← Back to sermon library

Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 19. 1 Samuel chapter 19, working our 
way through the life of David. I think it's very practical to 
see how David is sustained and blessed by God in the midst of 
his trials. It's not that God delivers him 
immediately from all trials, but God sustains. and watches 
over him and keeps him going in the midst of these things. 
And essentially, we have those two aspects in the chapter tonight, 
the defense of David by Jonathan in verses 1 to 7, and then the 
deliverance of David by God in verses 8 to 24. So, I'll just 
read beginning in 1 Samuel 19 at verse 1. Now Saul spoke to 
Jonathan his son and to all his servants that they should kill 
David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David. So 
Jonathan told David, saying, My father Saul seeks to kill 
you. Therefore, please be on your guard until morning and 
stay in a secret place and hide. And I will go out and stand beside 
my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with 
my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell 
you. Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul, his father, 
and said to him, let not the king sin against his servant, 
against David, because he has not sinned against you, and because 
his works have been very good towards you. For he took his 
life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord 
brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. You saw it and 
rejoiced. Why then will you sin against 
innocent blood to kill David without a cause? So Saul heeded 
the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, as the Lord lives, he 
shall not be killed. Then Jonathan called David, and 
Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David to 
Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past. And there was 
war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines, 
and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. 
Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he 
sat in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing 
music with his hand. Then Saul sought to pin David 
to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence, 
and he drove the spear into the wall. So David fled and escaped 
that night. Saul also sent messengers to 
David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. And 
Michael, David's wife, told him, saying, if you do not save your 
life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So Michael let David 
down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And 
Michael took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of 
goat's hair for his head, and covered it with clothes. So when 
Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, he is sick. Then Saul sent the messengers 
back to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that 
I may kill him. And when the messengers had come 
in, there was the image in the bed, and a cover of goat's hair 
for his head. Then Saul said to Michael, Why 
have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that 
he has escaped? And Michael answered Saul, He 
said to me, Let me go. Why should I kill you? So David 
fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at Ramah, and told him 
all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed 
in Nioth. Now it was told Saul, saying, 
Take note, David is at Nioth in Ramah. Then Saul sent messengers 
to take David. And when they saw the group of 
prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, 
the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they 
also prophesied. And when Saul was told, he sent 
other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers 
again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then he also 
went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is at Psakiah. 
So he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And someone 
said, indeed, they are at Nioth and Ramah. So he went there to 
Nioth and Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon 
him also. And he went on and prophesied 
until he came to Nioth and Ramah. And he also stripped off his 
clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner and laid 
down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore, they say, 
is Saul also among the prophets? Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for the written word of the living and true God. 
We know it's given by inspiration of God that it's profitable to 
us for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction 
in righteousness. And I pray that you would fill 
our hearts with the Holy Spirit, that you would give us wisdom 
and understanding as we approach this passage. Certainly, we have 
afflictions and trials. Likewise, we're not being hunted 
to death by King Saul, but certainly there are hardships in this world. And God, help us to see your 
hand of mercy toward your servant, David. Help us to trust in the 
reality that you are the same true and living God, that you 
never leave, you never forsake your people. And may this encourage 
and strengthen each of our hearts. We ask again that you would forgive 
us for all of our sin and all transgression and unrighteousness 
and guide us now by your spirit and encourage each one. And we 
pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, after the battle 
in the Valley of Elah, when David bested the Philistine giant, 
remember that Saul was filled with envy and rage. David was 
recognized as a wonderful hero in Israel. He was celebrated 
as the victor and as the champion. And of course, Saul, having had 
the spirit depart from him, is now filled with rage and enmity. 
He wants to destroy David. In chapter 18, it is covert. He doesn't come right out and 
express his intention. As we move now into chapter 19, 
he has broken down all barriers. He is not keeping it a secret. 
His desire and his design is to rid the world of King David. 
David who had been anointed, David who's going to be the successor 
of Saul. Well, as we look at this chapter, 
as I said, it breaks down into these two sections, the defense 
of David by Jonathan in verses 1 to 7, and then the deliverance 
of David by God in verses 8 to 24. But in the first place, let 
us look at the defense of David by Jonathan. They forged an excellent 
friendship. We've already seen that, and 
you'll see it as we continue on in this particular book. David 
received great benefit from that friendship with Jonathan, as 
did Jonathan with reference to his friendship with David. And 
in this particular situation, in verse 1, we see the various 
responses to David that are going about. In chapter 18, it essentially 
told us that everybody loved David. The servants loved David. 
