[0:00] Welcome to our service this evening. As we come together, we are mindful that this would have been a special day in the congregation when we would have met together to keep the Lord's Supper.
[0:18] It is historic in the life of the congregation at North Torster, as this is the first time that the congregation has not met at the appointed time that has been set apart for keeping the Lord's Supper.
[0:35] Little did we anticipate six months ago, as we kept the Lord's Supper together, just two weeks before lockdown, that it would probably be the last time that we would keep the Supper this year.
[0:51] It proves to us the uncertainty of our times. Nevertheless, although we are not able to keep the Lord's Supper or meet together in church in the usual manner, we are thankful that the preaching of the Gospel continues, and that our hope and confidence today, as always, is in the unchanging God.
[1:17] As we come together around his word, let us seek his blessing. Let us pray. Eternal and ever-blessed Lord, we are so conscious of the uncertainties that belongs to our times, that we know not what a day nor an hour may bring forth in our experience.
[1:48] But we are thankful that our hope and confidence is in the unchanging God, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
[2:01] the God who sits upon his throne, who rules sovereignly over all things in heaven and in earth.
[2:13] We acknowledge, O Lord, that our times are in thine own hands. Grant to us therefore, O Lord, that we would humble ourselves in thy presence, and that we would acknowledge thee as our creator God, that we would acknowledge, O Lord, that we are the works of thine own hands.
[2:40] We thank thee, Lord, that thou hast made that revelation of thyself to us, that thou art the God of all grace, that it is a delight to thee to show mercy.
[2:54] And so we come, O Lord, to thank thee that thou hast revealed thyself to us as the creator redeemer, through thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[3:10] And so we come today, O Lord, and bow down before thee and acknowledge our sinnership. We give thanks to thee, O Lord, for the efficacy of the finished work of thy Son upon the cross, that he died and was buried and that he rose again, triumphant over death and the grave, and that he ascended to thine own right hand, where he ministers on our behalf.
[3:40] We give thee thanks, O Lord, for the great promise that thou hast given to thy people, that thy Son will return, and that he will return not to offer himself again as a sacrifice for sin, but to ungather his people, and to bring them into the inheritance that he has prepared for them.
[4:05] O Lord, as we come into this act of worship, we seek the help of thine own spirit, for we are dependent upon thee, for without thee we can do nothing.
[4:21] O Lord, open our hearts to thine own word, that it may find lodgment in our hearts, that it may bring forth fruit in our lives.
[4:31] O that we would walk as a people, who would walk worthy of the gospel, that we would be as lights that would shine in the midst of the darkness of the world that is around us.
[4:47] O Lord, we pray that thou would bless our homes and our families and our communities. We remember, O Lord, our young people and our children, and we pray that thou would raise up a generation that would fear thy name.
[5:05] We remember, O Lord, those who are ill, those who are on the bed of affliction, and we pray that thou wouldst draw near to them, and granting them, O Lord, that they would see that there is a greater physician, the one who is able to bring healing not only to the body, but to the soul.
[5:25] We pray, Lord, for those who care for them. We remember those who mourn today, O Lord, over the passing of loved ones.
[5:37] Grant to them the comfort that they stand in need of. Lord, we pray that thou would bless the preaching of the gospel throughout all the world, and bless all thy servants who have gone forth with thy word.
[5:52] O may they have the unction of thine own spirit upon them, enabling them to proclaim the riches of thy grace to Jesus Christ, with boldness and with confidence.
[6:05] Remember the careless and the indifferent. O Lord, stir them up in their hearts through thy spirit, and draw them to thyself. We ask, O Lord, that thou would bless each one of us at this time, or that thy word, O Lord, would be a living word for us, that we would be encouraged and strengthened in our faith.
[6:30] We ask, O Lord, that thou would continue with us now, as we meet together in this manner at this evening hour. And all that we ask for the forgiveness of our many sins, in Jesus' name and for his sake.
