A Better King Is Coming

[0:00] Our sermon passage for today is the whole chapter, 1 Samuel 24.! I'll read it trusting that it's God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word! That he's preserved for us over every generation.

[0:15] And in the hand of the Holy Spirit, it's the sword. It's powerful. It cuts through where no man's words can pierce. All right. We read in 1 Samuel 24, beginning at verse 1.

[0:30] Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Take note, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in the rocks of the wild goats.

[0:49] So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, and there was a cave, and Saul went in to attend to his needs. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.

[1:00] Then the men of David said to him, This is the day in which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will deliver the enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.

[1:12] And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe. Now it happened afterwards that David's heart troubled him because he had cut Saul's robe.

[1:24] And he said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.

[1:36] So David restrained his servants with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way. David also arose afterward, went out of the cave and called out to Saul, saying, My Lord, the king.

[1:53] And when Saul looked behind him, David stood with his face to the earth and bowed down. And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, Indeed, David seeks your harm?

[2:07] Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave and someone urged me to kill you. But my eye spared you.

[2:18] And I said, I will not stretch out my hand against the Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. Moreover, my father, see. Yes, see the corner of your robe in my hand.

[2:30] For in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you. Know that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, and I have not sinned against you.

[2:43] Yet you hunt my life to take it. Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge you on me. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancient says, Wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but my hand shall not be against you.

[3:02] After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dog? A dead dog? A flea? Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see, and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.

[3:18] So it was when David had finished speaking these words to Saul that Saul said, Is that your voice? My son David. And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

[3:30] And he said to David, You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, whereas I have rewarded you with evil. And you have shown this day how you have dealt well with me.

[3:42] For when the Lord delivered me into your hand, you did not kill me. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him get away safely? Therefore, may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.

[3:58] And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Therefore swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's house.

[4:16] So David swore to Saul, and Saul went home. But David and his men went up to the stronghold. The word of God for the people of God.

[4:28] Thanks be to God. Please be seated. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord shall endure forever. Let's pray.

[4:46] Oh Lord, we ask that you please work mightily through the preaching of your word.

[4:59] We ask that you take the truth in your word, Lord, that you open our eyes, our minds, our hearts to see Christ, to receive Christ. We pray that you please help the preacher to lift up Christ, to give your people Christ.

[5:13] And Lord, we pray that we can leave here trusting more in Christ, looking forward to his kingdom, and enjoying the status we have as citizens in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, even while we're sojourners and pilgrims on this earth.

[5:30] We ask this for your glory. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, we humans are perpetual waiters.

[5:48] Someone has pointed out how even with technology and all the shortcuts and the efficiency, we still find ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting for many things, don't we?

[5:59] I think this is wired into who we are. We spent childhood waiting for the freedom of adulthood, only to spend adulthood waiting for retirement, for the weekend, or for some change in our situation.

[6:13] And as we wait for different things in this life, it's very easy in our flesh to look to worldly things as a fix. Someone described waiting as a faint kind of death.

[6:29] To wait is to die slowly because it drains out the life we have in the present. If we are always waiting, it's like we are merely enduring life.

[6:44] We often are waiting for some new king or new regime or new change, solutions, leaders, money, status, something that we think will help, but none of those things can actually save.

[6:59] In Lamentations chapter 3, verses 25 and 26, we have this wonderful promise. The Lord is good to those who wait on him.

[7:15] The soul who seeks him. So there is a type of waiting on the Lord that is good. When our soul is seeking him first, his kingdom, not a fix of this world.

[7:31] It's good that a person should hope and wait quietly for the kingdom of the Lord. It's a quiet confidence that the outcome is already secured by the better king.

[7:47] Chapter 4 causes us to do that. To put our hope in a better king. A king who is coming. And that's the title for our sermon today.

[7:59] An encouragement for you and me today. We look back at the first coming of Jesus. We also look forward longingly with hope in his second coming. So brothers and sisters in the Lord, be encouraged.

[8:12] From this chapter, a better king is coming. Four observations as we look at this passage. First, a better king is coming.

[8:23] A king whose heart loves God more than anything he can grab in this world. A better king is coming. A king whose heart loves God more than anything he can grab in this world.

[8:38] Let's look back at verse 1. We read, Now it happened when Saul had returned from following the Philistines. Remember, that's where we left off in chapter 23. Saul and his men were encircling the rock of escape about to capture David.

