. It might say just the bow or the song of the bow.

If you notice in if you have a King James version, the use of is in what? Italics, which is, I think, a good thing the king King James translators did in places where they substituted words in order to make the sentence complete. They put those words in italics that was not clearly in the Hebrew. In this case, the use of is in italics because the Hebrew simply said, also he bade them teach the children of Judah the bow. And it is debated whether the bow means the use of the bow because Jonathan was an archer and used a bow or whether the lament that he is repeating beginning in verse 19 is actually titled the The Bow, which is probably the more likely of the two.

But let's read, the poem that follows, the lament by David. 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 Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Gath and Askelon were two of the major cities of Philistia.

You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you nor fields of offerings for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away. The shield of Saul as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives and in their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles.

They were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep oversaw, who clothed you in scarlet with other delights who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle? O Jonathan, thou hast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan.

Very pleasant hast thou been unto me. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen? The weapons of war perished. So David rinses clothes and mourns and laments the passing of his friends and of the anointed of the Lord.

A defeat indeed for Israel, a stain upon them in the death of their king. He recalls and extols the exploits of Saul and his sons. He laments their passing and the loss to the nation of Israel, both Saul and Jonathan. He chooses not to remember the sins of Saul, but he chooses to remember and to extol the good things that he did for Israel. He commanded that it be taught the children of Israel remembrance of their first king.

In this, we see a glimpse of the heart of the man that God chose to be the next king. A man after what? God's own heart. We see in the expression of David. Not relieved, not excited, or satisfied with the death of his enemy, but brought down to sorrow.

For his friend, for his nation. David was a man of great passion, which when uninhibited will at times be his downfall. But he here expressed but here it is expressed in the loss of a man in many ways is equal, a friend who indeed stuck closer than a brother, a man who never claimed the throne for himself, that is Jonathan, but was glad to merely be a servant of the true king. It is here that we lay aside Saul and Jonathan and all the good and bad they represented and we move on with the story of the new king, David. And so we come to chapter two.

David is crowned king in Hebron. Chapter two verse one. It came to pass after this that David inquired of the Lord saying, shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the Lord said to him, go up. And David said, whither shall I go up?

And he said unto Hebron. There is a time for sorrow, but there's also a time to what? To move on. Paul said, remember in Philippians, if you're getting those things which are behind, I press forward the things press on toward the things which are before for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We that are here have a ministry and a job and a purpose that lays not behind us, but what?

Before us. And we must, by God's grace, pick up and move on. And by God's grace, we can. I can do what? All things through Christ who strengthens me.

So David mourns and then David moves on. Seeking the Lord's direction, the Lord guides him to Hebron. So David went up hither hither sorry, thither. David went up thither and his two wives, also Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, Nabal's wife. The Carmelite, and his men that were with him did David bring up every man with his household, and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.

The men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah, and they told David saying that the men of Jabesh Gilead were there. Jabesh Gilead were they that buried Saul. So I'm gonna skip ahead a little bit here to a map just to give us a quick look. Alright. So here on the map, and I brought the right pointer tonight so you can actually see it.

Thanks to Jerry. Alright. So here on the map, right above my green light is the city of Hebron. Okay? That is in the tribe of Judah.

The tribe of Judah cuts right here, just almost through Jerusalem, from here over towards the coast to Philistia, and then down here and then across here and back up. So this whole, it it's about a third of the country or the lower half of the Western Side of Israel belong to the tribe of Judah. Initially, Simeon received land inside of the tribe of Judah, but they didn't really receive their own land because Levi and Simeon were cursed because of what they, did in Shechem, in killing the men of the city way back with their father Jacob. That's another story. But all of that land, the lower half from Jerusalem down, belong to the tribe of Judah.

And so David is crowned king in Hebron, but he is crowned king by the men of the tribe of Judah. Okay? So this doesn't encompass the entire country. Not all the children of Israel, just the men of the tribe, the people of the tribe of Judah, crowned him king there, in the city of Hebron. So couple thoughts about that.

First of all, after he laments Jonathan's death, David makes a good decision. What does he decide to do? He decides to inquire of who? He decides to inquire of the Lord. Now, as we looked at David's life leading up to this, there were times David inquired of the Lord and there were times that David did not inquire of the Lord.

When David did not inquire of the Lord, did things go well for David? No, they didn't. Now they may have seemed to get off to a start okay, but in the end, they got him in a bind, in trouble. They got his family taken captive and he had to go get them. And all of these things, one time he had to feign madness, before one of the Philist the kings of one of the cities in order to escape getting killed, when he didn't listen to the Lord, when he didn't inquire the Lord, when he just went off on his own.

In one case, remember he went to the city of Nob and he requested help from the high priest and didn't tell the high priest what actually was going on and Saul came after him and had all the priests what? And all the priests killed, there in the city. So but when David inquired of the Lord, when he went to the Lord, when he sought refuge in the Lord, when he when he did as those Psalms he wrote talked about and God made God his mighty fortress, his refuge, his shield, then the Lord defended him. And things went much better for David and those that indeed followed him. Here, David seems to have learned his lesson for the moment and he inquires of the Lord.