The people of Israel loved David. Everybody loved David except 
for King Saul. And we see that reiterated in 
verse 1. Now, Saul spoke to Jonathan, 
his son, and to all his servants that they should kill David. 
So that covert attempt in chapter 18 is now overt. He expresses 
his design to Jonathan, his son. And then notice the lack of a 
distressing spirit. That distressing spirit will 
come back in verse nine. But at this particular point, 
when Saul expresses the desire of his heart, it isn't predicated 
upon this distressing spirit from the Lord. Rather, this is 
Saul in all of his wickedness and in all of his apostasy and 
in all of his defection. This is Saul raw. This is Saul 
as we see sinners. And as one commentator says, 
the shocking thing at the opening of chapter 19 is that the reigning 
king of Israel, that is the highest ranking leader of God's covenant 
people, proposes aloud the murder of David, the person whom God 
had chosen to succeed him as king. And one of the things that 
we ought to appreciate as we move through this chapter, wouldn't 
it be a wonderful thing if political leaders just did their job? Imagine 
if instead of trying to kill David, Saul actually, I don't 
know, administered the kingdom and functioned in a capacity 
where God the Lord had instituted him. But rather he is rage-filled, 
he is envious, and he wants to dispatch David. He wants to send 
David into his early grave so that Saul is unfettered in his 
wickedness. So Saul expresses the desire 
of his heart, and then notice in 1B, but Jonathan, Saul's son, 
delighted greatly in David. As I said, in chapter 18, he's 
loved by Jonathan, he's loved by Israel and Judah, he's loved 
by Michael, he's loved by the servants. There is that expression 
of God's blessing upon David, except with reference to Saul. And that brings us to this discussion 
with David. Jonathan essentially tells David, 
my father wants to kill you. Now that's an interesting statement. 
David doesn't respond here. In fact, we don't get a lot of 
David's input with reference to this particular chapter, except 
for instance, Psalm 59. Psalm 59 was written on this 
occasion when Saul had sent his servants to David and Michael's 
house to try and get rid of David while he slept in his bed. But 
in this instance, just imagine, as far as David is concerned, 
he has done a good thing. As far as David is concerned, 
he ponied up. He put his neck on the line. 
He went into the Valley of Elah, and he did battle with Goliath. 
And now Jonathan is telling him, my father wants to destroy you. 
I've often thought David could have said something like, it's 
a good thing I'm not a human being, or these things would 
have an effect upon me. I mean, this is a horrific thing 
for Saul to relate via Jonathan. But Jonathan, loving his friend, 
wants to warn him and wants to give him an alert with reference 
to Saul's murderous design, with reference to David. Now notice 
how Jonathan appeals to Saul in verses four to seven. In the 
first place, he appeals to him as king. Verse four, thus Jonathan 
spoke well of David to Saul, his father, and said to him, 
let not the king. He's not appealing to him as 
daddy. He's not appealing to him as his father. He's appealing 
to him as the highest figure in the nation of Israel, such 
that he should function according to principle and not emotion. He should function in a way that 
is concrete. He should function in a way that 
is just and according to God's law. So Jonathan appeals to him 
as the king. He then sets forth this rational 
argument. Notice that he says, he has not 
sinned against you. And because his works have been 
very good towards you, You shouldn't want to kill him. He hasn't done 
anything bad to you. In fact, everything that he has 
done has only been good for you in terms of your reign. There 
is this moral argument. Jonathan says, for he took his 
life in his hands and killed the Philistine. You see the nature 
of the argumentation that Jonathan is presenting to his father Saul. 
This is highly irrational. The function of the king of Israel 
is not to kill the inhabitants of the kingdom of Israel. Rather, 
you should be protecting them, and certain servants like David, 
who are very skilled in warfare, ought to be exalted and ought 
to be utilized for the security of the kingdom. He then offers 
up this theological argument. He says, and the Lord brought 
about a great deliverance for all Israel. So it's not just 
David that's involved in David's blessing, but it's God over David 
being a blessing to Saul and to the entirety of the kingdom. 
