[0:00] Let's read the Word of God together as we have it in the scriptures of the Old Testament. The first book of Samuel chapter 17 and picking up our reading at verse 32.
[0:16] 1 Samuel 17, 32. The story is familiar enough to you, so we will pick up the narrative at verse 32.
[0:39] And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him. That is because of Goliath the Philistine. Let no man's heart fail because of him.
[0:55] Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For thou art but a youth and a man of war, and he a man of war from his youth.
[1:10] 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 smote him and delivered it out of his mouth.
[1:24] And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear.
[1:34] And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said, moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.
[1:55] And Saul said to David, go and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head.
[2:08] Also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go, for he had not proved it.
[2:19] And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 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 bag, which he had, even in a scrip.
[2:38] And his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on, and drew near unto David.
[2:49] And the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
[3:02] And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
[3:21] 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.
[3:38] 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 host 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.
[4:02] 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 into our hands.
[4:15] And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
[4:29] And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
[4:47] So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling, and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
[5:00] Therefore David ran, and stood up on the Philistine, and took his sword, and threw it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith.
[5:14] And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron.
[5:29] And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shariah, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents.
[5:45] And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem. But he put his armor in his tent. And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth?
[6:03] And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son this tripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
[6:21] And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite.
[6:36] Amen. May the Lord bless that reading of his own holy word. We'll continue singing now in Psalm 18. Psalm 18 at verse 35.
[6:51] We can read at verse 33.
[7:06] He made my feet swift as the hinds, set me on my high places. Mine hands to war he taught. Mine arms break bows of steel in pieces.
[7:18] The shield of thy salvation thou didst on me bestow. Thy right hand held me up, and great thy kindness made me grow. And in my way my steps thou hast enlarged under me, that I go safely, and my feet are kept from sliding free.
[7:40] Mine enemies I pursued have, and did them overtake. Nor did I turn again, till I an end of them did make. I wounded them. They could not rise.
[7:51] They at my feet did fall. Thou girdest me with strength for war. My foes thou broughtst down all. And thou hast given to me the necks of all mine enemies, that I might them destroy and slay, who did against me rise.
[8:13] From verse 35 to 40, to God's praise. The shield of thy salvation thou didst on me bestow.
[8:37] Thy right hand held me up, and great thy kindness did be thrown.
[8:51] And in my way my steps thou hast enlarged under me, that I go safely.
[9:10] And my feet are kept from sliding free. My enemies I pursued, and did them overtake.
[9:36] Nor did I turn back into life, and did them overtake. The hand of them did make.
[9:51] I warned them they could not rise.
[10:01] They at my feet did fall. Lord, livable mantener, and do combative energy continue to go out, because of the brokenness of all mine enemies, and like, the leaders' lives, but a'er dear unto.
[10:41] I might then destroy us say, You have asked me right.
[11:04] Seeking the Lord's blessing, let's turn again to the portion we read. 1 Samuel 17, looking again at verse 45.
[11:14] 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.
[11:32] And we look at this portion of scripture under three headings. First of all, the enemy of the living God. Second, the servant of the living God.
[11:46] And finally, the victory of the living God. Some words of introduction. First, you are all, I'm sure, familiar enough with this story.
[12:02] The story, of course, has embedded itself into our culture, in a sense, and into almost the common language of people all over the world.
[12:17] And it's remarkable how often you hear the term David and Goliath, especially when it comes to sport. It's a David and Goliath situation where you have a small team or a lesser known sports person playing some famous and very skillful team or sports person.
[12:42] It seems to have embedded itself into sort of common parlance. And, of course, because of that, it's kind of easy to miss the point.
[12:54] What is this story about? What is it about? It is certainly not a metaphor for all our problems.
[13:07] It describes an actual man, a very tall man. So what is it about? Well, you could summarize the narrative like this.
[13:21] The Lord's anointed facing the Lord's enemy in the Lord's name for the Lord's glory. It's about God the Lord.
[13:35] It's about the honour and glory of the living God. It is so full of the gospel, full of gospel teaching, full of God's provision of a saviour, David's greater son, God's anointed.
