Well this evening we're turning again to our consideration of... the man after God's own heart, David, and we need to come to the transition of when he will now ascend to the throne, and that context is, of course, the death of King Saul. And so we're going to read several passages. There's more that could be read, but we want to read a few already this evening, and I encourage you to do some more reading this week as you reflect back on the word we hear. So we turn to 1 Samuel 28 and I'm just going to begin this section. Remember the last time we looked at 29, the Philistines rejecting David from going to war with them. But just previous to this, there's this occasion in which Saul is filled with fear and he's now going to seek out a medium, a spirit woman to tell him the future. So we begin that here, the first 10 verses. And Achish said to David, you assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle you and your men. So David said to Achish, surely you know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever. Now Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. Then the Philistines gathered together and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together and they encamped at Goboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her, inquire of her. And his servants said to him, in fact, there is a woman who is a medium at Edendor. So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and he went and two men went with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, please conduct a seance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you. Then the woman said to him, look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life to cause me to die? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. And we know that he asked to bring up Samuel, whether it's Samuel or not, appears and speaks to them about what was going to transpire. Let's turn to chapter 31. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Geboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Aminadab, and Melchizedek, Saul's sons. The battle became fierce against Saul. the archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day. And when the men of Israel, who were on the other side of the valley, and those who were on the other side of Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa, and they cut off his head. stripped off his armor and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim it in the temple of their idols and among the people. Then they put his armor in the temple of the Astaroth and they fastened his body to the wall of Bashan. Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and traveled all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bashan, and they came to Jabesh and buried them there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. We'll read the first 16 verses of the next book, 2 Samuel. Now, it came to pass, after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. And David said to him, where have you come from? So he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. Then David said to him, how did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, the people have fled from the battle. Many of the people are fallen and dead. And Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also. So David said to the young man who told him, how do you know that Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead? Then the young man who told him said, as I happened by chance to be on Mount Geboa, there was Saul leaning on his spear. And indeed, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, here I am. And he said to me, who are you? So I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said to me again, please stand over me and kill me for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me. So I stood over him and killed him because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them here to my Lord. Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the young man who told him, where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite. So David said to him, how was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? Then David called one of the young men and said, go near and execute him. And he struck him so that he died. So David said to him, your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord's anointed. So ends our reading this evening of God's holy, inspired, and fallible word. Well, beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, Up until this point in the life of David, the man after God's own heart, we have been viewing him as he is approaching this time of transition to fulfillment of the promise that God had made to him long ago. We have seen him in his spiritual journey as well as his physical journey in that process. Hiding away from Saul, first killing Goliath and then coming before Saul in his court and then fleeing from Saul because Saul was seeking to take his life. And in this whole time what we have been looking at and considering is that God was with David even in spite of David's own sin. Even in spite of times in which David, in unbelief, has gone to the city of Gath and, as it were, surrendered himself to the Amalekites. In reality, in some ways, we could say that, at least from an outward perspective, David at times was not acting any differently than we're going to find Saul