[6:48] Amen. We shall read the word of God from the book of Psalms, and Psalm 46. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
[7:07] Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Selah.
[7:25] There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved, God shall help her, and that frighted early.
[7:42] The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved, he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge, Selah.
[7:56] Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth, he breaketh a bow, and cutteth a spear in sunder, he burneth a chariot in the fire.
[8:11] Be still, I know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge, Selah.
[8:29] May the Lord bless unto us, the reading of that portion of his word. Now seeking the Lord's self, let us turn to the first book of Samuel, and chapter 17.
[8:43] First Samuel, chapter 17, and reading at verse 45. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield.
[9:03] But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
[9:34] And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you unto our hands.
[9:46] Last week, last week, we looked at King Saul and Goliath in the Valley of Elah, and how Saul was unable to deliver the covenant children from the giant of the Philistines.
[10:07] We sketched the life of Saul and saw that because of his disobedience, that the Spirit of the Lord departed from him, so that he no longer had the ability to deliver his people from their enemies.
[10:28] And although Saul did put on a religious show outwardly, yet his heart was not right with God.
[10:42] And when weighed in the balances, he was found wanting. At the crucial time in the Valley of Elah, Saul was found in abandonment.
[10:56] But on the scene comes David, and all changes. And that is going to be out of focus this evening. David and Goliath in the Valley of Elah.
[11:09] As we come to look at this narrative this evening, I would like to open it by holding the key to unlocking the door of redemptive history.
[11:21] In that sense, the essence of this narrative is more than just David defeating the Philistine enemy. The essence is that the Lord himself defeats the enemy of his people.
[11:36] The battle is the Lord's. And that is the key to the whole narrative. Yes, historically, this was a personal and national battle between Israel and their arch enemies, the Philistines.
[11:51] But we can look at it in another sense, as a battle between God's covenant people and their enemies. And David, who is the anointed covenant king, is the one who destroys the enemy.
[12:07] As we saw last week, the first king over Israel, Saul, came from the tribe of Benjamin. And he was the people's choice.
[12:19] But God sought out and found us. Only God could. The man through whom Jesus, as the Messiah, was to come. Here in David, we have not the choice of the people, but the sovereign choice of God.
[12:36] However, in David, we not only see the sovereignty of God and his choosing, but also the faithfulness of God. David came from the tribe of Judah, the tribe from whom God says there would be raised an everlasting king, the Messiah, over his people.
[12:58] In David, we not only see the sovereignty of God and his choosing and a demonstration of God's faithfulness, but we also see the grace of God that made David all that he would become.
[13:17] His father's house was not the greatest in Israel, and he was the youngest of his father's family and was the least one expected to be anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next ruler over Israel.
[13:34] But here David says the pattern that is true of every Christian, the sovereignty of God, the faithfulness of God, and the grace of God.
[13:49] Paul says, For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called.
[14:02] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and the best things of the world and things which are despised hath God chosen.
[14:20] Yea, the things which are not to bring to north things that are, that no glory, that no flesh rather, should glory in his presence.
[14:32] To the nation of Israel, as recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 7, God said, The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people.
[14:45] For ye were the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
[15:05] Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.
[15:18] Giving this a New Testament perspective, we can use the words of Paul in the second chapter of Ephesians. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.
[15:34] By grace, ye are saved. In many places, Jesus has spoken of us, the seed of David, and the son of David.
[15:48] Jonathan Edwards remarks that, David being the ancestor, and great type of Christ, has been solemnly anointed by God, to be king over his people, may in some respects, be looked on as, and the anointing of Christ himself.
[16:04] Christ was, as it were, anointed in him. David's throne, and Christ's, are spoken of as one.
[16:16] For instance, in Luke 1, verse 32, we read, and the Lord shall give him the throne of his father David. Peter, in Acts 2, says that David knew that God had sworn with an oath to him, that the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ, to sit on his throne.
