Would please turn in your Bibles to 1st Samuel, chapter 26. For those of you who aren't here with us every week, we have been very slowly marching our way through the book of 1st Samuel. There's a lot of chapters in there, if you didn't know. But we are up to chapter 26, so that's something. So just be turning there. And while you're turning there, I'm going to ask you a fun, lighthearted question. What is it that you fear most? Fear can be felt and it can be defined in a lot of different ways in our lives. And it really plays an interesting role in our lives. Whether you are a Christian or an unbeliever, fear is going to affect you in this life. However, the way that we are to understand fear as Christians, it must be different from how the world understands fear. Now, in some ways, of course, fear is a bad thing. When we fear the unknown, what's really happening is that we are not trusting that God is in control of our situation. When we fear man, we have placed man in the place of God in our heart. And that, of course, is a bad thing. But there are some senses in which fear can be good. A healthy fear can keep you from doing things that are unwise or dangerous, like cliff diving or jumping over a canyon on a motorcycle. That kind of fear is probably good. But there's one good type of fear that is far more important than any other kind of fear. And that is, of course, the fear of the Lord. And not only is fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom, as Proverbs tells us, but scripture commands us to work out our salvation with fear and with trembling, because there is an almighty God who is perfectly holy and who is perfectly just. And that is something that should instill a holy and a reverent fear in all of mankind, but especially among believers. Everyone dies and everyone must give an account to the judge of all the earth. And so there are many biblical motivators for pursuing holiness as a believer. And one of them is that you will one day face the judge. And while believers have been washed in the blood of Christ, we still have to answer for all we think, do and say. And the fear of that is not something that should overwhelm us. It's not something that should drive us to despair. But it should drive us to live holy lives before our God. And so because you will be judged by the Lord, you must fear him. And so with that, let's read 1 Samuel, chapter 26, beginning in verse one. Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah. saying, Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hekila, which is on the east side of Jeshimun? So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hekila, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimun. But David remained in the wilderness. And when he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies and learned that Saul had come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamps, and David saw the place where Saul lay with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment while the army was encamped around him. Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Joab's brother Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, who will go down with me into the camp to Saul? And Abishai said, I will go down with you. So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then said Abishai to David, God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice. But David said to Abishai, do not destroy him. For who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? And David said, as the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him or his day will come to die or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water and let us go. So David took the spear in the jar of water from Saul's head and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake. For they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill with a great space between them. And David called to the army and to Abner, the son of Ner, saying, Will you not answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who calls to the king? And David said to Abner, Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your Lord, the King? For one of the people came in to destroy the King, your Lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die because you have not kept watch over your Lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the King's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head. Saul recognized David's voice and said, Is this your voice, my son David? And David said, It is my voice, my Lord, O King. And he said, why does my Lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now, therefore, let my Lord, the king, hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering. But if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, go serve other gods. Now, therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord. For the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains. And Saul said, I have sinned, return my son, David, for I will no more do you harm because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly and I've made a great mistake. And David answered and said, here's a Spiro king. Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness. For the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious on the side of the Lord. And may he deliver me out of all tribulation. Then Saul said to David, Blessed be you, my son, David. You will do many things and will succeed in them. So David went his way and Saul returned to his place. So I'll break from the good Presbyterian preaching tradition, and we'll just look at two points this morning instead of three. First, we'll look at the hunter-hunted, just the first portion of this passage. So for those of you who have been keeping up in this series, you probably noticed that this chapter seems very similar to a chapter we've looked at recently in 1 Samuel. And the big picture of what happens in chapter 26 is that David spares Saul's life. That's the big picture. And we saw the same thing happen back in chapter 24 in the cave. Now, some commentators look at this and they look at these two different chapters and they say, oh, these are two versions of the same event. And while there are some similarities between them, there are also huge differences between these two chapters. And there's really no reason to think that they were the same event. The location, the time, the situation, the resolution and even the symbols involved are all different. And through this chapter, we learn or we really see continue two big themes from this book. First, we see Saul continuing in hardened rebellion against the Lord. And second, we see David growing in grace and in confidence in the Lord, having learned from his previous experiences. So, this chapter is not simply a repeat, it's not superfluous, but rather it builds on these major themes of the book of 1 Samuel. So, after David spared Saul's life the first time, he had more or less given up, at least for a while, on pursuing David. But when these men from Ziph, these Ziphites, brought him information and urged him on, Saul resumed this hunt for David. And once again, we see Saul march out from Gibeah confidently with his standard 3,000 man standing army. So, despite formally promising David that he would not seek to harm him again, He sought again to chase him down and kill him. And Saul knew he had David outnumbered at least six to one or nearly six to one. He had reliable information. He knew right where he was in the area. And so Saul and his army, they set up camp on a high hill. Would have been a great defensive location, would have had a great line of sight all around, perfect spot to set up camp. And as the army went to sleep that night, Saul lay in the normal location for a king or for a high leader. He was in the middle of this entire encampment with his best soldier and advisor Abner at his side. He also would have had the best guards around him. And according to worldly eyes, you look at this situation just like the world, Saul was about as safe as you could possibly be in this situation. But Saul still had not learned to trust in the Lord. Rather, he was relying on human strength once again. But since he was rejected by the Lord and he was without the Holy Spirit at this point, worldly eyes in one sense was all he really had to go by. And in this moment, he thought that he was the untouchable hunter on the pursuit of David. But meanwhile, David had spies that informed him that he was indeed being hunted once again. But this time David didn't run, he didn't try to flee. Instead, he went with a few men and he scouted out the camp. He located the king in the encampment and he came up with a daring plan. And so he and the mighty warrior Abishai, they snuck down into the camp where Saul lay sleeping. Saul may have started out as the hunter, but David and Abishai, as they stood above him, he actually became the hunted. So despite having the high ground, a large army, and a devoted bodyguard, Saul still did not have the Lord. And in verse 12, the author tells us what really enabled David and Abishai's success. It wasn't their skill in covert operations or stealth. God put all of Saul's men, including those who should have been on guard duty, into a deep sleep. God foiled Saul's plans by placing him at the mercy of David, the one who was being hunted. And so now, as David stands in the position of power, so to speak, the question is, what will David do? Well, like David's men in the cave in chapter 24, Abishai, David's man, he misread this situation, this providence from God. In his mind, if God drops your master's enemy into your hands asleep right in front of you, surely it's for the purpose of dispatching that enemy. Abishai wanted the man who had wrongly been hunting David himself and all his friends dead. Furthermore, he wanted the honor of killing Saul for David. He would do it quickly and David wouldn't have to personally strike the king at all. And his plea was so urgent that he was practically begging David to let him kill Saul right then and there. But we see very quickly that David seems to have had no intention of killing Saul through these events. That wasn't even why they were there. David never intended to kill Saul in this instance. Just as this chapter shows Saul continuing in rebellion and foolishness, so it shows David as having grown in wisdom and in understanding. And unlike in chapter 24, there seems to be no inner struggle or argument going on within David. The previous run-in with Saul had shown him that killing Saul would be against God's will. Even the last chapter with Nabal had taught David a lesson, helping to prepare him for this moment. Abigail's rebuke even, and her rebuke and encouragement, reminded him that he had to leave his situation to the Lord to establish justice. And so with all these recent lessons in mind, his response to Abishai's request in verses 10 and 11 was this. As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him or his day will come to die or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. David didn't know at this point how God was going to remove Saul from the throne of Israel. But David did know and believe that God would fulfill his promise to place him on the throne. How he was going to do it didn't matter in that moment. He just knew it couldn't be by him taking things into his own hands and killing Saul. So that which he had entrusted to the hand of God, it could not be achieved by his own hands. So the purpose for this whole incursion into Saul's encampment, it wasn't murder and it wasn't revenge. David was looking for something