acting. And yet, when we considered last time, When David had come and Siklag was burned with fire and he came to that place where he was dwelling with his family and his entourage, his other soldiers and families, it was the end of his ropes. It was finished in some respect. David couldn't turn to his men. He couldn't turn back to the people of Israel. And he had one place left to turn where he hadn't been turning for some time. To the Lord. He again calls for the ephod. He calls for the priest and to come and to speak God's will. When we consider then this contrast with Saul tonight, we're going to see a very distinct difference. when Saul now is going to come to the end of his ropes, as it were. There are basically two paths in life. The scriptures lay this before us time and time again. It's really the way our Lord ended the whole sermon when he's setting out the Sermon on the Mount where he is setting forth a constitution, if you will, of the kingdom of God. Blessed are those, this and that and the other. And he comes to the end of this sermon, he's calling people to walk in the way of the Lord. And he says, what will I liken this to? But a wise man and a foolish man. The wise man is one who hears the word of God and does it. And the foolish man is the one who hears but he does not do. That's in essence what we're finding here, what we see in Psalm 1, what we see reflected throughout the scriptures. that when we have come to a new life in Jesus Christ, when we are a man after David, and after God's own heart as David was, at the core of our existence, at the core of our being, is a delight and a desire to follow after God, to serve Him with our whole heart, to be used mightily of God in His service. When you're a Christian, you realize that doesn't always happen. We are contending with remaining flesh, sinful desires. And that's what David experienced as we've considered him throughout these past months. But this is in complete distinct contrast as we will see from Saul. It's often a reminder to me when I do counseling with people as well. There is Asaph in Psalm 73. He was a righteous man. He was in Israel, he served in the temple, if you will, praising God and writing songs of praise. And yet it came into his heart, this is what the Psalm 73 reveals to us, it came into his heart that, why do I have it so difficult? Why is life so hard? When I look at the ungodly, it doesn't seem like they have any conflict, any trouble, any disturbance in their life. And my life is filled with trouble and trial and temptation. Whereas God, in essence, was what He is saying. And just as David, when he came to this place where He had nowhere else to turn to the depth of the pit, if you will. He turns to God and so Asaph, he says, when I went to the house of God and I heard the end of the righteous and I heard the end of the wicked, suddenly everything was plain to me. That's what I want us to see tonight. We come here, all of us, with different things weighing on us, different things going through our minds and our hearts, different things that we're gonna face in the week to come. But we're traveling on one of two roads. And so this sermon is both a warning and, I trust, an encouragement. David, indeed, has learned many lessons spiritually as he went through the valleys and up to the mountaintops. He's going to learn many more as we will see. God will never forsake him. But one of the things we notice and will become evident in the major sin of David's life with Bathsheba is when he's confronted with his sin, he repents. that was not so with Saul. Saul wants to preserve himself. Wants to maintain himself. That's what we're going to see tonight. And I want you to turn for a moment to the summary of these statements that the chronologer in 1 Chronicles 10 tells us. So 1 Chronicles 10. Verses 13 and 14. We read here, so Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord because he did not keep the word of the Lord and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord, therefore he, the Lord, killed him and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse. And so our theme is the final contrast. The scriptures are going to be painting for us of these two men we have seen along this path in this Old Testament history. First, we want to look at Saul's fall and disobedience. And then we will see, secondly, David's rise in obedience. Well, this contrast, as you read this history of David, is clearly set forth in the pages of scripture. This text from 1 Chronicles 10, as well as the account of the history, clearly indicates it is God who put Saul to death. Because of his unfaithfulness and because of his turning even to a spirit medium to communicate with the underworld, with demons and devils. He did not obey the word of the Lord. And this whole history that is set before us about Saul is a reminder that even though we may belong to a Christian community, even though we may have many blessings, even have had some sense of the Spirit as Saul did when he was prophesying among the prophets, it can still have this kind of end. And therefore, it's a warning before us. David also neglected to inquire of the Lord. You remember, we talked about that when he went to Achish and he comes to this city and he scrawls on the door and he joins himself with the Amalekites. And so David himself in some way was tempted to do this similar