And then the clear implication that he draws from that, you 
saw it and rejoiced, why then will you sin against innocent 
blood to kill David without a cause? Again, Jonathan's a good friend. He appeals to the king in a rational 
way, sets forth several arguments, and they are airtight, and even 
Saul has to appreciate this because Saul responds in a favorable 
way. Notice in verse 6, so Saul heeded 
the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, as the Lord lives, he 
shall not be killed. So that is the fake oath that 
he gives. He swears by the Lord, and then 
lo and behold, in a few short verses, he's going to be again 
attempting to commit murder with reference to King David. Remember 
that a man who's an apostate, a man who has defected, A man 
from whom the Spirit of the Lord has departed is not typically 
a man of his word. He's not typically a man of virtue. 
He's not typically a man that does make good on his promises. He has no regard whatsoever for 
the life of David. All he wants to do is remove 
that threat. He wants to remove that perceived 
threat in the person of David. So Jonathan dutifully goes back 
and reports this to David in verse 7. Jonathan called David 
and Jonathan told him all these things. So Jonathan brought David 
to Saul and he was in his presence as in times past. And that brings 
us now to the deliverance of David by God in several ways. In the first place, God delivers 
David from the Philistines once again. Just like in chapter 17, 
when David is successful in the battle in the Valley of Elah, 
so is he according to verse 8. Notice what we find. And there 
was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines 
and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. 
So what David does, according to verse 8, is similar to what 
David does according to chapter 17. And then Saul proceeds in 
a manner that is consistent with chapter 18. On the heels of David's 
victory, on the heels of David's successful battle, we see Saul 
enraged. We see Saul filled with envy. We see Saul with that distressing 
spirit and a desire to throw that spear and pin David up against 
the wall. So the same sort of thing is 
happening in this particular chapter, but we ought to pause 
and reflect upon the reality that David not only has the internal 
threat with a murderous king, but he also has the external 
threat of the Philistines. And God is there for him in the 
midst of all of it. He doesn't just deliver him from 
the internal problems and then leave him to himself in the external. 
David is successful against the Philistines because the hand 
of God is upon him. David is successful in his escape 
or his evasion from Saul because the hand of God is upon him. 
And as I said earlier, we may not be hunted by kings. We may 
not have to be battling with the Philistines, but we all have 
our trials. If you live in this world, there 
is difficulty. Jesus promised that in John 16 
33 in this world you will have tribulation But he encourages 
his saints by saying but be of good cheer for I have overcome 
the world We have the reality the blessed promise of Hebrews 
chapter 13 God says I will never leave you nor forsake you and 
in that particular context It's with reference to temporal things 
It isn't the spiritual reality, though we know that's true, because 
He who began a good work in us will complete it unto the day 
of Christ. But even in terms of the temporal goings and comings 
that we engage in, God is there in the midst of His people. God 
protects us. God delivers us. God aids us. God assists us. And this is a 
great reason why you, on a daily basis, should be reading your 
Old Testaments. Not that you don't get this in 
the New Testament, but when we go back to the Old Testament, 
we see the lives of God's people lived on a daily basis. We see 
their issues, we see their hardships, we see their threats, both external 
and internal, and we see the faithful hand of God every step 
of the way. Now God obviously uses means, 
he uses Jonathan, he uses David's military prowess, he's gonna 
use Michael, and he's gonna use the Holy Spirit ultimately to 
deliver David. but all of these things converge 
to underscore the reality that our God is for us. And if that 
is the case, what can man do? All the souls on earth cannot 
thwart those for whom Jesus Christ has died and those for whom Jesus 
Christ is raised again. We have the blessed promise in 
Romans 8, that God who did not spare his own son, but delivered 
him up for us, how shall he not also with him freely give us 
all things. He protects us spiritually, He 
protects us temporally, and in that we greatly rejoice. Notice, 
after the defeat of the Philistines, we see the response by Saul. 
And essentially, you have three attempts to murder David here. In the first place, you have 
the attempt with the spear. Notice in verses 9 and 10. Now 
the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat 
in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing 
music with his hand. Remember, we saw that. That's 
how they came together according to 1 Samuel 16. Saul had this 
distressing spirit from the Lord. David had been anointed already 
by Samuel. And when it comes time to deal 
with the Saul problem with reference to the distressing spirit, one 
of the servants suggested music. Music will calm him, music will 
chill him out, music will help him to gain composure. And the 
servant says, I happen to know a fellow and he's a great harpist. 