[8:52] And then a messenger says, Hurry, the Philistines are invading Judah. So all those men turn around and go fight off the real enemy. And we remember right before that, that Saul loved to do one thing day after day after day.

[9:04] And that's chase David, hunt David down. So as soon as he's driven off the Philistines, apparently successfully by God's power, Saul returns to the thing he loves to do every day.

[9:15] And that's find David again. And there are some messengers at work. Look at verse 1. It was told him. And this is a pattern we see. Skip forward a couple more chapters.

[9:26] Those Ziphites, again, in these rocky caves, they go back out of their way to Gibeah to tattle on David to Saul. This is a repeating pattern. And they say, Take note, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi.

[9:39] Verse 2. Who then saw took 3,000 chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in the rocks of the wild goats.

[9:52] In this region, there were apparently these many caves. Some of them had a big mouth, and you could bring an entire little flock of sheep in there to get out of the heat of the desert and the wilderness.

[10:04] They could enjoy a little bit of shade. Or in the other months, if it's snowing and cold, it provides a little bit of shelter. And it was just a place where maybe like Waterton Canyon, you can see these wild goats or longhorn sheep as you go there.

[10:17] An amazing place to hike around and so many places to hide. In verse 3, What does your translation say that Saul went in to do?

[10:39] Well, in the Hebrew, it literally says, Saul went in to cover his feet. And the feet are meaning like cover your lower parts. It was a polite way of saying a lot of different things.

[10:53] It became an idiom. Go and cover the lower parts. Or cover your feet. Matthew Henry, maybe because he's in that Puritan era and he's being overly British about it, he says that he was just, you know, laying his robe maybe like over his feet so he can be in the fetal position and stay warm.

[11:12] But I think a better interpretation, we can take our cue from Scripture itself in Judges 3.24. We're told of another wicked king, King Eglon. And they said he went up to the upper room to use the bathroom, but they used that exact same phrase.

[11:29] He went up there to cover his feet. And so whether he actually has the robe, you know, pulled down over his feet isn't necessarily implied. It could mean he takes off the royal garment, puts it hanging up on the rocks out of the way.

[11:43] And David and his men were staying in the recesses of that same cave. Can you picture this, kids? And I wonder from their perspective what that was like.

[11:54] You hear these men coming, oh man, we might be trapped here. Should we try to get out quick and go somewhere else? Like when you're playing hide and seek, you know you're in a dead end. You got to find a way out. Maybe it was too late. We don't know.

[12:05] Somehow they ended up that way. They're hiding now in the shadows and the recesses of the cave. And here comes, you know, maybe not the whole 3,000, but at least the elite bodyguards with Saul.

[12:16] And they probably give him his privacy, give him a little distance. And there's Saul inside the cave with David's men hiding inside that same cave. Verse four, then the men of David said to him, probably in a whisper, you know how it can echo in a cave, this day of which the Lord said to you, behold, I will deliver the enemy into your hand that you may do to him as it seems good to you.

[12:42] So David's men are giving him counsel. They're saying, we are all fugitives. We're exiled. We don't have a place to lay down our head one night in a row.

[12:55] We're living here on hard rocks in these caves. Let's end all of our misery once and for all. If you won't do it for yourself, do it for us. You can almost hear them saying, God has put your enemy right here in front of you for the slaughter.

[13:13] Verse four says, David arose. So I wonder if the men thought he's going to do it. And he starts walking over toward where Saul is and he's got something sharp, some sharp blade in his hand, maybe a smaller dagger, something like that, if Goliath's sword would be inconvenient at this time maybe.

[13:33] And instead of killing Saul, could have done that in any number of ways. He's a veteran warrior. He'd gone out slaying the enemies of the nation and come back victoriously many times.

[13:45] Instead, David secretly cut off a corner of Saul's robe. Literally in Hebrew it says, David cut off the wing of his robe.

[13:58] You've heard this before. You remember in the book of Ruth, where Ruth comes next to Boaz and she says, cover me with your wing. You know, the tip of the robe.

[14:10] And cover that over me. And that becomes imagery of God covering his beloved. You know, like the wings of the eagle. Or Jesus said, even like a mother hen, you know, putting the wings around my people.