thing, but he never actually departs from the Lord completely. He shouldn't have gone to Gath. He shouldn't have been in Ziklag. He shouldn't have been doing a lot of things. and yet the Lord preserved his child. And as we come now to this section in which Saul is brought to the foreground, we realize that indeed God will visit sin and iniquity. David too is in the midst of all that is happening in his surrounding. The men who wanted to stone him It was then that David turned to the Lord. He confesses, as it were, at the root and core of his being, he could not let God go. Well, maybe we need to say God was not letting him go. But in essence, what David had come to the place was everywhere else was hopeless. And he turns to the Lord, he knew, he believed that only in God was there help to be found and hope before him that God would fulfill His covenant promises to him. And there comes time in the life of the children of God when they too may come to these places. Everything seems dark and bleak and without any hope. And yet there's something at the core of their very being and the new heart and the new creature they are in Christ Jesus that cries out to God. As Jacob, I will not let you go unless you bless me. That's where David came. But what a contrast here now with Saul. His world, as it were, is crumbling all around him. And what do we read? We read that Saul is afraid. Look again back at 28 verse 6. When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dream, or Urim, or the prophets. And verse 5 says, When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. This is not the first time we meet with fear in the heart of Saul. At the very beginning, when we first found Saul in the history of this story in 1 Samuel, Samuel had spoken to him, and we read that Saul was afraid. He wouldn't even tell his uncle, after he had found these animals, of what Samuel had said to him. Forty years later, Saul indeed was a promising young leader. When he was sought out and he was standing up, head and shoulders above all the other people, he seemed to be a humble man. He hid himself, we know, among the stuff, even though he had been chosen by the Lord to be king. At the very time the Lord was speaking, Saul was hiding away in fear. And although the liberated children of Jabesh-Gilead, because of Saul, he had sent, remember, throughout all of Israel this cut-up oxen so that all Israel would come together to be united to fight the Lord's enemies. And so they defeated the Ammonites. And so God gave to Saul another heart. He gave him a heart that would be devoted to serve his people as king. And as I mentioned already, it was known as a saying that Saul prophesies among the prophets. And yet there was this part of Saul, this aspect of who he was, was filled with fear. We find it at various points in his life. One of the times at the very beginning is when His first major failure as king, he was to wait for Samuel after defeating the enemy. And instead, when Samuel does not come, Saul himself makes the burnt offering. And when Samuel comes to him and rebukes him, Saul does not repent. You know what Saul does instead? He blames the people. He defends his actions and makes excuses. There is here already where Saul is hearing from Samuel, from God himself, God is going to take the kingdom from you because of your disobedience and give it into the hand of one after his own heart. It was an act of defiance against God. Even though God still acknowledged him, as it were, as The king over his people to lead them and to fight with them in their wars. And maybe you recall the time too, young people, children, when Saul is afraid of the enemies, and they're all encamped, but Jonathan, his son, is not afraid. He goes with his armor-bearer up to the Philistine garrison, and God brings that earthquake after they hear this man telling of his dream. And Saul, we know the father, is watching all this that has happened from a distance in fear. And Saul utters this foolish promise, this vow, that as they are now pursuing the Philistines, that anyone who would eat anything must be put to death. Which causes the people, if you read that history, to actually sin against God, because they were so hungry they began to eat that which was with blood. And when the priest urges Saul to draw near to God to inquire why this was taking place, there's no answer from God. And Saul concludes it must be because of Jonathan's son. And Saul is even ready to kill his own son if the Israelites had not prevented him. And so we see this element within the heart of Saul, a fear. What's in your heart? Is there fear of anything? Are you maybe like the proverb that says, a man runs in fear even when the lion is not present. His own imaginations pursue him. Now the second major failure of Saul was His disobedience. He had been commanded to kill every Amalekite in the battle, including the king, because of the way the Amalekites had treated the children of Israel in their wilderness journey. No cattle, no children even were to be spared. And what comes to pass is that in spite of this command from God through Samuel, the people and Saul spare Agag and the best of the cattle. And Samuel says this is as the sin of witchcraft and rebellion. And Saul again makes his excuse. And Samuel rebukes Saul. And now we come to the point in Saul's life where he is at his wits end. He was