[13:53] And I hope that we will see as we go through these points that there is a greater than David here. So let's look first at the enemy of the living God.
[14:05] The first 11 verses set the scene. It's a battle scene. There's a valley. The Philistines, the enemies of God, are on one side. And we have Israel on the other side.
[14:19] Now you're familiar enough with the Philistines who were the enemies of God amongst many others. In chapter 14, we read at verse 47.
[14:33] So Saul took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side. Against Moab and against the children of Ammon and against Edom and against the kings of Zobah and against the Philistines.
[14:49] Many enemies of Israel. And what is remarkable here in this narrative is that King Saul, the end of the verses, and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
[15:05] Here was Israel and King Saul defeating all their enemies. The scene before us is quite a different scene.
[15:18] Quite a different scene. It's a scene where you have literally Israel quivering. Literally quivering. At verse 11.
[15:30] Dismayed and greatly afraid. The original word is that they were literally quivering. Shaking in their boots before this great enemy. So what happened?
[15:42] What happened? Well we can see what happened in terms particularly of King Saul. We read in chapter 15. And at verse 23. Samuel speaking and he says.
[15:56] For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord.
[16:07] He hath also rejected thee from being king. Here is the beginning of the end for King Saul who rejected God's word.
[16:20] Chapter 16 and verse 1. And the Lord said unto Samuel. How long wilt thou mourn for Saul? Seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel.
[16:33] Fill thine horn with oil and go. And where does God send Samuel? Oh here is the wonder of it. I will send thee to Jesse.
[16:45] The Bethlehemite. For I have provided me a king from one of his sons. Here is the two armies.
[16:58] Lined up against each other. Israel quivering. And their champion appears. Their champion. Goliath of Gath.
[17:10] Who issues a challenge to Saul. And to Israel. I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man. That we may fight together.
[17:23] And of course that was common in those days. For one individual. To represent the army. And if the individual won. Then the victory was. That particular army's victory.
[17:35] But here is a Philistine. And here is a Philistine defying God. Defying God. I defy the armies of Israel.
[17:48] And what he was literally saying was this. I am defying God. The God of Israel. The God of Israel. And the word defy here.
[17:59] Is a word which means. To mock. Or to blaspheme. To blaspheme. And it's used six times in this narrative.
[18:11] Here was a blasphemer. A blasphemer. And he was blaspheming against God. Against God. And here is Israel.
[18:25] Shaking in their boots. At verse 11. And again at verse 24. Nobody could. Step forward from Israel. As the champion.
[18:37] Of Israel. The word that is used here. For Goliath. The champion. Is a very interesting word. Because it means. The space between two armies.
[18:52] The space between two armies. Or one who stands in that space. Between two armies. And we'll come back to that. A little bit later.
[19:04] Later. There is no sign of King Saul. Stepping forward. No sign of King Saul. Stepping. Forward.
[19:16] And we see in the narrative. Leading up to this. In the first book of Samuel. We see King Saul being described there.
[19:27] In chapter 9. At verse 16. And 17. And when Sam. Verse 17. And when Samuel saw. Saw.
[19:38] The Lord said. And behold the man whom I speak to thee of. This same shall reign. Over my people. So here is Saul.
[19:50] Being called to be king. Over his people. And God is saying. I'm going to anoint him. To be captain.
[20:02] To be champion. Over my people. And again in chapter 10. We read these words. In verses 23 and 24. And it's talking about King Saul.
[20:14] And they ran and fetched him then. And when he stood among the people. And notice. He was higher. Than any of the people. From his shoulders. And upward.
[20:26] But there was also. A very tall man. In Israel. Almost. Not quite a giant perhaps. And certainly.
[20:36] And certainly nowhere near the size. Of Goliath. But a very tall man. One who stood. Head and shoulders. Above. The people.
[20:51] And. Samuel said to the people. See ye him. Whom the Lord hath chosen. There is none. Like him. Among all the people. And all the people. Shouted.
[21:01] God. Save. The king. But we see. Here. The people. And Saul. Literally. Quivering.