else. He needed something to prove that he could have killed Saul, but was not going to. He needed something to confront Saul with as the proof of what he could have done. And at Saul's head was his spear and a jar of water. And the spear acted like a scepter for Saul, showed his royal power as well as being his implement for war. And the jar of water was probably just his personal water bottle, but both were probably ornately decorated for Saul. In other words, you couldn't take it and then counterfeit it. It was going to be obvious that it was Saul's items. So there could be no mistake whose items they were if David showed them to him. So furthermore, David taking Saul's spear or his scepter showed that he was taking the kingdom from Saul, but not through murder, not through taking it by his own. He would surely receive the kingdom from Saul, but he would not be the one to bring about this change in power. So, the big question is, why was David able to behave in this way? How could he be in that position over Saul and have the strength to refrain from killing his enemy? In the recent chapters, we've talked about entrusting yourself and your situation to the Lord, trusting that he will do what is best in that moment. And we've talked about leaving justice to God rather than seeking out vengeance yourself. And those both apply well to this context. But one element we haven't talked about in these chapters is that every single person will answer to the Lord someday for how they live their life. Saul, David, Abner and Abishai all had to answer to the Lord for their thoughts, words and deeds. The Lord is holy and he commands his people to be holy as well. Others will have to answer for how they treat you, but you will one day have to give an answer for how you have treated others and how you have responded to the sins of others. And I think we see some of this recognition of this in David in these verses. Not only did he refrain from harming Saul, but he also kept his man Abishai from harming Saul. David knew that if he killed Saul, he would have to live with the guilt of that sin for the rest of his life and that he would one day have to answer to the Lord for it when he died. Likewise, if Abishai put out his hand against Saul, David knew he would have to answer for that sin. So, David guarded himself and Abishai from this heinous sin. Why? Because they both followed the Lord and they knew they would have to give an account to him one day. because God is judge and there is no other. And that means that one good biblical reason to do what is right as a believer is so you do not have to answer to God for more sin. Now, the specifics of how this looks in your life, it may be very different from David's, but the heart of the matter is no different. So, when someone sins against you, do you return evil with more evil? Or knowing that you will have to answer for your sin one day, do you find a way to respond in grace and love in every situation? And I think a good summary of this is the words of Paul in Philippians 2. He says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So God is at work in you, meaning you must behave accordingly. So rather than pursuing self-righteousness, you must remember who you are in Christ. You belong to another, the one which you will one day have to stand before and give an account of your life. Believe me, I know this is something very difficult to actually put into practice. A family member or a friend, they say something to you that you don't like. You take it as a slight against yourself and you assume that the other person meant to hurt you by it. But if we're honest, chances are the slight wasn't even intended and it was just a result of miscommunication. But regardless, what is your tendency in those moments? My guess is that it's likely the same as mine. You want to repay them for that slight. A harsh reply, silence, cold, distant attitude. Those probably cover our responses pretty well. So despite the fact that the other person's sins may or may not have even been intended in the first place, we tend to react Even these tiniest of squabbles and reactions are sinful reactions. And you and I will have to give an answer to God one day for replying in that way. Now, we can praise the Lord that Jesus has redeemed us from those sins, but remember also that it was sins like our evil responses that required Jesus to be crucified on our behalf in the first place. And while those sins are paid for, we still have to give account for them. And that should be a fearful thing that drives us away from sin and to holiness. Because in this chapter, I think we see that it drove David to righteous actions, including helping Abishai to keep him from sin. The fear of God and his judgment is an encouragement for holy living for his people, and it's a deterrent from sin for the wicked. All right, let's move on to the second point, the hunted rescued. So, with the spear and the jar in hand, David and Abishai, they escaped Saul's camp. They went across to another hill from which they could call out to Saul and be seen by him. Now, as a reader, you might have expected David to call out to Saul. But he didn't start out by talking with Saul. He called out to Abner, the commander of Saul's army and his chief bodyguard. David then asked three building questions meant to taunt and accuse Abner. Now, Abner, he was quite a guy. He was a prime example of a man's man. He was tough. He was decisive. He was a powerful leader. He was fearsome and he was a warrior and one of the king's most trusted advisors. No one else in Israel really had the standing and the reputation that Abner had, except for maybe members of the royal family and perhaps David. His ability to fight, advise and protect the king was unrivaled. And yet we see here that he kind of had a big