[16:38] In the prophecy of Isaiah, the everlasting king, is called the branch, from the stem of Jesse. And there shall come forth a rod, out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
[16:53] In Jeremiah 23, we read, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David, a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper. And in chapter 33, of the same prophecy, it reads, In those days, at that time, I will cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David, and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
[17:19] So Christ, in the New Testament, in the book of Revelation, is called the root, an offspring of David. Now as we turn to this narrative, we see that the Philistines, and Saul, and the men of Israel, were set to do battle.
[17:37] The Philistines stood on a mountain, on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain, on the other side, and there was a valley between them. And there went out a champion, out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath, whose sight was six cupids, and a span.
[17:54] What we have here is, the champion of the Philistines, Goliath, being defeated by God's servant, David. In essence, really there are only two in the battle.
[18:09] The Philistine champion, Goliath of Gath, and David, God's covenant chosen servant. The Philistine is no mean person, as he is described for us.
[18:28] He was a descendant of the famous family of Anah, who propused giants in the land of Canaan. These were the giants seen by the men sent out by Moses, to spy Canaan.
[18:41] And although later, when Joshua brought Israel to possess Canaan, most of the Anakims were destroyed, but some did escape, and went to Gaza, Gath, and Astor.
[18:55] It was from Gath that Goliath came. Of course, the most famous part of Goliath's description is his height. Scripture says his height was six cupids, and a span, interpreted by some to be a height of about nine feet, six inches, although no one is quite sure what a cupid and a span represent.
[19:20] But this we are sure of, that whatever height it was, the fact is that Goliath was extremely tall compared to the rest of mankind. And there is an interesting point here to remember, that it was said of Saul in chapter nine, that from his soldiers upward, he was higher than any of his people.
[19:41] But here he is meeting with someone much bigger. It goes to show Israel and us the foolishness of relying on worldly sources of strength.
[19:55] Not only was he tall, but he was armoured with a tremendous amount of hardware. We are told in verse five to seven, that he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was 5,000 shekels of brass.
[20:18] That's about 126 pounds. And he had grooves, shin guards of brass upon his legs, and a target, that is a small spear of brass between his soldiers.
[20:31] And the staff of his spear was like a wee-wash beam, and his spear's head weighed 600 shekels of iron. That's about 15 pounds.
[20:42] And one bearing a shield went before him. The fact that one man was required just to carry a shield suggests that it was huge. Goliath was literally covered with brass.
[20:57] He was an awesome, impressive sight indeed. Paul reminds us in Ephesians chapter 6 that as Christians, that our enemy is formidable.
[21:09] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, he says, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[21:22] Such are our Goliaths. Such are the giants that we have to face. But the greatest of all Goliaths met with the greater son of David in the New Testament at the cross of Golgotha.
[21:37] As brought before us by Paul in his letter to the Colossians, and in chapter 2 and verse 15, he says that on the cross, that Jesus spoiled principalities and powers.
[21:54] He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Yes, it is in him, Jesus Christ, that we truly have victory over our enemies.
[22:07] Goliath challenges the armies of Israel. And he stood and he cried into the armies of Israel and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array?
[22:23] Am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? Choose your man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants, but if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall ye be our servants and serve us.
[22:44] And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together. You see, the situation here in the valley looks hopeless.
[22:57] And it seems that the best thing that Israel could do was to surrender and to acknowledge defeat.
[23:09] What Goliath offered was that whoever won the contest, the other side would surrender and be held in captivity as slaves. And looking at it from a human perspective, it looked as if the best thing they could do was to accept that offer.
[23:28] We notice that Goliath said in verse 10, I defy the armies of Israel this day. Defying the armies of Israel was not as innocent act as it might appear.
[23:40] And comparing verse 26, where we read, And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine?
[23:53] And taketh away the reproach from Israel. For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
[24:04] And if we compare that with verse 45, Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied.