So David and Saul meet at that particular place. So it should 
not surprise us here after this battle, after having dealt with 
the Philistines, that David is now in the king's court and he's 
playing music. for Saul who is given over to 
this distressing spirit. Verse 10, then Saul sought to 
pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from 
Saul's presence and he drove the spear into the wall. So David 
fled and escaped that night. Notice that refrain, David fled 
and escaped that night, verse 10. David fled and escaped, verse 
12. David fled and escaped, verse 
18. Again, in each instance, it's 
God who gives him escape. It's God who gives him the ability 
to flee. As we considered last time in 
chapter 18, David didn't know in chapter 18 that Saul was a 
murderous madman that wanted to get rid of him. And so as 
far as David was concerned, these episodes where Saul would throw 
a spear at him was owing more to the mental distress that he 
was undergoing. Now David knows that Saul wants 
to kill him, but he's been assured by Jonathan that Saul's not gonna 
kill him. Well, obviously this has indicated 
that Saul is not going to keep his promise. Saul is engaged 
in a murderous attempt against David and God gives David flight. Again, one man, Vannoy, says, 
the solemn message of this chapter is that repeated disobedience 
of the Lord may lead to a hardening from which there is no way back. 
He's commenting here on Saul. Not only do you see David's rise, 
but you see Saul's decline. And sometimes in biblical studies, 
that's important as well. We not only need to focus on 
the positive examples and seek by grace to emulate those, but 
we should caution ourselves with reference to the negative examples 
and seek by grace to avoid that calamitous ruin. And with reference 
to Saul, as Van Noy says, the solemn message of this chapter 
is that repeated disobedience of the Lord may lead to a hardening 
from which there is no way back. In other words, no one can continually 
act in deliberate disobedience to God's clearly revealed will 
and expect to escape serious consequences. So what we're witnessing 
with reference to Saul is something akin to Romans chapter 1. Remember, 
although they knew God, they did not honor God, nor were their 
hearts thankful. Therefore God gave them up. Verses 24, 26, and 28 in Romans 
chapter 1. Because they rejected and resisted 
God, because they neglected the revelation of God in the created 
order, and they sought to suppress that truth and unrighteousness, 
therefore God gave them up. we were seeing God giving up 
this man Saul. He is increasingly growing harder, 
he is increasingly growing more murderous, he is increasingly 
growing in his rage toward David. So God, most high, delivers David 
from this attempt by Saul to pin him against the wall. And 
again, notice the language, he slipped away from Saul's presence. God didn't just click his divine 
fingers and David vanished. No, God made David nimble. We saw that benefit in the Valley 
of Elah. Big, clunky, nine-foot-nine Goliath 
didn't have the speed on the field of battle that David was 
able to do. David was able to evade him and 
launch the rock out of his sling and drop that man quicker than 
the man even knew what was happening. Notice in the second place the 
attempt at David's home. He tried to kill David in David's 
home. This is how bad Saul is, brethren. Not that it would be okay to 
kill David anywhere else, but when you assault a man in his 
home, that is particularly vicious, particularly vile, particularly 
wretched. Notice the plan by Saul in verse 
11. Saul also sent messengers to 
David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. Now 
David's wife, Michael, receives word about that. Saul had given 
Michael to David as a snare, but here it is proving just the 
reverse. It is deliverance by Michael 
that we have in this instance. Now, unfortunately, she'll ultimately 
lie to her father and say that David threatened to kill her. 
That's not correct at all, but at least at this instance in 
verses 11 and 12, Michael comes to the rescue with reference 
to David. So notice the counsel. Verse 
11b, Michael, David's wife, told him, saying, If you do not save 
your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So Michael let 
David down through a window, and he went and fled and escaped. And Michael took an image and 
laid it in the bed, put a cover of goat's hair for his head, 
and covered it with clothes. So when Saul sent messengers 
to take David, she said, He is set. Now this is interesting 
because this is the household idols. Remember back in Genesis, 
at least in our studies, was Rachel who had the teraphim, 
or the household idols? Well, the same thing is here 
with reference to Michael, which invites the question, why would 
any wife of David have household idols? It's one of those ambiguous 
statements in Scripture where there's not a lot of information. 