[21:16] What was the essential glory. Of the king. At these times. What was the essential glory. Of the king. It wasn't the splendor.
[21:26] Of the palace. But rather. The king's prowess. In battle. The king's prowess. In battle. It was as he led.
[21:37] The people. In victory. Over his enemies. Over his foes. That his glory. Shone most. Brightly. It was as the king. Led from the front.
[21:49] He became their inspiration. And he. Was the reason. For their fighting. But here. They were acting. As if God. Didn't exist. Their problem.
[22:00] Was that they were not. Seeing. The living. God. They were only. Seeing the enemy. And this. Representation. Of one. Who was blaspheming.
[22:11] Against their God. Their God. Standing there. Between the two armies. Laying down a challenge. It's as if.
[22:24] God didn't exist. It's as if. His promises. Didn't exist. It's as if. The blessings. Of past victories. And deliverance.
[22:36] Had all. But been forgotten. It seems. That the battle. Was over. Before it began. They were resigned. To defeat. One commentator.
[22:47] Puts it like this. They suffered. From severe. Identity. Amnesia. Severe. Identity. Amnesia.
[22:59] They were. Comparing themselves. To this giant. Rather than. Aware of their. Identity. As the. Army. Of the living. God. This was.
[23:09] Israel. God's. Chosen. People. And here. Was the army. Lined up. Against Philistines. The army. Of the living. God. God. And they could not.
[23:22] See it. And it may be. That at times. In our lives. When we. Battle. Against. The world.
[23:34] And the flesh. And the devil. Against the enemies. Of God. That. We can forget. Who we are. We can forget.
[23:45] His. Great. And precious. Promises. And if you're thinking. Oh well. We're in Israel. Terrible. Well they were.
[23:56] But. Look at your own heart. As I have to look at. Oh my own heart. And say to God. Before him. Honestly. And.
[24:06] And. Honestly. And openly. And say to him. Lord. Forgive me. For how often. I forget. Your great. And precious. Promises.
[24:17] That you are. The God. Of your people. The God. Of your people. This enmity.
[24:28] This enemy. Of the living God. And this enmity. Where did enmity. Begin. Well it began. In Genesis 3. I will put.
[24:38] Enmity. God says. For the. Catastrophe. Which was the fall. Of man.
[24:52] Our. Fall. In Adam. Our fall. And our fault. And our guilt. My guilt. Your guilt.
[25:03] Before. God. Enmity. Genesis 3. Must always be. Our reference point. For everything.
[25:13] That flows. From sin. And our. Sinnership. Everything. Flows. From that. From the fall. Of man. From the corruption.
[25:24] And the total depravity. Of our nature. Here is this. Giant. It's remarkable. At verse 16. And the Philistine.
[25:35] Threw near. Morning. And evening. And presented himself. Forty days. Here. Here was one. Who was. Mocking. And defying. And blaspheming.
[25:47] Forty days. And forty nights. Does it not remind you. Of a greater. Servant of the Lord.
[26:00] Our saviour. Mark. Mark. Mark's gospel. Chapter 1. And verse 13. Reminds us. And he was there. In the wilderness. Forty days.
[26:11] Tempted. Of Satan. Forty days. And forty nights. Was our saviour. Tempted. By. Satan. The great enemy. Of the people.
[26:21] Of God. God. And be under no illusion. When you read. These accounts. In scripture. About Goliath. And others. Fanning. The flames.
[26:33] Giving them. Giving them. The arrogance. That they have. The brazenness. Of this. Man.
[26:43] Who was covered. In bronze. The brazen. Arrogance. Of this. Goliath. It's as if. The Satan. Is there. The devil.
[26:53] Is there. Fanning. The flames. Of. Blasphemy. And of defiance. Against the living God. And be under no illusion.
[27:07] This. Conflict. Is a picture. For us. Between the ongoing. Conflict. Between the seed. Of the serpent. And the seed. Of the woman. The armies.
[27:20] Of the devil. And the armies. Of the living God. Permanent conflict. Permanent conflict. The devil. The great challenger.
