God give you people ever more, we lie with confidence. We pour in, pour out all your heart, for God is our defense. Amen, and let us turn then our scripture reading, our text for this morning, 1 Samuel chapter 24. And this is a little bit of a part two from our sermon two weeks ago, but it certainly stands on its own. It is the response of Saul to the actions in the cave of not taking Saul's life, but taking a corner of his robe. And then David's speech in verses eight to 15. We won't read the whole chapter, but we will read the speech again of David, just for context. So we'll begin reading at verse eight, but then we'll be focusing on Saul's response. We'll be focusing on verses 16 to 22. And then we'll also have a third point a little bit less directly related than usual, but we'll have a third point touching on Samuel's burial and death in 25 verse one. So we'll begin reading at verse eight, we'll read to 25 one, and we'll focus on verse 16 to 25 one. Let us hear the word of God, chapter 24, beginning at verse eight. Afterward, David also arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, my Lord, the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. And David said to Saul, why do you listen to the words of men who say, behold, David seeks your harm. Behold, this day, your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, I will not put out my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. May the Lord judge between me and you. May the Lord avenge me against you. but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, out of the wicked comes wickedness, but my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the King of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea. May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand. As soon As David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, is this your voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. And he said to David, you are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, and that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now behold, I know that you shall surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me, therefore, by the Lord, that you will not cut off my offspring after me and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house. And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold. Now Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran." So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation, I once heard an account of a Christian in military service and there was a fellow serviceman who did not like Christians and would often mock him and mock Christianity. There was one day when he was mocking Christianity and And as he left the room, the Christian called out to him and said, wait. And he really just wanted to get his word in and leave. And so he turned around with some anger in his face and the Christian held up a wallet and said, you forgot this. To this, the anger left the face of the fellow servicemen and he became really just a little bit embarrassed and took his wallet and left. Well, what we have in 1 Samuel 24 is an account like this, except with higher stakes. We considered the mercy of David in his wise speech to Saul two weeks ago. Well, now we're looking at this response of Saul, including an oath which Saul will ask of David. And we're even gonna have the same theme As we had for the first part of Samuel 24, the theme being this, love your antagonists liberally and wisely. And then really that's the theme for our first two points. And then for point three, we're just gonna look a little bit at the death and burial of Samuel. So Lord willing, we can dive into the rest of chapter 25 next week. So our three points are this sorrows, oaths, and griefs. So first sorrows, specifically the sorrows, the tears of Saul. Tears that we see at the end of verse 16 and then what we might call his tearful words which follow. These tears are a response to that open-hearted speech of David in verses 9 to 15. To use the language of Proverbs, David has heaped burning coals on David's head and the wrath of Saul, at least for the moment, is turned away by the soft words and the loving actions of David. Such is the melting power of mercy. But how much has Saul's heart melted? What type of tears was Saul shedding here? Are these tears of genuine repentance? Are they the tears of a tyrant caught in the act of tyranny? Is Saul now Close enough to his men that they've been able to hear David's speech? Is that why Saul's crying? Now my men can hear what David is saying and they know, if they didn't know already, that he's really innocent as I'm chasing after him? What is making Saul sad here? The innocence of David is now out in the open for all to see. Well, If we only had this chapter, we might say that we do not know, but sadly, what we have is the continued account of the life of Saul, and what that indicates to us is that this was no genuine repentance at all. Some have called the tears of Saul here tears of self-pity. There is a certain softness He doesn't go charging after David in the moment, but there is no lasting effect. There is no genuine grief or change of behavior in any lasting way. That's what the continued account of 1 Samuel indicates to us. We have a couple of hints that this is not genuine repentance in the words themselves. One of those hints that this is not genuine repentance is found in verse 17, when Saul says to David, you are more righteous than I. What's the word choice here? This is not a full ownership of sin. It's a step in the right direction. It's better than saying, well, at least I'm better than so and so. It's not that. It's a step in the right direction. In fact, we might think of back in the book of Genesis when Judah said something very much like this. When he said this, Hamar, you are more righteous than I. And for Judah, that appeared to be the beginning of genuine repentance. For Judah, as his life went on, he was a changed man. He was changed in his behavior to his brothers. and had reconciliation with David and with Joseph and all these things. But for Saul, he's taking these words, which, what do they have? It's different than saying, I am a sinner. It's a step in the right direction, but it's really just saying, well, I'm just not as good as you, David. That's just it. I'm just not as righteous as you. In the end, it has elements of self-justification, doesn't it? Self-justification which is difficult for who? Self-justification which is a difficult thing that every single one of us is going to struggle against and does struggle against in our lives. It is so easy to self-justify. Well, the words of Saul are hinting that that's how he's beginning. He is not making a strong enough confession. So we would think of a better confession, for example, in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. God be merciful to me a sinner there's no