mistake. He failed to keep an enemy out of the camp. Even worse, he didn't know that an enemy had been in the camp. His one job here was to protect Saul, but he had allowed someone in who could have killed his king. So whether David in these verses was referring to Abishai as the one who came in, or generally that anyone could have gotten in to kill Saul, it's kind of unclear. Abner, though, was in charge of protecting the king by keeping enemies away from him, and he had failed in this task. And so David's accusation against Abner was that he had failed. David's verdict on Abner for this failure was that he deserved to die because he had not kept the Lord's anointed king safe. And while David had no intention of killing Saul, God's anointed king, Abner had still sinned by not protecting the king. And the penalty for a failure like this should have been forfeiture of your life. And so, Abner's failure also raises a question about him and David in this account. The question is this, who is really the most loyal servant and bodyguard of the king? Who is really the better protector of the king? And that might seem like a silly question here, considering David is constantly being pursued by Saul. And since Abner is Saul's right-hand man, the answer, again, seems rather obvious. But I think this passage is actually showing us something surprising here. In chapter 24, while David may have been tempted to kill Saul, instead he saved Saul from his own men. Now in this chapter, he has again rescued Saul from one of his own men. Now back in chapter 24, Abner was not even present to guard Saul in the cave. Now he is present, but he has failed. David, on the other hand, has proven to be a better defender of God's anointed king, even as an enemy to Saul than Abner has. It's a remarkable contrast. And it's a contrast which was only made starker by David asking Abner where Saul's spear and water jar were. And so, as David held up these symbols of his victory, it must have been a very debilitating sight for Abner. David's every word was confirmed for all to see, and Abner had no answer. and likely in great fear for his life, Abner was at a loss for words and he doesn't even reply in this passage. It was not Abner who replied to David, but Saul, the king. And despite his animosity and his hatred towards David, Saul recognized his voice and called out to him. And interestingly, he addressed David in a rather familiar way. He called him, my son David, in verse 17. And so David referred to Saul respectfully, calling him, Lord, the king. But then he went on to rebuke him. He rebuked the king for wrongly pursuing him yet again. There was no getting around the fact that Saul had broken his oath and trying to kill David yet again. And so the question in David's speech is, what led him to this evil? What could lead Saul to breaking his own oath, his own word so many times and continuing to pursue him? And so David uses two if statements. First, if it was the Lord who sent Saul after David because of some sin, then David could just make an offering to the Lord so he could again be accepted. In other words, if it was the Lord who sent Saul, then David just needed to be confronted to repent. Capturing and killing David was not an appropriate way of carrying out that task. Here's the second if. If it was men. who encouraged Saul to pursue David, he called for a curse on them. Now, of course, Saul was really the one who wanted to kill David, so this is a roundabout way of accusing Saul in one sense, but we can't forget that it was the Zephites in verse 1 who encouraged Saul to pursue David again. Now, Saul didn't need much of a push to go on the hunt for David again, and when the Zephites provided, when they provided the right encouragement, the right nudge, that's all it took for Saul. And I think David knew that it was either the Zephites or some other of Saul's advisors who sent him out on the hunt yet again. And so he called for God's curse upon their evil. And that may seem harsh to us, but just remember that just as David could not kill Saul without incurring the guilt of killing God's anointed, in the same way anyone who opposed David was guilty of the same sin. David was the next anointed king of Israel and the Ziphites made the mistake of trying to get him killed. And to oppose the Lord's anointed is to bring God's curse upon yourself. But you may have noticed that David gave another reason for why he asked God to curse them in this passage. In addition to sinning against the future anointed king, Saul and the Ziphites had together forced David to leave the promised land. Every faithful Israelite had a right to his inheritance in the land. The inheritance was from the Lord for his people, and that was a sacred thing. But his enemies had chased him so much that he could not be safe anywhere in Israel. He was being forced to consider leaving the community of God's people. He was being forced outside of Israel, outside of the bounds of the promised land, away from the special presence of God and the ark. and said he would have to flee into pagan lands and live among the ungodly idolaters. So David's words to Saul were both rebuke and also at the same time, I think we see a desperate plea here. Saul chasing David had left him with few choices and he did not want to leave Israel. He said in verse 20, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord. David's speech was a call to repentance, a plea for mercy, and a rebuke all wrapped up in a few sentences. And as we turn to Saul's response to David's words, I think we see that they're rather complicated. Now, at first glance, it might seem like genuine repentance out of Saul. But when we consider Saul's previous history and his relationship with David, I think what we really see is just the latest example of empty words and surface-level