[24:21] We discover that to defy the armies of Israel was also to defy the God of Israel. That the armies of Israel and the God of Israel could not be separated, just as God and his people cannot be separated.
[24:39] Thus, we see here that Goliath was defying God. Goliath represents for us spiritual opposition to God and his people, especially as manifested by Satan and all his demonic forces.
[24:55] A.W. Pink writes, This attack upon God's covenant people is in essence attack upon God.
[25:20] And Saul had no remedy for Goliath. When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid, as we noted that last week.
[25:34] The only scheme he could come up with in those six weeks to inspire his soldiers was to offer a prize to the soldier who fought and won.
[25:45] Verse 25, And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that has come up? Surely to defy Israel is he come up. And it shall be that the man who killeth him, the king, shall enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
[26:04] The prize was marriage to Saul's daughter, which would give the Persian prestige and position as being the king's son-in-law. As reported, it also includes money.
[26:17] The man would be enriched with great riches, which meant freedom of taxation, and also for his father's house. You know, it was really a pathetic plan by Saul, and it reveals a serious spiritual problem in Israel.
[26:34] Israel was an extremely poor spiritual state. Instead of being motivated by faith in God and concern for God's honour to conquer Goliath, Israel is reduced to earthly inducements.
[26:52] And although he offered a princely reward, not one single Israelite signed up to take on the challenge over Goliath. And in verse 16 we are told, And the Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself forty days.
[27:12] The number forty is a well-known biblical number mentioned around 146 times. It is generally accepted that it represents a time of testing and trial and probation.
[27:27] The rain of Noah's flood fell for forty days, and Israel was tried for forty days when Moses met with God on the mountain.
[27:39] Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert for forty days. This indeed was a testing time for Saul and his army. For forty days Goliath taunted them.
[27:51] And Saul and his army of men stood helpless and hopeless against the Philistine giant. And it is at this point that David appears and things begin to change.
[28:08] In chapter 16 we left David at Saul's residence playing the harp for him and also being one of his armour bearers and servants. But as time went on, David was replaced and so David returned home and went back to his task of tending to his father's flock of sheep.
[28:28] David is generally thought by many to have been a young boy when going against Goliath, but that is not true. David was a young man, fully grown, and had arrived at the age to marry.
[28:41] However, although he was a fully grown man, he would still be a small man physically compared to Goliath.
[28:53] That which put David on the battlefield with Goliath was a simple errand of taking foot to his three brothers who were in Saul's army and taking pledges from them back to their father Jesse.
[29:08] And as David entered the scene, Goliath came out for his daily speech. The inquisitiveness of David upsets Elab, his brother and the soldiers.
[29:21] And so Elab rebukes David. We find that in verse 28. And Elab, his eldest brother, heard when he spake unto the men and Elab's anger was kindled against David.
[29:34] And he said, Why comest thou down hither? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart. For thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
[29:49] However, the words that David spoke were told to David, rather to Saul. And Saul sent for David.
[29:59] And he began to examine him. The words that David spake, they were rehearsed before Saul. And he sent for him.
[30:09] And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of whom thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. David explained to Saul his credentials to fight Goliath.
[30:28] In verse 34 we read, And David said to Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smoked him and delivered it out of his mouth.
[30:44] And when he rose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, saying, He hath defied the armies of the living God.
[31:03] And when David was brought to Saul, his courage was just as strong as it was with the troops in the camp. His resolve, his commitment, and dedication to take on Goliath seemed even stronger.
[31:21] When Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
[31:34] Saul's comparison and conclusion shows that he viewed this only from a human standpoint. Saul made a pure comparison, and he came to a very poor conclusion.
[31:47] And so we find that David explained to him his credentials. Yes, all this happened away from public gaze, but were essential to the present conflict.
[31:59] There were also the credentials of faith. For David said, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.
[32:15] While Goliath was armed with brass, David was armed with faith. And faith will always defeat brass every time. Goliath with his brass looks impressive, and he looks powerful and invincible, but it is no match for faith.