self-justification there or we might think of the words of David even words that we saying in from from the 32nd song when David inspired by the Holy Spirit says I acknowledged my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. In short, while true repentance does include sorrow, the shedding of tears, and Saul's giving us some things that might be the beginnings of true repentance, he's also showing that there's elements of self-justification which are lingering, and then certainly The biggest indication is, as we read on in 1 Samuel, there's no changed behavior. The Apostle Paul tells us that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret. Well, that would include changed behavior. Real repentance is not just, I'm sorry one minute, and doing the same thing the next minute. It is a sorrow not focused on self, but focused on what we've done against God, and it's a sorrow which will lead to a change. Not that we become perfect, of course, we know that, but there will be growth and sanctification. And these things are all part of a true repentance, which we do not see from Saul here. I'd like you to turn with me to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27. So we're gonna think a little bit about these false repentances, these false confessions. And there are two examples of false repentance in Matthew chapter 27. And the first one is in Matthew 27 verse 3, and it's the false repentance of Judas. And I'm actually going to read the old King James version of Matthew 27 verse 3. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, that is Jesus, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself and brought, again, 30 pieces of silver. to the chief priests and elders. Repented himself. That's a little bit of a strange way to speak. Maybe that's why we don't translate it that way anymore. But it gives us a sense of what's going on. He is not sorry about God. He's sorry that he's been caught, that he was condemned. He's sorry for himself. He repented. himself. People of God, I would submit to you, as we would take the full account of 1 Samuel, that is Saul's attitude. He's not really sorry before God, before David. He's sorry in a form of self-pity. He's sorry that he's caught. He's sorry that he's been exposed. This is not godly grief, which leads to life. This is self-pity, which leads to death and is no true repentance at all. Or then in Matthew 27 verses 24 to 26, we have another false form of repentance, a false form of confession, and that is Pilate. And he's taking the water, and he's washing his hands, and he's saying, I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. You see, Pilate was not really sorry. He wanted to pretend that someone else was to blame. It's a false repentance without any action of godliness. For Saul, the lack of action was no lasting changed behavior to David. For Pilate, the lack of action was to not actually set free the innocent one, Jesus of Nazareth, but to say, oh, well, you do it and I'll try to wash my hands of it. Repentance without changed action, without godly sorrow before God, instead of just being sorry for oneself. These are dangerous things for the soul. It's dangerous for the soul of Saul, and it would be dangerous for anyone who would practice this kind of repentance in any way. May we be truly sorry before God for our sins. And may we, in our sorrow, then not just say, well, I'll wash my hands of it, or I'll go back to it. two days or two weeks or whatever later. No, let's seek to be changed by God's grace, by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Let's seek to live in true repentance before God. Well, that's our first point. A sorrow of Saul, which is not the sorrow it should have been. Well, let's come to our second point, the oath, the oath which Saul asks of David. And let's, as we come to this point, just consider this. Saul is not really gonna change his behavior in wanting David dead. But Saul is very concerned that David, would not pursue violence upon himself and his family. See, this is the way of sin. One does not want his own sinful activity turned back upon himself. Because God has written the law upon our hearts, and deep down we know what's right and wrong. And even when we would be living in sin, We would desire that others would not treat us in such a way. And so Saul here, not concerned about really changing his own behavior, is very concerned that David would show mercy to him. And so he says, swear an oath to me, David. Swear an oath to me that you will not destroy my household. He begs mercy from David. Now David, will willingly give this oath. Indeed, David has already made this oath, but Saul doesn't know it, because David has sworn this oath to Saul's son that he will not cut off the house of Saul. David has made this oath to Jonathan. But Saul does not know this. In order to protect himself, we can assume, Jonathan has not told Saul this detail, and David, to protect his friend, will not share this either. Two weeks ago, in our sermon on the first half of this chapter, we focused on David's open-hearted love of Saul, that he does not harm Saul, that he speaks wisely, respectfully, bowing down and acknowledging the anointed position of Saul and all these things. David does not hold a grudge against Saul. But now, at this point, let's consider for a moment some things that, letting go of a grudge, which David does that, he doesn't hold a grudge against Saul, he doesn't hate Saul, but what does that mean? What must go with that? Because letting go of a grudge does not mean that the person who has hurt you must be your best friend and an immediately trusted ally. Letting go of a grudge, loving someone with an open heart, being open to reconciliation, that is not the same thing as saying, oh, well, now you're my best friend and I'm immediately going to trust you as my ally. David doesn't even tell Saul he's already made this oath. Why? Because David does not yet trust Saul. I'm going to read a verse from Psalm 1, the first verse of the Psalms. I'm going to read a couple verses from Proverbs. Blessed is the man, Psalm 1-1, who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. There are certain people whose company we must be very cautious of and even avoid. Proverbs 9 verses 7 and 8 and 9. Proverbs 9 verses 7 and 9. Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse. And he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury. Do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you. Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Injury. What would have happened if David would have said, I don't have to make that oath. I already made that oath to Jonathan. You know how close we are and how much I love Jonathan. We've already made that oath in our friendship. Do you think that would have been good for Jonathan when Saul got home? It would have brought injury upon Jonathan or very well could have. What would have happened if David himself would have gone home with Saul? Probably Nothing good. You see, Saul has proven himself so untrustworthy, he has lied, he has pursued David's life so mischievously, that one caught in the act, tearful word, is not enough to make him a trustworthy friend. again. Our general attitude, right, is love covers a multitude of sins. To be quick to forgive, to be quick to full reconciliation and all these things. But people of God, there is such a thing as wisdom which avoids company and which does not speak everything to a scoffer. That is godly wisdom. Now here, It's someone who's been lying for probably years or at least for many months. So for here, the trustworthiness of Saul would take a long time to restore. It may not be that we have such extreme cases in our lives, but it may be that there are persons who would have to demonstrate a long stretch of trustworthiness to build trust back up, to prove that they are no longer a scoffer, to prove that they're actually able to hear a word of correction again. Jesus once told his disciples this as they went out to preach, that they were going out as sheep in the midst of wolves, be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. We deal with some people like we're snakes. You see, God knows that we live in a sin-filled world. God knows that we are full of sin ourselves. We must confess our sins, and God knows that we must be wary of certain persons. Let me put it to you this way. I watched a little more TV than usual the last couple days. My wife's in Michigan for a couple days. It is just, wow. What kind of attitudes are glorified kind of personalities are glorified. Should we just sit in and soak that up or should we be wise as serpents and just say, this is nonsense. This is not godly living, godly attitudes, godly personalities. There are certain people There are certain things which should be avoided. And even when they begin to show some evidence of growth, we're still going to be careful around them. David and his men went up to the stronghold. The takeaway from this point is two things. Number one, be careful in this world. Be careful in this world. And number two, well I'll say this one in the form of an illustration. Trust is not like a quarter in an Aldi cart. You don't just quickly put it in and quickly take it out. There is such a thing as times when trustworthiness must be built back up and it might take a long time before you can really trust someone who's proven themselves a fool, a wolf. We are sheep in the midst of wolves. We should not think that we live in a safe world. Well, let's go to our third point. Griefs. Griefs. And we're really just gonna touch on a couple things about the death and burial of Samuel. This is a point that stands on its own. It doesn't directly relate to the previous theme. It has a little in common with the verses before it, though we do move from one kind of tears, Saul's tears of false repentance, to another kind of tears, people's tears of grief at the death of Samuel. It has little in common with what comes after it, although it does move from the death of a faithful man, Samuel, to the death of an unfaithful man, Nabal, in the rest of chapter 25. But though it stands on its own, this brief word about the death of Samuel, it shows us that, well, it shows us a few things. It shows us that a faithful man may be respected, even by those who disagree with him. There were faithful left in Israel. There is always a remnant. And the faithful must have mourned not just the loss of a good leader, but the loss of a faithful priest. But such was the integrity of Samuel that even those who perhaps did not appreciate his zeal for the faith would still mourn his loss as a leader in the nation. And so the text says this, all Israel mourned for him. People of God, we are called to love God first, and we're called to love all of our neighbors. I think here we see the life of Samuel was such that even unbelievers were sad to see him pass away. And that's a challenge to us, to live with such love for God and such love for neighbor, that we would have such integrity that even unbelievers would be sad to see us go. The death of Samuel is also a reminder that funerals are worth speaking about, they're worth attending to. Really, we have the death, the burial, and also with the, and they assembled, I mean the funeral, it's all right here. Why does the author of 1 Samuel make mention of this? People have gone, it's because it is appropriate to mourn over death. How does Solomon say it in the Book of Ecclesiastes? There's a time for mourning. And then in Ecclesiastes 7-2, it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. Let's say it this way. A large town with no funeral home would be a very inappropriate thing. This is a kind of grief which is appropriate, needful. It is sad that Samuel has died and all Israel mourned for him. Now, what about the Lord's Supper? Because I think here it's appropriate for us to come to our conclusion think about funerals, think about proper tears at funerals, and to say, well, what do we sometimes might be tempted to think about the Lord's Supper? Well, it's tied to the death of Jesus Christ, so is the Lord's Supper. Is this like a sad funeral mourning time? No, no, no, no. And there's a few reasons for that. Number one, because It is the death which was conquered by life. And so when we remember the body and blood of Jesus Christ, we're thinking about the death which conquered death and brings life. So that's one reason why it's not coming and mourning in sadness and grief. And then the other reason is because it's the death that Jesus went to willingly to pay for our sins. It's the pouring out of blood which washes away sin. Because we are sinners and we need that salvation and in Jesus Christ that salvation is given. So It's true that sometimes there have been ideas about the Lord's Supper being some sad event. And we can understand how that mindset would come about. Death is sad. When Samuel dies, all Israel assembled and mourned for him. But we must remember that this death, the death of Jesus Christ, is not like any other death. It's the death which conquered death. It's the death which removed sin. And so we remember it with, we might say, a certain seriousness, but not with sadness. We remember it as the very death which can take away our sins. As we would come with godly grief and repentance to God and say, I know that my sins require the steepest price, the very death of the eternal Son of God. But I know that as I repent with godly grief, I have salvation in my Savior and in His body broken for me and in His blood spilled for me. So we remember with joy salvation that we have and Christ, people of God, let us pray. Our great God and Heavenly Father, we thank you for speaking to us of a time when mercy was shown to a tyrant, of speaking to us about the death of one of your faithful saints so long ago,