[27:30] To God. An angel. Who rebelled. Against God. A fallen angel. And in that. There is a mystery.
[27:41] The mystery. Of iniquity. The mystery. Of iniquity. And a mystery. It is. But since. Then. The conflict.
[27:52] Goes on. Between. Heaven. And hell. Between. Heaven. And hell. Our Lord. Said a remarkable.
[28:02] Thing. In the gospel. Of John. He said. Of course. Many. Remarkable. Things. But there is a remarkable. Thing. In John's gospel.
[28:13] Which should make us. Shake. In our boots. What did John say. To the scribes. And to the Pharisees.
[28:25] He said this to them. At verse 44. Of John's gospel. Chapter 8. He said this. He says at verse 43.
[28:37] Why do you not understand. My speech. Even. Because you cannot. Hear. My word. Remember. Saul's.
[28:48] Rejection. Of God's word. And he says this to them. You. Are of your father. The devil. And the lusts. Of your father. You will do. He was a murderer.
[28:59] From the beginning. And abode. Not in the truth. Because there is no. Truth in him. Truth in him. When he speaks a lie. He speaks of his own. For he is a liar.
[29:11] And the father of it. And because. I tell you the truth. You believe me not. The battle.
[29:22] Rages. On. Psalm 2. Gives us a remarkable picture. Why do the heathen rage. And vain things. Why do the people mind. Kings of the earth.
[29:34] Do set themselves. And princes. Are combined. Why are they combined. To plot. Against. The Lord. And.
[29:45] His. Anointed. And of course. If you look at. Acts. 4. And 25. To 27. You will see. That that.
[29:57] Is a prophecy. It's a reality. But it's also a prophecy. That was fulfilled. Where was it fulfilled. Fulfilled. Fulfilled at Calvary.
[30:09] Fulfilled on the cross. Of Calvary. The cross of Calvary. Oh the fires.
[30:21] Of. Enmity. Are raging. All over the world. Against. Christ. Against the church of Christ. The fires. And flames of persecution. Still raging.
[30:34] We have. An enemy without. And an enemy within. Indwelling sin. Indwelling sin. But what is the wonder of the gospel?
[30:48] What is the wonder of the gospel? Well it's this. That God. Wants. His enemies. To be the friends.
[31:00] Of Jesus. God. Wants. His enemies. To be the friends. Of Jesus. And that's the question for you.
[31:10] Are you a friend. Or a foe. That was a great question. If there was a sentry on duty. During war.
[31:23] Time. And that's not that long ago. And the sentry would ask. If he wasn't sure. Who was coming. Friend or foe. And that's a question for us.
[31:36] And it's a question for you. Friend. Or foe. The enemy of the living God. The Bible teaches us. That friendship with the world.
[31:47] Is enmity with God. The Bible also tells us this. It tells us. About the last enemy. Which is death.
[31:59] The last enemy. And perish the thought. Perish the thought. That you should approach death.
[32:11] With death. Death as your enemy. Or rather. Look to Jesus. The one.
[32:23] Who has taken. The sting. Of death. And the curse. Of death. Out. Of death. Because he slew death.
[32:35] He put death. To death. In his death. So that for those. Who believe in Jesus. They fall asleep. Death for them.
[32:46] Is a. Door. To heaven. And. To glory. Secondly. The servant. Of the living.
[32:58] God. David says. In verse. 32. That we read. Thy servant. Will go. David enters.
[33:11] The scene. Before us. He enters. On to the scene. An obscure. Young. Shepherd. Bringing food. To his brothers. Bread.
[33:21] And cheese. And the commander. Of their thousands. This. Obscure. Shepherd. Meets his brothers.
[33:31] And he greets them. And then he hears. Something. He hears. Something. Look at the end. Of verse 23.
[33:42] And David. Heard them. As he talked with them. Behold. There came up the champion. The Philistine. Of God. Goliath. By name. Out of the armies.
[33:52] Of the Philistines. And speak. According to the same words. And David. Heard them. David. Heard. Goliath. And David.