[32:35] After viewing David's credentials, Saul employed David to go in conflict with Goliath. Saul armed David with his armour.
[32:50] And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head, and he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he said to go, for he had not proved it.
[33:03] And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off. The equipping of David involved the armour of flesh, which David rejected, preferring the armour of faith.
[33:22] Five smooth stones and a slingshot was David's armour. It looked totally inadequate, compared to all the brass that Goliath was wearing.
[33:34] But brass without faith is no equal to a slingshot with faith. And he took his staff in his hand and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherd's back, which he had even in a script, and a sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
[33:55] After choosing his five smooth stones for his slingshot, he headed towards Goliath. All the other soldiers stood for no other man had the courage to go and fight Goliath.
[34:07] David was alone. His courage came from faith in God. David believed that God would deliver him. And David so ran towards the army to meet the Philistine.
[34:21] And this is the third time running is associated with David in this chapter. We find it in verse 17, we find it in verse 22, and we find it in verse 48.
[34:34] And all this running speaks of diligence and dedication. It speaks of being earnest and enthusiastic. Fantastic. Goliath looks upon David, and when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he sustained him, for he was but a youth and ready and of a fair countenance.
[34:58] As they came near, the two men exchanged words. Goliath spoke, and he said, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? This indicates that Goliath felt an affront that his attacker was coming in such armment as to indicate that Goliath was nothing more than a dog that could be chased off with sticks and stones.
[35:24] David's speech was in sharp contrast to Goliath's. David said, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied.
[35:42] This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day and to the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth and all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
[36:00] David's promised victory was based on God's help. David's purpose was that Jehovah God would be exalted. David was deciduous that God be exalted before the Philistines and also before the Israelites.
[36:20] The method of the execution of Goliath was that of us slingshot. This method may seem strange and inadequate and strange to the world, but it was the most logical offensive weapon David could have chosen.
[36:37] The slingshot was not unknown in military attacks. In Judges chapter 20 we read that men of the tribe of Benjamin who could sling stones at their hair's breadth and not miss.
[36:49] In 2 Chronicles we read that King Uzziah's arming his military with great slings to cast stones. So when David uses the sling against Goliath he was not using some unusual or strange method.
[37:03] Think of the power of this method which is demonstrated in the fact that the stone David sent through the air sunk and took Goliath for it.
[37:17] What power when it could sink into the bone of the head. The precision of this method is that it was possible as we have already noted when a person could sling stones at a hair breadth and not miss.
[37:33] And so this day David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone. And the execution caused the Philistines to run and it also inspired the Israelites to pursue and gain a victory.
[37:56] victory. In verse 54 there we read that David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem but he put his armour in his tent.
[38:10] Later on of course we find that the sword of Goliath was put in the care of the priests until David retrieved it when Saul was chasing him as the story is told to us in 1 Samuel chapter 21.
[38:22] But Goliath's head was an encouraged memorial to the Israelites of the great victory over the Philistines but it was a frightening memorial to Israel's enemies.
[38:38] The enemy of God's people are not merely flesh and blood but principalities the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places.
[38:51] facing such an enemy leave us in a helpless and hopeless position and indeed we can tremble and be afraid of what we know that we have not the skill or power to contend and prevail just like Israel in their confrontation with the Philistines.
[39:15] But just as David appears at the right time so we are told that the greater son of David Jesus Christ came in the fullness of time that is that God's servant appear in the person of the son in his mediterranean office as God's servant the Lord Jesus Christ.
[39:36] there are some commentators who will note that as David was sent on the errand by his father so Jesus was sent into the world by the father David did not receive a very welcoming reception either by his own brother or the other soldiers and even Saul was doubtful and came to poor conclusions regarding David's ability to fight against Goliath.
[40:02] So it was as the gospel records for us regarding the greater son of David Jesus Christ it is summed up for us in these words he came unto his own and his own received him not.