[14:27] In Sunday school, Professor John brought an actual tassel that has the Torah, the Jewish law. And that was the instruction that you will put the law on these wings, these corners of your robe.

[14:39] And it also reminds you of another tearing of a robe in this same book. Do you remember that one? How the prophet Samuel walked away from King Saul and Saul reached back and grabbed and tore off the corner of his robe.

[14:53] So this motif is developing and it's very symbolic. Verse five says, it now happened afterward that David's heart troubled him because he had cut off Saul's robe.

[15:10] He didn't take his life, but he did take other things from him. Representing the law, the kingdom, the royal garments.

[15:21] And David's heart is now troubled, sensitive before the Lord. When the spirit of the holy God lives within a saved sinner, God's redeeming grace makes the believer tremble at the thought of committing even a small wrongdoing against God.

[15:44] You've experienced this, haven't you? The Holy Spirit indwelling a believer. He does not let our conscience be okay with that, with sinning against him.

[15:57] Well, while we don't have more insights into David's heart in this moment, there's a wonderful application for us. believers who have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

[16:08] In 1 John 3.15, we're told, whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

[16:20] Verse 6 picks up, and he said to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord's Messiah, the Lord's anointed.

[16:32] That's what's on David's mind. To stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the Messiah of the Lord.

[16:44] He is the anointed. Verse 7, so David restrained his servants with these words. David went over and got a piece of the robe, but his men were ready to do this themselves now.

[16:57] He's having to hold them back. And these words reminded them all, it's God who anoints. It's God who gives delegated power to a steward.

[17:11] Don't sin against the Lord, no matter how evil Saul is. He did not allow them to rise against Saul, and Saul got away for free that time.

[17:24] He got up from the cave and went on his way. If they're whispering this entire time, I wonder how much arguing and fighting there is after that.

[17:35] I mean, if you're David, you might have a mutiny on your hands. This should have been it. You blew it. How are we ever going to trust our captain again? This guy has no common sense.

[17:47] We're at war. We don't know the exact inspiration for all the Psalms, but we do know the occasion and the setting of them in the wilderness and prayer and asking the Lord to judge.

[18:00] These are common themes and even if it's a different psalmist, it's the same Holy Spirit breathing out the Word of God. In Psalm 119, verse 161, which we read as part of our call to worship today, says this, Princes or noblemen like Saul persecute me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your word.

[18:30] It's the Word of God, the good law of God that's keeping David in check by the power of the Spirit. Psalm 37 is a Psalm of David with this setting as its occasion and in this Psalm, David sings, rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him.

[18:52] Do not fret because of men who prosper in their way. There's David now even reflecting back and singing to rest in the Lord and wait patiently on him.

[19:06] Do not fret because of evil men. Spurgeon commented, he who can sing to God in the recesses of a cave will not be tempted to grab the crown by the hand of murder.

[19:22] Sing to the Lord. Preach to your own soul. Rest in God. Wait patiently on him. David knew that he who waits for God loses nothing by our patience.

[19:38] In Matthew 4, our Lord Jesus Christ was offered the kingdoms of this world by the prince of this world, Satan. And our Lord Jesus Christ, King Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed one, he battled, he fought back with God's word, God's law, the first of the Ten Commandments, also this theme of Deuteronomy 6, the Shema.

[20:07] And he told Satan, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. The Lord will strengthen you and me too, brothers and sisters, by his spirit and his word hidden in our heart that we may not sin against God.

[20:24] By God's power and God's grace, this will be a testimony for each of us. As Matthew Henry put it, a whole kingdom will never be worth a sin.

[20:37] A better king is coming, a king whose heart loves God more than anything he can grab for himself in this world. Second, a better king is coming, a king who will restore honor to the office he will fill.

[20:57] A king is coming who will restore honor for the office that he himself will fill. Isn't that what David's doing? Look at verse 8. What happens next is not what you would expect.

[21:10] It's something you'd read in the Bible. David also arose afterward and went out of the cave. I wonder if his men approved of this decision next.

[21:24] I mean, think of the options available to Saul and these men, do you think these 3,000 choice men like being away from their families going around this wilderness area? There's the target.

[21:36] You can almost hear their bow is getting pulled back. There he is right there. David steps out into the wide open. not only does he make himself visible, he calls out to Saul.

[21:51] And if that's not shocking enough, his words and his posture certainly elevate it. Look at what he says. I'm going to summarize some of them, but I want you to see each one very carefully.