[34:05] And David. Heard speaks. And this is the first recording. Speech. Of David. Who. Is. This. Uncircumcised.
[34:17] Philistine. Who. Is this. Uncircumcised. Philistine. Philistine. I think I mentioned before.
[34:32] That. The. Unreference. Here. To. Uncircumcised. Philistine. Is a reference. To one. Who was. Outside. Of the covenant.
[34:43] Uncircumcised. Outside. Of God's. Covenant. And therefore. Outside. Of God's covenant. Blessings. And promises. And that's. Where all of God's enemies are.
[34:56] Outside. Of the covenant. Who is this. Uncircumcised. Philistine. That he should. Blaspheme. Against. God.
[35:07] That he should. That he should. Defy. The armies. Of the living. God. These are great words. Of faith. He knew.
[35:19] That these words. Were an offense. To God. That here was one. Who was blaspheming. Blaspheming. And it reminds us too.
[35:33] Of another. Saul. Saul of Tarsus. Who was persecuting. The church. Saul. Saul. Why are you.
[35:43] Persecuting me. He was persecuting. The church. And in persecuting. The church. He was persecuting. Jesus. Jesus.
[35:53] The king. And head. Of the church. And he. As Goliath. Defying the armies. Of the living God. And he was defying. God. It was a. Blasphemy.
[36:04] Against. God. Himself. And here. Comes. David. Onto the scene. And he meets. His brothers. And. Reception.
[36:16] That he gets. From. Eliab. The eldest. Is. Quite. A reception. Eliab.
[36:27] Who thought himself. That he would be the one. To be. Anointed. As we see. In chapter. Sixteen. And it's more. Than a brotherly. Rebuke. It's a contempt. It's a contempt.
[36:38] Who do you think you are? You're just a shepherd. You're a nobody. The commentator. Dale. Ralph. Davis. Who. As you. Some of you.
[36:49] Will be aware. Has. A remarkable. Commentary. On. On these. Old Testament. Books. Including. First. And. Second. Samuel. Dale. Ralph. Davis. Comments.
[37:01] On this. And he says. David. Has. Three. Goliaths. Eliab. His brother. Who was. Full of.
[37:11] Envy. Envy. Full of. Envy. King. Saul. And. Of course. Goliath. Himself. And what does.
[37:21] Saul. Say to him. You are not. Able. You are not. Able. Verse 33. There is no. Encouragement. You are but a youth. We need someone. Like Goliath. This was.
[37:33] King Saul. Who had rejected. The word of God. And whom God. Had. Subsequently. Rejected. And David. Speaks. Again.
[37:45] And David. Says. There is a cause. At stake here. There is a cause. At stake. The honour. Of God. Is at stake. And he says.
[37:56] In verse 37. The Lord. That delivered me. Out of the paw. Of the lion. And out of the paw. Of the bear. He will deliver me. Out of the hand. Of this Philistine.
[38:09] David. Had seen. And he had. Proved God. He had. Proved God. He had. Proved. What God. Can do.
[38:20] He's. He's. Experienced. The deliverance. Of the living God. In the wilderness. And David. Looks back. In faith. To what God. Did for him. And looking.
[38:32] Back. In faith. Allows him. To look forward. In faith. And look. At this enemy. Of God. And say. This Goliath. Is as nothing. Before God. Before the God.
[38:43] Of Israel. And it's quite interesting. When you see these words. When Saul. Offers him his armor. And he puts it on. And then he takes it off. And says. I haven't proved this.
[38:55] I haven't proved it. He had proved God. He had proved God. He knew God. And he knew who God was. And God.
[39:09] In that. Providence. Before the. Lion and the bear. God. Was preparing him. For this very moment. As often happens.
[39:19] In the lives of. God's. People. Our providences. Can prepare us. For things ahead. And things. That we don't even know. Are ahead of us.
[39:29] And only when we're in them. Do we see. Often. That God. Was preparing us. Here is.
[39:41] David. The shepherd. But here is. More than David. The shepherd. Here is David. God's anointed. Because he was anointed. Was he not. In chapter.