We don't know why she had it, but the idea is that she did 
have it, and she used that in the bed to try to pretend that 
David was asleep, David was sick, that he was in the bed, but he 
wasn't up to being visited by the messengers. Davis makes this 
comment. He says, the details of verse 
13 are a bit elusive. What did Michael do with the 
teraphim, the images of household family deities? Did she stash 
them in the bed to give bulk to sick David? They really were 
appropriately used as dummies. So, obviously, good comment there 
by Ralph Davis, they were appropriately used as dummies. Or did she place 
them beside the bed as protectors of the ill? These idols, these 
gods, if you will, are going to protect him while he's sick. 
And what was Michael doing with such relics anyway? But the overall 
picture is clear. Something like a quilt rumbled 
up at the head, perhaps some used gods to give form to the 
body, and a bedspread pulled up. So she does that to make 
it look like David is in the bed, and then she reports to 
the messengers that he's sick. You can't get out of bed. He 
cannot come and see you. Again, he's already fled and 
escaped. He is far removed from this particular position. And 
we see that Saul is not content with this response. Notice in 
verse 15, then Saul sent the messengers back to see David 
saying, bring him up to me in the bed that I may kill him. 
And when the messengers had come in, there was the image in the 
bed with a cover of goat's hair for his head. Then Saul said 
to Michael, why have you deceived me like this and sent my enemy 
away so that he has escaped? And Michael answered Saul, he 
said to me, let me go. Let me go. Why should I kill 
you? So she did a good thing. She 
gave safe passage to David to get away from murderous Saul. 
And now she lies about David with reference to Saul, but we'll 
see that sometime later as we move through 1 Samuel. And then 
that brings us to the third attempt on David's life, this intriguing 
passage where Saul is among the prophets. Now, in order to, I 
think, get what's happening here, you have to understand chapter 
10. After Saul is anointed and set apart to be the king of Israel, 
in chapter 10, he is among the prophets and he prophesies. There it's an investiture of 
power and authority for the task at hand, to be the king, to go 
into battle in chapter 11 against the Ammonites and to dispatch 
them or get rid of them. This is just the contrary. This 
is just the opposite. Now he's among the prophets, 
but they say it, or the question is Saul among the prophets is 
not a rehearsal of, wow, this is a glorious thing, but they're 
incredulous at the thought of it. So let's look at what's happening 
here in verses 18 to 24. We see, first of all, that David 
escapes to Ramah to inform Samuel. David is a man of wisdom. David 
is a man who understands the power structure in Israel. He 
knows that Saul is king, but he knows that Samuel is the chief 
prophet in all Israel. If anybody can afford David help, 
it would be Samuel, other than God, obviously. But in terms 
of the human arena, he knows that Samuel will be a good one 
to tell about what's happening. So he goes, according to verse 
18, David fled and escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah and told 
him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and 
stayed in Nioth. Now it was told Saul saying, 
take note, David is at Nioth in Ramah. Now, what Saul does 
is he sends three sets of messengers to Nioth in Ramah. And there 
was a school of the prophets there. And when these messengers 
get there, the Spirit of God comes upon them and they start 
to prophesy. After that first set, he sends 
another set. The Spirit of God comes upon 
them, and they begin to prophesy. Saul sends another set of messengers, 
and guess what? The Spirit of God comes upon 
them, and they prophesy. Now again, this is a bit puzzling. What were they saying? What were 
they seeing? What were they doing? What was 
the function in terms of their prophesying at this particular 
juncture? Well, the text doesn't get into 
that, but the one thing we know for certain, that when the Spirit 
comes upon them and they prophesy, they're not searching out David 
to kill him. So the means by which God delivers 
David in this particular instance isn't through Michael. He did 
that in the previous time. It isn't through nimble moves 
on the part of David. He did that in the previous time. 
Now it's a direct act by the Spirit of God coming upon these 
men such that they will prophesy instead of engage in the murderous 
rage enacted by their king. And so Saul gets wind of this, 
and now Saul wants to go to Ramah. I think the sentiment with Saul 
is, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. 