constantly fearful and unbelieving. These two, fear and unbelief, go hand in hand. Saul obviously does not believe God's faithful promise to Israel, that God would give them the lands of the Philistines and the Amalekites and so on. He was not a man after God's heart. And now he is coming and he recognizes this. He's been pursuing David. He couldn't defeat David. He couldn't kill David. And now he's realizing Israel is in deep trouble because the Philistines and the other kings who had gathered with them are rising up and ready to pounce upon Israel. He had been fearful of David coming to seek the throne. He had been fearful fits of depression in his life. And really, in some ways, the whole end of Saul's life seems like one huge ironing. Here you have a king seeking out the very kinds of people, at one point in his life, that he had destroyed. The witches. the one who are calling on the demon world to give them information. Saul had gotten rid of them at one point and he was praised for it and now at the very end of his despair, of his fear gaining hold of him, he calls for someone to speak. He wants to hear a word. And unlike David, he doesn't cry out to God even when God seems to be silent and continue to plead that God would hear his cries. Instead, he gives up hope and he goes this way to a seance. Saul was doing simply again what he was accustomed to do. And this is a warning for us. The path of our life as we find ourselves living is the path that is hard to break. Sins that find themselves rooted in the way of our life need to be slain, need to be crucified, need to be killed. Saul hadn't done that. They had grown They had fomented, and now, at the end of his life, they take hold of him. Saul, as it were, is in despair. What an awful place to be. The Philistines had gathered together this mighty army, and no doubt Saul knew this, and he would know where to turn. The Philistines had intended to cut right through Israel. And so Saul even had to go around the armies to get to this place, the only one that they knew that still was alive, this witch, this woman. And he changes his clothes and he goes to ask this woman to call up Samuel. So that he could have a word about himself, about the kingdom, and about his future. If we believe in the scriptures and God's promises, where are we turning to find confidence, hope, encouragement to press on? Are we turning to the wisdom of this world? and the things that are being presented to us by worldly wise people. Instead of, even in the face of impossibilities, in the face of confusion, the face of difficulty, trial, we turn to the Lord. We look to Him. We trust His word of promise. Now we don't know who actually came up in this seance that was taking place. There was a man who seemed to appear, whether it was Samuel or not, we don't really know. But the fact is someone came up and spoke. Notice that Saul acknowledges himself that the Lord had departed from him. He knew in his heart that God was leaving him over. He says, I have called upon you. I've called upon you, Samuel. I've called upon you to make known for me what is the future. In other words, Saul is saying to Samuel, even in this situation with this witch, he's saying, you, Samuel, didn't answer me when I called. Saul is still blaming others for his own behavior, for his own actions. We find that not to be so with David. Samuel replies, if we look forward from where we read in chapter 28. Samuel said verse 16, So why do you ask me seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy and the Lord has done for himself as he spoke by me for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek. Therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me that is in the grave. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines." Saul had come to a point in his life seemingly of no return. And when he came to this point, instead of falling on the Lord and crying out to God, he turns to other words, to other voices, to other people. It's because he did this throughout his life. when you and I in our daily walk of life, as David, who's the contrast, find ourselves in difficult positions, even not so much the end of the road, so to speak, or the most difficult of circumstances, but even in the difficulties of day-to-day living, where do we turn for a word? For counsel, for wisdom, David had to learn to turn to the Lord and trust in the Lord. But it wasn't so with Saul. God was going to raise up a man unlike Saul, a man who looked to him, who trusted in him, who believed his word of promise. He was a man after his own heart, so unlike Saul. He was a man, David, after his own heart, that his own son, Jesus, would be the perfection of what it meant to be a man after God's own heart. This picture of Saul is of one who grows up hearing the Word of God. He's even convinced in a measure it is true, and yet he has hardened himself slowly, imperceptibly at times, but he's hardened himself against the Lord. And the warning then tonight for us is, don't do that. Be sensitive. to the Spirit of Christ. When He speaks to us, when the Word speaks to us, listen, take heed, obey. Saul had many opportunities given to him. He had the Word of God spoken by one of the greatest Old Testament prophets, Samuel. But he had turned away. Don't turn away from the word that comes to you. As you read the scriptures, as your dad speaks to you, as