We're told in the book of James, and I mentioned this recently in other sermons. If any of you lack wisdom, let him what? Let him ask of God. And if you're sincere and you really need God's wisdom and direction, God will direct us. God will show us and God will answer us and he will guide us and he will bless us.

If we'll seek first the kingdom of God, his righteousness, his way, his will in our life. He will give to us liberally. He will not hold anything back because he loves us. Sometimes people say, well, I asked God, God didn't show me. Well, maybe you're not giving God time because his time is not always our time and the Bible teaches us sometimes you have to wait on the Lord.

Maybe you have something to learn before you get to that particular answer. And other times, I think we're just not all that sincere. We ask the Lord, Lord, do you want me to buy this thing? Do you want me to go to this place? Do you want me to do this thing?

And we already have decided in our heart, we're going to do this thing. We're going to buy this thing. We're going to go to this place. We just want God to what? Rubber stamp our own decision.

And so, guess what? God doesn't seem to speak up some of those times or we think God speaks up in a way that he didn't because we've already made up our mind. But David inquired of the Lord this time, and God said, you go back to Hebron. And so David gets to return to Israel no longer to Judah, no longer as a fugitive. The men of David had suffered with him, and those men got to return with him.

They suffered in ignominy as fugitives with him, and now they would get to reign with him, in Judah. That reminds me of some verses in the New Testament in regards to Jesus Christ. Second Timothy two twelve, it says, if we suffer with him, we shall also what? Reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.

Romans eight seventeen says, and if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also what? Glorified together. First Peter four thirteen, but rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.

These men had suffered greatly at times with David, but now they would rejoice and inherit as he inherited. We in Christ may suffer at times for the cause of Christ, but Jesus says, rejoice and be exceeding what? Glad for great is your reward where? In heaven. And it's waiting for us.

And we must not minimize that reward because we can't see it right now. But great is our reward in heaven, particularly when we suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ. As he sits at the right hand of the father, he secures our inheritance in heaven with him. We are seated in heavenly places in Christ because as he sits there, he sits there in our stead. And one day, as he has been crowned and will be crowned on earth, we will reign with him.

Matthew 19, Jesus said this to his disciples. They said, but we have left and forsaken all of this for you. What will what will come of us? And Jesus said, and everyone that hath forsaken houses or brother or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold and shall inherit everlasting life. So the suffering that we have is but, light in comparison to the joy and the reward that is ours in Christ Jesus, something that we need to remind ourselves of sometimes.

For as David awaited the day when he would be anointed king as God had foretold he would be, we look forward to the day when Christ will be crowned king and we will be with him. The city of Hebron is interesting. Back to the map. So I showed you the the city of Hebron. It's right there in the middle of, of the tribe of Judah.

And the city of Hebron has a little bit of history to it. It is the place where Abraham initially settled in Canaan. When Abraham initially came to Canaan, the first place that he stopped and he built an altar and made an offering to the Lord was in the area of the city of Hebron. Genesis thirteen eighteen. It was the place where he buried his family and where Joseph's bones were also buried upon their return from Egypt.

The Cave Of Mamre is in the area of the city of Hebron. That's the place where the first place that Abraham actually owned land, the only place that Abraham actually owned land in Canaan was in the area of Hebron. It's the place where Caleb defeated the Anakins upon their return to the land. It was the area that Joshua and Caleb had went in and spied out when they were sent in as the spies, and God had promised Caleb that to him and his family, he would give that land. And, Joshua did give that to Caleb, and Caleb, at ripe old age, went in and took the land from the enemies.

The Anakins were either killed or fled into Philistia. Some of those Anakins were the ancestors, it would seem, of Goliath and his family who later on David would defeat or his men would defeat all of that family, not just Goliath, but also his brothers, five in all. It is thought maybe that when David picked up five smooth stones, those were for the five, the sons of Anak, the Goliath, and his brothers, but we don't know that for sure. It was appointed as a city of refuge in Joshua chapter 20 where many of the Levites lived and judged those who came to the city who were in need of justice. It is a place which received a gift from David of his spoils of the Amalekites at the end of first Samuel.

It was a place of prominence in Judah, and therefore it was a place that now David is crowned king of Judah and is his first capital city, so to speak, in the land of Judah. At this time, the city of Jerusalem that will become his capital can't talk again. I think I need to take a drink. My mouth's getting dry. Is under the control of the Jebusites, and so it is not the capital of Israel or Judah at this time.

But that will change here in a bit. So David is crowned king in this illustrious city of importance in Judah, but he is not crowned king of Israel, he is crowned king only of Judah. And so this is not a total fulfillment of God's promises. God doesn't keep just part of his promise. God keeps what?

All of his promise. And so his promise is not completely fulfilled yet at this time. And it's not because, again, God doesn't keep all of his promise because it just isn't God's time for the fulfillment of all of it. We still have to wait for that to come. The first act of of David as king in Hebron is a gracious one.