[22:03] In verse 8, he says, my lord, see, you're the ruler here and I'm your servant, the king. he has a high regard for the office that crazy Saul holds.

[22:17] And look what's next. He's stooped with his face to the earth, bowed down. Three powerful descriptions in a row of his posture.

[22:27] He's restoring honor to the office of king that Saul has so disgraced. In verse 10, he calls Saul the Lord's Messiah, the Lord's anointed.

[22:39] In verse 11, he calls Saul my father. And in verse 14, he calls him the king of Israel.

[22:51] David is restoring honor to this very office that David himself will fill next for Israel. He starts off in verse 9 of this speech by telling Saul, why do you listen to the words of men who say, indeed, David seeks your harm.

[23:15] Now, whether there's spies going back and forth or gossip or rumors or stuff like that, we don't know. Someone pointed out in Bible study, maybe it's him helping Saul save face a little bit, but he's telling Saul, beware of bad counsel, whether it's your own crazy mind or these spies, the Ziphites and others going back and forth.

[23:34] those voices are lying to you. They're bearing false witness about me. You've got it all wrong. David now shows him, I can prove I don't seek your harm in verse 10.

[23:48] Look, this day your eyes have seen that the Lord delivered you today into my hand in the cave and someone urged me to kill you, but my eye spared you and I said I will not stretch out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.

[24:07] I wonder what David is recalling here by using this word over and over and over anointed, anointed, anointed, Messiah. I wonder if he's remembering the oil that flowed down his head even before he could grow a beard when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel.

[24:29] The spirit of God upon him mightily in battle and playing the harp. The promise of an anointed one, a Messiah.

[24:43] How much of scripture David knew that seed of Eve, that promised one that's coming, that seed of Abraham, that seed that would now be coming through David's line one day, the Lord's anointed.

[25:02] He says, moreover, my father, he's extending grace, he's reminding Saul, you're the father of a nation, you're my father-in-law, that's how I see you, Saul.

[25:15] He says, yes, see the corner, the wing of your robe in my hand, loaded with symbolism. for in that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor rebellion in my hand, I have not sinned against you, yet you hunt my life to take it, you are the one who seeks my harm, he says.

[25:41] In verse 12, David reminds Saul, I'm a sojourner, I'm in caves, he calls himself even worse than that here in a bit, and while you're the king, while you're my father, look at verse 12, let the Lord, let Yahweh, the Lord of hosts, judge between you and me.

[26:04] If David's not innocent, this is a scary thing to invoke. You and I, we don't want what we deserve, do we? We need God's grace.

[26:17] David says, let the Lord avenge me on you, but my hand shall not be against you. He's emboldened by summoning the Lord to judge.

[26:28] I won't do anything, Saul, if the Lord will strike you down. That's the Lord avenging you himself. Verse 13, as the proverb of the ancient says, wickedness proceeds from the wicked, but my hand shall not be against you.

[26:48] He's saying it would be wicked to kill the one that God has put in this office. Only a wicked man would wish to avenge himself, and I do not. I leave that to God.

[26:59] Verse 14, after whom has the king of Israel come out? Now he's reminding him of how little David is. Whom do you pursue? A dead dog?

[27:11] Now there's a picture for us. I mean, in the wilderness, there might have been some sheep dogs, you know, there's these sheep folds all around, but there's also the hyena of the Middle East, it's a jackal.

[27:25] A dog was viewed by the Israelites as a dirty scavenger. It's a name used derogatorily for those outside of God's covenant.

[27:37] That's what David is describing himself as. I am the outcast here, I'm the outsider, I'm living here like a scavenger, and I'm a dead dog at that.

[27:49] I'm a flea, he says. It's a tiny little parasite that lives on sheep and dogs and other animals. In verse 15, therefore let the Lord be judge and judge between you and me, see and plead my case and deliver me out of your hand.

[28:10] David could have walked out of that cave, think about this. He could have walked out of that cave and shown the army of Israel, the head of King Saul, another tall corrupt warrior, another Goliath, and the whole army of Israel could have followed him that day.

[28:34] Instead he stepped out into the sunlight with a token of God's mercy because a better king is coming.

[28:49] In Psalm 35, David cries out, plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me. Fight against those who fight against me.