your grandpa speaks to you, as your pastor speaks to you, take heed to God's word. Oh, it's true. Even in the saints of God, even in David's heart, there is this measure of Saul kind of like characteristics where we at times are listening to these other voices when we are inclined to follow after them. It seems like an easier way. It seems like a way to get ahead. And the Scripture is saying, no, this is the way. Walk in it. And Saul is a reminder then That when we each come to our deathbeds, what you see playing out, and I've seen it, it's a horrifying scene. Coming to a deathbed of one who has never believed in Jesus Christ. Never come to trust Him and to rely on Him. And the fears and the despair and the hopelessness fills their heart and soul. And some even providing many kinds of excuses for themselves. Don't be like Saul. God had promised judgment and judgment came. But what a very different contrast we see with David. We see it as we look tonight at David's reaction to Saul's death. Indeed we read in the passage tonight that it was night. when Saul went to the Sions. It had become night for Saul indeed, and God was carrying out this sentence in the life of Saul, but even though it was night, David still had come to see light through the promises of God in turning to God and trusting in His word. Now, there could be some questions that we could try to answer tonight about how, indeed, Saul died. There seems to be some conflict between these two passages. There's no conflict, but whether this man who came, as we read in 2 Samuel, this Amalekite, actually killed Saul, or whether he'd actually died, or whether the Amalekite thought, well, I'm just going to act like I killed him, or say I killed him so David would love me better. We don't know exactly what happened. But we do know that in these moments, in the last hours of King Saul, he had utterly, completely despaired, and he did not want to die at the hand of the Philistines, who he probably thought would also torture him as king. And so he wanted to just end it all. He just wanted to die. And so he turned to his armor-bearer and asked to be killed. And the armor-bearer would not do so. And so he took a sword and he fell on it. And likewise did his armor-bearer. This is where Saul's end came. And now when this Amalekite has come and seen the scene, he reports this back to David. We read that in 2 Samuel chapter 1. Now David at this time of defeat, when Saul and his sons were killed and Israel was fleeing, Saul was just coming back from his defeating the Amalekites who had captured he and his men's wives and children. And they were coming back now to their town, Ziklag. And so they had no idea of what was happening over there in the other part of Israel. And it seems that David is pondering now what must he do. He comes back down to his city, which is burned to the ground, and suddenly there is this man seemingly running out of nowhere from the camp of Saul, and he has this appearance of being grieved and filled with sorrow. And when he comes to David, he bows before him. It seems this man knew what his mission was even before he came. He was going to be the bearer of bad and good news, he suspected. I think he supposed that David, whom he obviously seemed to know was going to be the next king, I think he presumed that maybe David was a king like Saul. There's this contrast. I think this man supposed that David would be saddened to hear that Israel, his own people and nation, had been defeated and the Philistines had gotten the victory. Bad news. But he supposed, I think, that when he would tell of what happened to Saul, his supposed enemy, David would have rejoiced. Because could you imagine if this Amalekite who knew this situation seemingly to some degree had to report back to Saul that David had been killed? What do you think Saul would have done? He would have rejoiced. His enemy was gone. But what a contrast with David. Perhaps he thinks he would gain favor from David to tell him this good news. And so he tells David what he saw. Saul leaning on his spear. The man says, he called to me and I answered. He asked me who I was. I told him I was Amalekite. And it's possible that Saul had tried to kill himself, but didn't actually die. And now he's laying there. Or whatever happened, we're not quite sure of all the detail. But this man had come back with one purpose. to tell David Saul was gone. He even took his golden bracelet and crown from Saul's head as proof that Saul was dead. Could you imagine the surprise and the shock of this Amalekite who had come to King, well, soon to be King David, to tell him this good news? Only to see David take hold of his garments. and ripped them off his body. A sign of severe grief and sorrow. Rather than rejoicing, David is grieved for Saul's death, and for Jonathan, and for Israel, no doubt. But David shows his very heart. He grieves even at the death of Saul, who was in some respects his enemy. David, we had learned through these past months, has always held up the office that God had given to Saul as king. He had said several times, you remember, when David had opportunity to kill Saul, how can I lift up my hand against the Lord's anointed? This is the Lord's anointed. And so it isn't in this moment when this Amalekite comes to him that he thinks, well, I need to make a good impression now on the rest of Israel and show