reactions. His repentance was broad, vague, and it matches his words in chapter 15, when God rejected him as king, and chapter 24, when David saved his life in the cave. David had spared Saul's life, so he would leave him alone for now. But David could not rely on any permanence in Saul's words. He was fickle and prone to jealous fits, meaning David could never trust him or be safe in his court. So despite Saul's invitation to return to Gibeah, David knew better than to trust Saul. And this is actually the last time Saul ever spoke to David. And sadly, it was just another example of fake repentance. So while Saul had a heart that was hardened in rebellion against the Lord, David's heart was softened more and more by grace. He returned Saul's things through the one young man, lest Saul immediately go back on his words and seize David. And then David spoke his final words to Saul. He once again showed his true colors by entrusting himself to the Lord, not only for his protection, but also for his reward. He did what was right and he knew the Lord would reward that in the end. So David's life was not precious in Saul's eyes, but David knew that it was in God's eyes. He didn't even try to call on Saul to treat him fairly. David knew that Saul never would. He called on God to repay him for the good he had done and to deliver him from evil, be it Saul or any other wicked man. Saul may not have cared about holiness, but the Lord certainly does. And in response to David's words, Saul gave a short blessing, if we can call it that. Now, unlike the last blessing he gave to David in chapter 24, where he declared him to be God's anointed king who would rule in glory, this one was rather short and vague. And the emotion of the previous confession was also gone. This was an empty, general blessing in response to again being spared at the hands of David. So Saul's final words to David were shallow, they were empty, and they were hardened, just like his heart. It was just an outward reflection of what was going on inside. Everything that David seems to have grown in over these chapters, Saul had only grown more hardened against. And with these final goodbyes, Saul and David, they pardoned for the last time. So let's talk summary of this passage. Now, there are many takeaways from this text, and many of them are the same emphases of the previous few chapters that we've already talked about in previous weeks. You must entrust yourself in whatever situation you find yourself in to the care of the Lord. You cannot seek personal revenge, but instead you need to ask for the Lord to execute justice on the wicked, those who oppose Christ. You must personally submit to the Lord's anointed Jesus Christ and not oppose him. Those are all true application of today's texts. But before we close, I'm going to note two additional points of application. First, this passage is a warning to everyone who is hardened in rebellion against the Lord. Now, there are many professing Christians who I believe fall under this category. You can say all the right things. You can show up to church every time the doors are open and you can fool everyone in the church. But if you are hardened in your sin and rebellion against God and you do not care, then you will be condemned by an almighty judge. Like Saul, you're playing a game with God. You're faking piety while all along you're actually dead on the inside. And if this is where you find yourself this morning, you need to repent and you need to flee to Christ before you are summoned before the throne for judgment one day. Otherwise, you're going to bear the full penalty of all of your sins. And the only possible verdict for the damned is eternal hell under God's wrath. But second, this passage is also an encouragement to all who are faithfully, not perfectly, but faithfully pursuing Christ. So let the knowledge that your thoughts, words and deeds actually matter drive you to a greater fear of the Lord. And as your fear of the Lord grows, not in trembling terror, but in true humble reliance, you will grow in holiness. Though your works be tinged with elements of sin and though failures appear in your life, you can go on with hope because the blood of Christ has paid the penalty for you. Though you will have to give an answer for all you have done, like David, you will receive only reward through Jesus Christ. As believers, we can actually do good works by the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. And just as Jesus paid for our sins, so will he wash our imperfect works, presenting them complete to the Father. Therefore, if you know Jesus, you know how you ought to live. And that doesn't mean it will be easy to fight against sin. It doesn't mean it'll be easy to try to pursue a righteous life. But we have the Spirit as our guardian and as our helper. Because of that, we can look at passages like Micah 6, 8, when it says, What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? Fear the Lord and walk humbly with him. And to the Lord be all glory for the good that he does by and through you. Let's pray. Lord, when we consider the greatness of your power, we really can only stand in awe and in fear of that. Not trepidation, not trembling, but fear of who you are, that you are mighty and powerful, that you are righteous and good, that you are also a just judge. And so, Lord, we offer up our lives to you, and we ask that you would use them in whatever way you see fit, that it might bring you more glory in the end, and that more people might worship and praise your name because of it. Lord, work righteousness, bear fruit among us, for we know we are helpless on our own. So help us to lean on the Spirit and to rest in Christ, and Lord, work mightily through us for your glory and not our own. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.