[29:00] Stir up yourself, God, and awaken to my settlement, to my cause, my God, my Lord. Judge me, O Lord, my God, according to your righteousness, and let not them rejoice over me.

[29:16] David's case is entirely in the hands of God as his advocate. God sees, he knows.

[29:27] God pleads, he trusts. God delivers. David would not strike Psalm even though Saul was a wicked king because David knew his office, the office that Saul currently held, was sacred.

[29:45] It was appointed by God. And a kingdom gained by sin would be a curse, not a blessing. David had this promise from God of the kingdom, but he would not take it by blood.

[30:00] He would wait on God's time. God can look at David and we see the image of Jesus Christ. Jesus was reviled, but he did not revile back.

[30:14] He had the armies of heaven. He is the Lord of hosts and he could have commanded the angels of heaven and all the saints to come in power and crush his enemies.

[30:24] And he said, not my will according to my flesh, but your will be done, oh Lord. He suffered according to his human nature and patiently endured to fulfill all righteousness because Jesus Christ is the better king. The king who restored the honor to the office that had been so corrupted. Think of the office of king in Israel, the office of priests in Israel, the office of a prophet so corrupted. God had been silent for 400 years. The Lord Jesus restored those offices and then filled them.

[31:06] Well the third observation for today is that a better king is coming. A king whose rule is established in righteousness, justice, and mercy. A better king is coming. A king whose rule is established in righteousness, justice, and mercy. That's the kingdom you want to be part of and belong to. Look at verse 16.

[31:32] So it was when David had finished speaking these words to Saul that Saul said, is this your voice my son David? Someone pointed out in our Bible study David initiated the grace. He said my father and Saul now reciprocates it at least in the moment my son. And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

[31:58] Real tears here. Real wailing. And then he said to David you are more righteous than I.

[32:08] If that's what Saul is weeping about, praise God. A sinner recognizing his righteousness is not enough.

[32:20] We fall short of the righteousness we need. He quickly shifts his focus to himself again. He says, for you have rewarded me with good where I have rewarded you with evil.

[32:31] And so we need to take Saul in this chapter as he is and then watch in the next two chapters to find out if this is a repentance wrought in his spirit by the work of God or if it's more of a superficial repentance at this time. Someone pointed out if it was a repentance of the feelings and not of the soul, he's weeping because of the danger he, his near death experience and not because of a true turn from his sin.

[33:08] Saul's temporary repentance at the words of David shows how truth can reach even the most hardened conscience. And the law of God does that. The moral law of God, it taps into that part of being made in the image of God, which every man, woman, boy and girl, every generation, every part of the world knows this, that I am a sinner and I need a savior outside of myself.

[33:37] In verse 18 we read Saul's words, Verse 20, And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.

[34:10] The Hebrew is powerful here. In the English we get these words like surely, you know, it will endure. It's like trying to add emphasis. And in the original language it's this, Reigning, you shall reign.

[34:23] A double emphasis. It's guaranteed. It implies an absolute certainty. Even Saul recognizing that David's uprightness was the mark of God's true king.

[34:40] The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of force where man gets his own way, but it's a kingdom of servants of God who wait upon the providence of God.

[34:52] Proverbs 16, 12 tells us, It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness. Isaiah 9, 7 is this prophecy of the better king that's coming, of the increase of his government and peace.

[35:09] There will be no end. Reigning he shall reign. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom in order to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.

[35:27] Isaiah 16, 5, In mercy the throne will be established, and one will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.

[35:43] This is the kingdom of Jesus, the better kingdom. It's established on righteousness, justice, and mercy. And even wicked King Saul recognizes this and declares it.

[35:59] It's a powerful reminder how one day when our Lord Jesus comes back, every knee, even the most wicked knees, the knees of his enemies who will never repent and be saved, every knee will one day drop to the ground and every tongue will confess, even the enemies of God's anointed to the end, those who resist his kingdom in pride and stubbornness.

[36:26] They will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord of Lords to the glory of God the Father. A better king is coming.

[36:36] Well, the fourth and final observation for today, a better king is coming, a king whose kingdom is truly blessed. A king is coming whose kingdom is truly blessed.

[36:53] Verse 21 reads, Therefore, in Saul asking David, swear now to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not destroy my name from my father's house.

[37:08] This is Saul who's built an idol for himself. It's Saul who parades around all Israel to celebrate his own victories. And his final words give us a glimpse into his true concerns.