[39:54] 16. The chapter. Before this. We see. Of Samuel. Going through. All of Jesse's sons. Not him. Not him. Not him. Do you have anybody else.
[40:05] Jesse. Oh well. There's one out here. He's a. A shepherd boy. Don't worry about him. Leave him. Oh bring him to me. And the Lord.
[40:17] Spoke to Samuel. And anointed. David. The shepherd boy. I remember. A situation.
[40:29] If you'll permit me. For a moment. A question. That was asked. In company. In. At a communion. Scalpy. And. It was by.
[40:40] A young boy. Who asked. Some of the older men. I've got a question. And they said. Oh. Off you go then. What was the name. Of David's mother.
[40:52] Well. They were. Totally stumped. Totally stumped. And so. After a bit of. Toeing and throwing. As you can imagine. It was left.
[41:03] At that. And nobody could come up. With an answer. And. Some days later. I happened to be. In Tesco. And I met. One of the men. Donnie Chapman.
[41:15] Who's now in heaven. In glory. And a lovely man. He was too. And he said to me. Well you know. I've been thinking. About the question. That was asked. In Scalpy.
[41:26] At the communion. And he remembered. That old minister. Mr Gillis. Preaching on this. Very thing. And he said. That. It was as if.
[41:37] Mr Gillis stood before him. And. This was the scene. As it were. Where. Where. Jesse. Had been asked. Samuel said to Jesse. Where.
[41:48] You know. There must be somebody else here. Because God is not going to anoint. Any of these. Your sons. Handsome as they are. God. And he remembers. Mr Gillis.
[41:59] Standing with his hand. He just said. It was as if Jesse had said. Oh well. Don't bother with him. He's just a. Shepherd. He's. Not really.
[42:10] Worthy. To be counted here. And it was all. Almost with a sweep. Of his hand. That he had dismissed. David. Oh. But God. Works in mysterious ways.
[42:23] His wonders. To perform. Here. Was. God's anointed. Here. Was the servant. Of the living God. Doing God's. Will. And.
[42:34] Oh. The narrative is so remarkable. Verse 40. He drew near. To the Philistine. He throws off. The unproven armor. Goes straight into battle.
[42:47] In faith. Unarmed. Faith. Unarmed. Faith. But faith. Nevertheless. Here.
[42:58] Was. Goliath. Armed. With a coat of mail. And of course. The narrative in these. In these. Passages. Is so. Is so important. The words.
[43:09] That are used. For the coat of mail. Is literally. A body armor. Of scales. It's like. He was. A serpent. He looked.
[43:20] Like a serpent. The words. That. The word. That is used. For a coat of mail. Is literally. A body armor. Of scales. As you see.
[43:30] On a serpent. He was. Serpent. Like. Serpent. Like. Oh. Of course. He was. With the. That old.
[43:41] Serpent. The devil. Fanning the flames. And the arrogance. And the brazenness. The brazenness. It's remarkable. How often. The word.
[43:52] Bronze. Is used. Of. Goliath. Bronze. Bronze. Bronze. Covered in bronze. And of course.
[44:03] His. Bronze. Ness. His brazen. Ness. Falls. And what a fall. What a fall.
[44:15] And the more you read here of this narrative. The more you see a greater than David. Who set his face as a flint. Towards. Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Jesus.
[44:28] From that time. Began to show them. That he must. Go. To Jerusalem. And suffer. Many things. From the elders. And the chief priests. And scribes. And be killed.
[44:38] And on the third day. Be raised. I will go. The servant. Of the living God. I will go. And it echoes.
[44:51] In eternity. In the covenant. Of redemption. When our saviour. Says to the father. I will go. And he says.
[45:04] Lo. I come. To do. Thy will. O God. And come. He did. Come. He did. And notice.
[45:15] In verse 45. I come. In the name. Of the Lord. Of hosts. I come. In the name. Of the Lord. Of hosts. Here is the unseen.
[45:27] Commander. David's. God. Is with David. The unseen. Commander. Who has all the forces.
[45:39] Of the universe. And the armies. Of heaven. At his disposal. For the defense. Of his servant. And for. The defense. Of his people. And his covenant. And his cause.