Let's read about that. In verse five, and David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh Gilead and said unto them, blessed be you of the Lord that you have showed this kindness unto your Lord even unto Saul and have buried him And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you. I also will requite you this kindness because you have done this thing. Therefore, now let your hands be strengthened and be valiant for your master Saul is dead and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. So maybe hard to see on this map because it's right up there on the, trim by the ceiling, but that says Gilead.

So down here is Hebron. David sends word to the people up in the north on the east side of the river called Gilead, the city of Jabesh Gilead that Saul had initially rescued from the hand of the Philistines at the beginning of his reign, who had as a favor to Saul, taken his body off the walls of Bethshan under the control of the Philistines that had buried him and his sons in the city. David specifically sends an envoy up there to thank them for showing honor to the king of Israel and to his sons. And that is his first act, it would seem, as king of Judah. Also, with his praise came a backhanded invitation to Jabesh Gilead to join to join Judah in recognizing him as their king.

So you do kinda catch that here at the end of the statement. And also, I've been anointed, king in Judah. So that's kind of a backhanded invitation. It doesn't seem that Jabesh Gilead took up his invitation, but that they did remain loyal to to, Saul's lineage out of affection for Saul, touching as it might be, it was not the will of who? It was not the will of God because God has anointed David to be king, not Saul's son, his last remaining son, that we'll get to here just in a moment.

Our first loyalty must be to who? To God and not to men. Now, is it important to be loyal to men? Friends and family? It's very important, but it's not as important as being loyal to God.

I didn't put it up here on the screen, but in Luke chapter 14 it said, Jesus said, if any man will come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, in his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Now that's that's kind of a hard verse to swallow. And I've heard several people over the years come up to me and say, Jesus is telling them to hate their family? No. That's not what Jesus is telling them.

Jesus is telling them that their love for God should be such that the love for their family appears almost as hate in comparison. That when you must choose one over the other, that there is only one choice that's really to be made. Do we choose Christ who died on the cross for our sins or do we choose the acceptance and love of our family? And for many of us, we we do not know what that's like. We have never had to make that that kind of choice because most of my family, my immediate family in particular are Christians.

I've never had to choose over my relationship and fellowship with my parents or my brother for the sake of Christ. But yet some people have. Maybe some of you, to some respect, have had to make that choice. In many countries, that choice is a very real one to be made. In some cultures, if you should choose to publicly identify with Christ as a Christian, your family has a mock funeral and they bury a casket and to them you are what?

You are dead. There are cases in other countries where family members will out their own family members and they could even be executed for publicly identifying with Jesus Christ. It is an awful choice to be made, but throughout time and in many places in the world, it is a real decision that must be made. Who will you choose to be Christ's disciple, to follow him as we should? In some cases that choice will have to be made.

And our first loyalty should go to who? It should go to God. So should have been the case with Jabesh Gilead, but it would seem that they chose differently despite the graciousness of David. And then we have sad verses to follow from verses eight through 11. But Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead and over the Asherites and over Jezreel and over Ephraim and over Benjamin and over all Israel.

Ishbosheth Saul's son was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel and reigned two years, but the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months. So David ruled but only over the house of Judah while the rest of Israel sided with Abner and chose to follow Saul's son, Ishbosheth, despite the anointing of the Lord of David to be their next king. For seven years and six months, David ruled in Judah. It would seem that it took a while for Abner and Ishbosheth to collect the other tribes, and essentially, he only ruled over the entirety of the other tribes for a total of of two years.

David was crowned king with the hope in Judah that the other tribes would join him. But with the installation of Ishbosheth as king in Israel by Abner, the other tribes did not. And so David once again had to what? David once again had to wait. Had to wait to take his rightful place as king of Israel.

But the Bible says, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. I know that there are goals that we have, good goals, God honoring goals that at times seem like they just keep, you know, just outside of our grasp.

And just when we think we've got it, it kinda just slips a little further away. Don't give up what? Don't give up hope. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Be not weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

David was given the rule of Judah by God for a time, for a reason. Maybe David had a little bit more yet to what? To learn before God made him king over an entire nation. And we must learn as David had to learn to let God have his way, to trust him, to follow him, and in his time, in his time, he will He will requite us. He will reward us, and he will bring his will to pass and our reward with it.

Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for us. Lord, give us patience. Help us to trust you. Help us to continue to do what you have laid before us and trust that you will guide us to the next step in our life of service for Jesus Christ.

Lord, help us to learn along the way the things that you would have us to learn, that we might be more like our savior, that we might be prepared for the next thing that is to come. Lord, give us gracious hearts, merciful hearts, even towards our adversaries, even towards those that seem to stand in our way, those who despitefully use us or gossip about us. Remind us, Lord, that we are sinners saved by graces and that you can change them as you have changed us. And, Lord, keep us humble and help us to show the love of Christ and to mourn even at times with our enemies over their loss as it is just as real to them as it is to us and to show them the love of Christ. Lord, help us to put you first, your will, pleasing our heavenly father and not allow that to get drowned out by other affections.

Thank you, Lord, for putting us first and taking our place on the cross. Thank you that you are our risen Lord and that our award award in reward in heaven awaits us at your right hand. In Jesus' precious name, we do pray. Amen.