[37:20] My name, my house, my kingdom still. Now, in verse 22, we read, David swore to Saul.

[37:30] Is this David compromising? We read next that Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. In our Bible study this morning, you all pointed out something powerful here.

[37:47] Two things. First, in verse 22, David swore to Saul nothing new. Because who is in the line of Saul? It's Jonathan.

[37:58] He's already covenanted with Jonathan to show God's covenant faithfulness to Jonathan's line. So swearing this to Saul is not a new promise or a new vow.

[38:09] It's simply knowing this already is in place with what I've promised Jonathan. And then the second observation is their physical movement is to drift away. And if all of this is a restored relationship, then wouldn't you expect David and his three or his 600 men to travel now back in peace with Saul to Gibeah, the headquarters, the palace, the kingdom.

[38:34] And he's back in the, you know, he's a son-in-law. He's in good standing and we're at peace. But in his shrewdness or maybe by the direction of the spirit, as Saul goes home, and we're not given other details, we simply read, David and his men went up to the stronghold, waiting on God's time in a defensive posture.

[38:57] And that's where the story leaves us for today. David could spare Saul's life. He did not need Saul's death in order to be safe.

[39:11] David committed his cause to God most high in the words of the psalm who performs all things for me, trusting in God's sovereignty.

[39:23] And now David remains a pilgrim. Notice the themes that we see exhibited here, these shadows in David. By God's grace and power, in this story, David was meek.

[39:37] Let's define that word. He had the power to kill Saul. Remember, the sword was in his hand. But by God's grace and power, he kept that power under God's control. That's meekness.

[39:49] It's strength under God's control. And as a result, he would inherit the kingdom from God. By God's grace and power, on this occasion, David showed mercy to his enemy.

[40:02] In return, David obtained mercy from God and even a blessing from Saul. By God's grace and power, in this crisis, David's heart was so aimed at pleasing God that even cutting off a corner of a robe felt like a stain on his purity.

[40:22] David has been reviled and persecuted day after day by Saul and his evil advisors. Yet David remained exceedingly glad in the words of the psalm to trust God's ultimate judgment.

[40:36] Do these kingdom descriptions sound familiar to you? David prefigures the final victory of Christ where the old order, dominion under Adam, the dominion of sin and death, it's forced to recognize the authority of Jesus Christ, the risen king, whose kingdom of grace will outlast the kingdoms of men.

[41:03] Our Lord Jesus Christ showed that the weapons of his kingdom, the way he does battle and goes to war, it's not material. It's not the powers of this world and man's way, but it's spiritual.

[41:19] It's a kingdom that's not grabbed by force, but that's given, that's bestowed by God. The kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is the truly blessed kingdom.

[41:32] Amen. Our Lord Jesus declared this as the king, as the lawgiver for his people in Matthew 5, 3 through 12. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[41:44] Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.

[41:56] Blessed are the merciful for they have obtained mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.

[42:07] Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.

[42:22] Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. This is the blessed kingdom of Jesus Christ.

[42:36] The Lord can bless those in his kingdom because he first fulfilled Romans 12, 21. Our Lord Jesus Christ was not overcome by evil but he did overcome evil with good.

[42:49] Our Lord Jesus taking evil that man threw at him with all the force available. The Lord submitted himself to God who will judge all and he endured it.

[43:06] 1 Peter 2, 21 which we read earlier. Our Lord Jesus committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth who when he was reviled did not revile and turn.

[43:19] When he suffered he did not threaten but committed himself to him who judges righteously. And to this you were called church because Jesus Christ also suffered for us leaving us a pattern that we should follow in his steps.

[43:37] Ephesians 4, 31 and 32. By the power and grace of the Holy Spirit working and true believers hear this exhortation from God's word.

[43:49] Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another.

[44:02] Tender hearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. The better king has come.

[44:17] He has come in mercy and he will come again soon as judge. And like David in the wilderness we are pilgrims in this world.

[44:29] Jesus Christ is our stronghold but in him we are truly blessed. Amen. Let's pray. O Lord we thank you for your kingdom the better kingdom the true kingdom of heaven brought to earth by God the Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

[44:51] Lord help us with our mouths to confess with our hearts to believe with our even our posture with our knees our faces in the dirt to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father we ask.

[45:08] Amen.