And so Saul undertakes to go now to Ramah to engage in this 
particular activity. Notice what we find. Verse 22, 
then he also went to Ramah and came to the great well that is 
at Saqil. So he asked and said, where are 
Samuel and David? And someone said, indeed, they 
are at Nioth in Ramah. So he went there to Nioth and 
Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon 
him also. And he went on and prophesied 
until he came to Nioth and Ramah. John Gill says he prophesied 
before Samuel in like manner, as the messengers had done, singing 
such like songs or foretelling such things like they did. He 
and they speaking not of themselves, but as they were moved by the 
Holy Spirit of prophecy. Now listen to this because it's 
most important. For such gifts have sometimes 
been bestowed on men that were destitute of the grace of God, 
as Balaam, Caiaphas, and others. It was a means purposed by God 
to confound the messengers and to confound Saul. If Saul is 
among the prophets prophesying, then Saul is not finding David 
and putting a knife in his belly. So this is the means by which 
God delivers David in this particular instance. Now notice verse 24, 
and he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before 
Samuel in like manner and laid down naked all that day and all 
that night. Therefore they say, is Saul also 
among the prophets? Now the nakedness here. probably 
doesn't mean completely naked. It's not that he's in his birthday 
suit. It probably means that he divests himself of his royal 
robes. He takes off the signifying garments 
of royalty. And again, I think there is a 
connection here between this and what we find in chapter 10. So the nakedness is not complete. 
In fact, go back to 1 Samuel 18. Just real quick in verses 
1 to 4. 1 Samuel 18, verse one. Now, when 
he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit 
to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul 
took him that day and would not let him go home to his father's 
house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made 
a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan 
took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David with 
his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. So 
that divestiture of his royalty, he gives gladly over to David. And so when we go back to chapter 
19, when Saul strips off his clothes, the idea is that he's 
stripping off the royal garments. This is a sign. This is an acted 
parable. This is indicative of what is 
transpiring in Israel. Yes, David has been anointed 
in chapter 16, but David hasn't ascended the throne yet. But 
we see the movement in the narrative in terms of the decline of Saul 
and in terms of the rise or exaltation of David. And so in 1 Samuel 
10, in preparation for battle against the Ammonites, he's among 
the prophets and he's prophesying, and everybody marvels. They stand 
amazed at that. Here in chapter 19, now they're 
shocked because he's stripped naked, he's laying there day 
and night, and they ask the question within credulity, is Saul also 
among the prophets? Vannoy, again, says, just as 
at the earlier occasion, Saul's prophesying with a company of 
prophets was a confirming sign of his investiture with the role 
of a king, so on this occasion, his prophesying, combined with 
the stripping off of his clothes, was a sign that he was divested 
of that same royal office. In other words, things are not 
going well for Saul. His declension is obvious, and 
it is seen now, not with this marveling question, is Saul also 
among the prophets? But with this question of incredulity, 
is Saul also among the prophets? A reversal of what chapter 10 
says of Saul's endowment with the Spirit. In both cases, the 
Spirit is a divine manifestation. In chapter 10, the Spirit gives 
Saul strength to carry out his feat of bravery. In 1918, he 
works in the reverse. He makes Saul helpless and drives 
him to strip off his clothes, the clothes of a king. And so 
this is evidentiary of the fact that Saul is in a persistent 
decline. And the fact that he continues 
to harden his heart, as we quoted Vannoy earlier, is not a good 
sign. When God gives men over, that 
is a horrific act of judgment. We need to pray to God Almighty 
that we walk according to His Spirit, that we walk by His Spirit 
according to His law. We need to pray to God to keep 
us and to watch over us and to care for us and to protect us 
from all temptation and from anything that would prove our 
undoing. We want no truck with apostasy. We want no siding up 
with defection from the living and true God. We rather, by grace, 
want to conduct ourselves the way that faithful David does. 
Not a perfect man, but a faithful man all throughout his life. 
He never departed from the living and true God. Yes, he sinned, 
he sinned big, but he never denied his God, he never denounced his 
faith, and he never committed the act of apostasy from the 
living and true God. Well, in conclusion, a few thoughts 
and then we'll close. In the first place, we see the 
tyranny of Saul. The tyranny of King Saul. In 
the first place, he set his heart on the destruction of God's servant. 