[45:49] Of the earth. And David. David writes. Of this later. And we sang it. Did we not? In Psalm. 100. And 18. At verse 26. We sang.
[46:00] These words. Blessed. Blessed. Is he.
[46:12] In God's. Great name. That cometh. Us. To save. We. From the house. Which to the Lord. Pertains. You. Blessed. Have.
[46:23] This. God. That comes. To save us. And of course. That whole. Narrative. Is picked up. By Christ himself. In Luke's.
[46:35] Gospel. In his entry. Into Jerusalem. He picks this up. And he applies it. To himself. To himself. Goliath.
[46:46] Was defying. Saul. And Israel. But when he sees. David alone. It's almost as if his. Defiance. And his. Anger. And his. Enmity. Burns.
[46:57] Even. Brighter. And harder. And so. What is the outcome? And that takes us on to the final point. And in a word. The victory of the living God.
[47:09] The victory. Of the living God. The battle. Is the Lord's. And he will give you. Into. Our.
[47:20] Hand. He will. Give you. Into our hand. And he. God will give you. Into our hand. The battle here. Is not between. Goliath. And David. But between.
[47:30] Goliath. And God. There's only one outcome. Of that battle. Only one outcome. And you see.
[47:42] In the scriptures. Time and time again. A picture. Of the Lord's. Anointed. Here is David. David. I will go. And I'm going to fight.
[47:54] And the victory. Will be mine. David's faith. David's faith. Unarmed. Faith. Because. God was with him. Fighting for him.
[48:05] And the scriptures. And the Psalms. Are full. Of the imagery. Of the warrior. Messiah. The warrior. Messiah. I love these words.
[48:17] In Exodus 15. And 3. The Lord. Is a man of war. The Lord. Is his name. And you see. The same imagery.
[48:28] At the end. Of the scripture. Revelation 19. 11. Then I saw heaven. Opened. And behold. A white horse. The one sitting on it. Is called. Faithful.
[48:39] And true. And in righteousness. He judges. And makes. War. He makes. War. And the events.
[48:50] That followed. The victory. Of the living God. Were events. That were. Prophesied. By God. Prophesied. By God.
[49:01] Listen to this. Prophecy. This promise. And this prophecy. Genesis 49. And verse 8. This is Jacob.
[49:11] Blessing his sons. Judah. Thou art he. Whom thy brethren. Shall praise. Thy hand. Shall be in the neck. Of thy enemies.
[49:24] Judah. Thou art he. Whom thy brethren. Shall praise. Thy hand. Shall be in the neck. Of thine enemies. Thy father's children. Shall bow down. Before thee.
[49:35] Thy. That was a promise. To Judah. To Judah. And first. Chronicles 28.
[49:47] Tells us. For he hath chosen. Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah. The house of my father. And among the sons of my father.
[49:58] He liked me. To make me king. Over all Israel. David's words. First Chronicles 28. Judah. And here is the fulfillment. Of that.
[50:09] Promise. Thy neck. Shall. Thy hand. Shall be in the neck. Of thine enemies. And in the victory.
[50:20] Over Goliath. The scripture. Was fulfilled. The battle is the Lord's. And so it was. God gave David the victory. David knew who he was.
[50:33] And who God was. And his identity. Was clear. No amnesia. On David's part. He knew. Who the living God was.
[50:44] The words of Psalm 27. Are so powerful. When the wicked. Even my enemies. And my foes. Came upon me. To eat. Up. My flesh.
[50:55] They stumbled. And fell. And what a fall. He slays Goliath. With a stone. A single stone. There are many theories.
[51:07] But we do know this. From the scripture. Leviticus 24.16. Reminds us. That blasphemers. Were to be stoned.
[51:18] To death. Stoned to death. And he. Goliath. Goliath. Was a blasphemer. A great blasphemer. And David kills him.
[51:30] And cuts. Cuts. Off. His head. And the promise. In Genesis. Three. You shall. Bruise. His head.