[40:19] But David's resolve commitment and dedication to take on Goliath fades into insignificant when we think of resolve and commitment and dedication of his greater son Jesus Christ to take on the salvation of his church.
[40:38] Jesus says for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me. For even the son of man came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
[40:53] Oh his resolve his commitment and his dedication led him to the cross. Goliath taunted at the appearance and challenge of David and truly to human reasoning it looked very weak.
[41:11] But so it is with the greater son of David Jesus Christ and the cross. Paul says but we preach Christ crucified into the Jews a stumbling block and into the Greeks foolishness.
[41:28] David's credentials was his faith in God. So it was with his greater son. For we read who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and was heard in that he feared.
[41:48] In Psalm 22 at verse 8 we read he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him let him deliver him seeing he delighted in him but thou art he that took me out of the womb thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts I was cast upon thee from the womb thou art my God from my mother's belly the one who said on the cross Father into thine hands I commend my spirit.
[42:23] As David's purpose was that God would be exalted David was to say that God would be exalted before the Philistines and also before the Israelites the same is true regarding his greater son Jesus Christ I have glorified thee on the earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and as David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone so Jesus Christ prevailed over the enemies of his people the seed of the serpent he slew the spiritual Goliath with his own weapon the cross what looked so foolish to men was effectual and won the victory and through that victory he delivered his people as Paul says but unto them which are called both Jew and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men as the execution of Goliath by David caused the
[43:36] Philistines to run it also inspired the Israelites to pursue and gain a great victory so in Jesus Christ we have a victory over our enemies on the cross as we have already noted he has foiled principalities and powers he made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it and we share in his victory as the Israelites the covenant people of God shared in the victory of David over the Philistine giant Goliath of Gath now in verse 55 and 56 there is a surprising conversation between Abner the captain of the army and Saul and when Saul saw David go forth against the
[44:38] Philistine he said unto Abner the captain of the host Abner whose son is this youth and Abner said as my soul liveth O king I cannot tell now Saul should have known the one who played the harp in his presence and Abner should have known his soldiers their ignorance has been a puzzle to many and all sorts of explanations have been given however the fact is that Saul and Abner should have known Saul should have known his harp the person whom he appointed at one time to be his armoured bearer but you know even this ignorance is typical of the spiritual ignorance that prevails amongst those who should know who should have a knowledge of God's appointed servant who should have knowledge of God's anointed servant
[45:39] Jesus Christ those who hear the gospel or to whom the gospel is proclaimed you should have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and tonight I ask you are you deficient in knowledge of God's anointed one are you deficient in the knowledge of the one who said and this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent do you know the man who conquered death and the grave through the cross who purchased salvation by a great deliverance for his people have you experienced this victory that you through Jesus Christ can receive death just like Israel now they should have known
[46:44] Saul and Abner should have known son and just like Israel are you tonight inspired to pursue and gain a great victory over the Philistine in your life through Jesus Christ it is in Jesus Christ and David's greater son that we have victory over our enemy.
[47:16] It is in his victory that we shall stand just as Israel stood in the victory of servant, of David, God's servant, God's anointed king.
[47:34] May the Lord bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. Amen. Eternal and ever, blessed Lord, we give thanks to thee that we can have the victory over our enemy, over our spiritual enemies, through Jesus Christ, that he has gained that victory for us in what to the world looked so foolish through the cross of Golgotha, that through his death that we have victory over death and the grave.
[48:17] And we give thanks unto thee, O Lord, that this victory has been proclaimed to us through the gospel. And so we pray that that gospel may go forth today in power and in a demonstration of thy spirit.
[48:37] O stirring us up in our hearts, those who are still careless and indifferent, that they may be drawn to Jesus Christ, who in him alone we can be victorious.
[48:52] We ask, O Lord, that thou would continue with us during the week. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forevermore.
[49:06] Amen.