It sounds a lot like Psalm 2. Why did the nations rage and 
the people plot of vain things? They rise up against Yahweh and 
against his anointed. Well, David is now the anointed 
of the Lord. Saul doesn't like that. Saul 
doesn't want that. Saul doesn't want to be dispossessed 
from the royal palace. He doesn't want to go back to, 
you know, shoveling coal or whatever it was, or tending to donkeys, 
whatever he did prior to having become the king. So he's filled 
with rage and enmity, and he wants to target for destruction 
the anointed of Yahweh. Secondly, the king pursued murder 
rather than the proper government of his kingdom. It's one of the 
distressing things that you see when you read through the Old 
Testament books. You see these kings so caught 
up in their own lives, in their own doings, in their own dealings, 
in their own building of their own stuff, that they're not doing 
what they're called to do. There is a doctrine of vocation. We're supposed to actually do 
what God calls us to do. We're supposed to be hard workers, 
whether we're kings or we're not. And Saul was more engaged 
in trying to pursue and murder David than administer the kingdom 
that God had stationed him over. Thirdly, the king continued his 
downward spiral as a result of previous declension. This is 
a tough pattern that sometimes the people of God fall into. 
They get into a pattern of declension. They start to neglect their Bibles. 
They start to neglect prayer. They start to neglect attending 
the public means of grace. They start with just a few small 
things. Well, it's even tougher to get 
back to normal. Once you sort of decline or you're 
in a deficit position, it's harder to get back to normal. It is 
most excellent and much better and more to be preferred that 
we try to stay at normal. Now, you might say, well, why 
not, Jim? Go for the best. OK, go ahead. But when you come 
back to reality, you're going to find out that the normal and 
the ordinary are OK. Declension and sliding into holes 
is never a good thing. There's an old proverb. It says, 
when you're in the bottom of a hole, stop digging. Don't keep digging in that hole. Get out of it. Claw your way 
out of it. Pick up your Bible and read. 
Go to your closet and pray. Gather up the family at the altar 
and worship. Come to church. Do not let declension 
settle into your hearts. And then fourthly, the king's 
declension ends in full-blown apostasy. We'll see that when 
we get to chapter 28. He's going to go to battle against 
the Philistines. He doesn't want to go into battle 
with the Philistines without some sort of divine aid, without 
some sort of divine direction. But God's not talking to him. 
God is no longer communicating to him. And so he seeks out this 
witch at Endor and seeks her counsel about going into battle. 
Well, it shouldn't surprise us that he dies a miserable death 
on the field of battle against the Philistines. And then finally, 
the king's ruin was ultimately a result of the judgment of God. 
His foolish plans, his disloyal children, and ultimately an avenging 
God set him up for ruin. So as God gives him over, as 
his heart is increasingly hardened, that itself is the manifest evidence 
of God's judgment. I think I've said before, sometimes 
people will say, do you think that as a society we're going 
to be judged by God? What do you mean, going to be 
judged by God? There is every evidence that 
our fellows have been given over. There is every evidence in society 
today. I'm not a prophet or the son 
of a prophet, but when you see gross perversion exalted at every 
step, You see the unmerciful assault on babies in their mother's 
wombs. You see the unmerciful assault 
on elderly people, on sick people. What are you supposed to conclude 
but Romans 1, 24, 26, and 28? For this reason, God gave them 
up to a reprobate mind. When you reject the living and 
true God, you ultimately get exactly what it is you're asking 
for. He cuts you off. Secondly, and again we'll see 
this as we proceed in the life of David, the loyalty of Jonathan. Jonathan sides with David. not 
because of any other reason than he knows that David is a man 
after God's own heart, and his father Saul has relinquished 
that. His father Saul is no longer a man who gives praise to God, 
who wants to do what the will of God is. So Jonathan sides 
with the man who God has sided with, and Jonathan is a very 
faithful and a very loyal friend to David. Thirdly, in terms of 
the deliverance by God, he delivers David by Jonathan. He delivers 
David by David's own ability to move quickly. Brethren, I'm 
not sure that everybody at that quick could move out of the way 
of a moving spear. I mean, we ought to give David 
a bit of credit that he's got the acuity and the physical ability 
to do that just like he did on the field of battle. The Lord 
delivered David by Michael, and then the Lord delivered David 
by the power of the Spirit. And that last bit, in terms of, 
is Saul among the prophets? Again, it's enigmatic, it's puzzling. We might wonder why God does 
that. But doesn't that make Bible reading 
interesting? Doesn't that make Bible reading 
delightful? Doesn't that make Bible reading 
fun? There's excitement. There's a 
myriad of ways that God delivers his saints in the midst of hardship, 