that I'm really sorrowful that King Saul died. So I'm going to pretend that I'm sorrowing so all of Israel will gather to me and recognize I wasn't so happy after all. No, that's not the heart of David. He was genuinely grieved at his heart to see what had taken place. that Saul had died. He was brought to his knees, grieving over the loss of the king. David was a man of another heart, after God's heart. Even after it seems a time of mourning here, David now will call for this Amalekite again and asks him, how dare you put your hand forth against the Lord's anointed? And he calls for a young man to come and to execute this Amalekite. David blesses those who cursed him. Oh it's understandable David would mourn over his best friend Jonathan. We understand that. But that David mourns for Saul pictures for us what the heart of a believer ought to be. That even when our enemies perish we grieve They are human beings in the image of God. Does our heart grieve when we look around us in our culture today and see how mutilation of the bodies of young men and women and gender changes is taking hold upon our society? Are we grieved? Our hearts ought to be, if we are men, after God's own heart. David had learned lessons. You remember he had heard what Nabal said about his men, and he was angry. And he was going to go wipe out that whole settlement of Nabal and his compound. only to be met with his wife and corrected. David here has come to learn as a way of life to trust in God, to honor God. And soon he would write a psalm, a poem, that would make it clear that in spite of the sins of Saul, he was God's king. He would say, these things ought not to be published in Gath or published in the streets of Asculon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice and lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. David had learned throughout this whole journey leading up to this place where God was going to install him as king, God will protect. and care for his servants and his promise will not fail. David trusts God. God was the one who permitted, David knew this, he understood this now. God had permitted Saul to pursue him. to chase him, so that David's heart would be uncovered, exposed, so that God could deal with David's heart and bring him to the place. He would be more like Jesus. And God is doing the same thing in your life. When you are one who is trusted in Christ, God will design afflictions, trials, enemies, people at work, people in your family to test you, try you. Will you follow him? Will you follow Christ? Or will you seek other wisdom? Will you turn to other devices to accomplish your end like Saul did? Or will you be like David and learn through these things that God is placing on your path? It seems that David had already forgiven Saul of his sin against him. He did not harbor bitterness. He recognized his father's hand. Saul we see is shrinking back from death itself. Saul is afraid and unbelieving. He would rather end his life and think he's bringing an end to it all than to cry out to his God. Where do you turn? In your time of trouble, in your time of temptation, in your time of difficulty. Have you learned as David learned? There's nowhere else to go but to God only and trust in Him. How could David do that? Because of the greater David. As our Lord went the way of suffering and the way of death and the way of the cross. He was pursued unjustly. He had many who falsely accused Him, many who beat Him and mocked Him and nailed Him to the tree. But our Lord did not let go of His Father. And even though the words that came out of His mouth, He could even, as it were, say, Father, Father, It was, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? That's where Saul was. But he didn't turn to God. He didn't turn through the remedy that God had offered through the blood, through the way of reconciliation. David did. David knew. that the sacrifices that were being brought, they weren't sufficient, they weren't enough, they had to keep going. But he saw the blood of one who was coming, who would satisfy, who would reconcile, who would bring him into the place where he could stand as a son and daughter of the great king of kings and serve him forever. Where do you turn when difficulty and trial and tribulation and others, even your enemies, are persecuting you and throwing words at you? This history, in contrast, is calling us to fall on our face and to worship and to cling to the Lord our God and not let go until he blesses us. We need that as individuals, but we also need it today as a church, as those who are the body of Christ, not only this church and this place, but throughout this world. In many respects, the evil one and those who serve him are after us. But greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. And so let this history of this contrast, when you're faced with challenge and difficulty this week, fall as David did before the word of the Lord. Trust him. He's faithful. Let's pray. Our merciful and gracious God, how we need a reminder time and again to trust in you. You do not change. Your word is true. So we pray that we would be like your servant, David, a man or woman, child after your heart. Lord, teach us your heart. Help us not to fall as Saul, to be filled with fear and despair. Lord, go with us in this week. Bless us, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.