[51:41] And this was the bruising. Of the enemy's head. A picture for us. Of a greater than David. And what he did.
[51:52] On Calvary's. Cross. What he did. On Calvary's. Cross. And. The. This. Narrative.
[52:02] Is a prophecy. In and of itself. A fulfillment. Of what Christ. Did at Calvary. Our champion. Who stood. Between. Two armies. The captain.
[52:15] And the commander. Of his people. Isaiah. 55. Who by. His death. He might. Destroy him. Who had the power. Of their death. That.
[52:25] Is the devil. Matthew. Henry. Comments. David's. Victory. Over Goliath. Was typical. Of the triumphs. Of the son. Of David. Over Satan.
[52:37] And all. The powers. Of darkness. Whom he. Spoiled. And made a show. Of them openly. And we. Through him. Are more. Than. Conquerors.
[52:52] I said. At the beginning. That the summary. Of this chapter. Was the Lord's. Anointed. Facing the Lord's. Enemy. In the Lord's. Name. For the Lord's. Glory. It's time.
[53:03] For the people. Of God. To remember. Who they are. And who their God is. And to wage war. Against sin. Against the.
[53:14] Uncircumcised. Philistines. In our hearts. The Christian. Life is a holy. War. Every Christian. Should read. Bunyan's. Holy War. Every Christian.
[53:25] Should read it. More than once. And it's not. What you see. Today. When you see war. With missiles.
[53:36] Being fired. Here. And there. From land. And from sea. And from air. This is not the kind of war. This is hand. To hand.
[53:46] Combat. Against the world. And the flesh. And the devil. Hand. To hand. Combat. But what saith the scriptures.
[54:02] We must live in the light of that victory. Be not afraid. Jesus says. I. Have overcome.
[54:14] The world. And what is the victory. That has overcome the world. This is the victory. That has overcome the world.
[54:24] Even. Our. Faith. Who. Is it. That overcomes the world. Except the one who believes. That Jesus. Is the son.
[54:35] Of God. While we may fail in. Conflicts. And we do. We may stumble. And fall.
[54:46] David failed after this. And quite spectacularly. But like David. There will be a final victory. Because God has promised that.
[55:00] There will be a final victory for the people of God. The war. The war has been won. And it was won on Calvary. Christian brother and sister.
[55:14] Romans 16.20. There will be a final victory. Because that text tells us.
[55:25] That the God of peace. Will soon crush Satan. Under your feet. Amen. May the Lord bless these thoughts.
[55:37] On his word. Let's. Do our final singing now. From Psalm 9. We'll sing at verse 10.
[55:53] We'll sing verses 10 and 11. And then the last verse at verse 19. So verse 10. Verse 11. And then verse 19. There it is again.
[56:08] The name of the Lord. The name of the Lord of hosts. And they that know thy name. In thee their confidence will place. For thou hast not forsaken them.
[56:19] That truly seek thy face. O sing ye praises to the Lord. That dwells in Sion Hill. And all the nations among his deeds. Record ye still.
[56:30] Arise Lord. Let not man prevail. Judge he then in thy sight. That they may know themselves but men. The nations Lord.
[56:43] Afright. These verses to God's praise. Amen. That they that know thy name.
[56:56] In thee. Their confidence will place. For thou hast not forsaken them.
[57:15] That truly seek thy face. O sing ye praises to the Lord.
[57:33] That dwells inside your will. And all the nations of heaven.
[57:50] And all the nations of heaven. His deeds record ye still. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them.
[58:03] Let thou hast not man prevail. Let thou hast not man prevail. Let thou hast not man prevail. Jud he the grave. And all the nations of heaven.
[58:15] That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them.
[58:27] That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. That thou hast not forsaken them. A word of prayer in conclusion.
[58:38] O most gracious God. The Lord of hosts. We bless thee for the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[58:54] Help us to look to him. Bless us for this day. Bless it to us. May we call it a delight.
[59:07] And as we go to our homes. Help us to think of these things. And prepare us for the evening. And for resuming the public worship of God.
[59:18] Grant these things we pray with forgiveness for our sins. In Christ's name. Amen.