heartache, and trial. Ways that you and I would have 
never imagined. Ways that you and I would have 
never thought. Ways that you and I would have never even spawned 
in terms of our mind. But God sends the Spirit upon 
three sets of messengers and upon Saul, such that as they're 
prophesying, they have forgotten and are no longer about their 
actual task, which was to hunt David and to kill him. And then 
a fourth observation with reference to this passage of the continual 
trials for God's servant. I hate to discourage any of us, 
but we've only just begun. David had a tough life. Remember 
that instance, 1 Samuel 16, the spirit comes, he's anointed, 
and then the spirit comes, and then the trials begin, just like 
Jesus in Matthew 3. The heavens open up, the father 
affirms his love and approbation of the son, and the spirit descends 
like a dove upon our Lord Jesus. What's the next scene in Matthew 
4? The Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted 
by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights. The presence of the 
Spirit never equals the absence of trials. In fact, it's just 
the opposite with reference to the Bible. The presence of the 
Spirit most assuredly ensures there will be hardships, there 
will be difficulties, there will be trials. Why? Because all who 
desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. You live in a world filled with 
opposition to the living God. There's a real devil who roams 
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And then, 
lo and behold, within your own heart, within your own bosom, 
within your own breast, there is defection at times there. 
So there is this threefold unholy trinity that is in opposition 
to the people of God. There's going to be hardships, 
there's going to be trials, there's going to be afflictions. Listen 
to Ralph Davis comment on this reality of the continual trials 
for God's servant. He says, God's regimen of protection 
should have proven instructed for David. At the end of chapter 
19, the danger is still alive for David. Nevertheless, even 
in this distress and in this momentary relief, David should 
have been able to look back and see assuring evidence of Yahweh's 
care and intention to preserve him. Much, in fact, almost everything 
seemed discombobulated. I mean, think about it. He's 
been victorious. He bested the Philistine giant. 
He was promised good gifts from Saul. You can marry my daughter, 
and your father receives tax-exempt status in Israel. Well, that 
didn't flesh itself out as far as we know, and all he learns 
now is that this Saul whom he served wants to kill him. So 
he says, much in fact, almost everything seemed discombobulated, 
yet in all of it, there was this clear evidence that David had 
not been forsaken, had not been abandoned. Now, please listen 
to this last sentence, because I think it's gold. If you get 
anything out of any of this, I mean, certainly get the exposition 
of 1 Samuel 19, but get this point. He says, sometimes, The 
clearest evidence that God has not deserted you is not that 
you are successfully past your trial, but that you are still 
on your feet in the middle of it. That's gold, brethren. That's gold. Sometimes the evidence 
isn't that you're past your trial, but that you're still on your 
feet in the midst of your trial. That's what David learns every 
step of the way. That's what God tutors him, and 
that's how God deals with him. It's not that God has an ax to 
grind with his servant David, it's that God loves him. God 
is conforming him unto the image of his blessed son. God is working 
in David great and glorious things, and David continually maintained 
that hope. Our brother read at the outset, 
Psalm 59, The subscript there tells us that David penned that 
Psalm at this occasion. Listen to what David says in 
verses 16 and 17. But I will sing of your power. Yes, I will sing aloud of your 
mercy in the morning. For you have been my defense 
and refuge in the day of my trouble. To you, O my strength, I will 
sing praises. For God is my defense, my God 
of mercy. May the Lord Most High put such 
psalms in our minds and in our hearts, and may we sing them, 
chant them, pray them back to God as He continues to relieve 
us from the afflictions and the hardships and the difficulties, 
or rather sustains us in the midst of them. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
Your Word and we thank You for the love and the care that You 
show to Your servant David. And I know there would be people 
that would read these things and say it looks just the opposite. 
The various hardships and the various attempts on his life 
and the dealings with the Philistines, the dealings with the people 
in Israel, all of these things would suggest that he was under 
the disfavor and the judgment of God. But we know better, Lord. 
We have the Psalms, we have divine commentary. from David himself, 
reflecting upon your goodness and your faithfulness. And certainly, 
though it was perhaps his own ability to move from the spear 
and Michael's wisdom to lower him out of the window and this 
spirit coming upon these messengers and Saul, David gives all glory 
and all praise and all honor to God who had delivered him. 
I pray that we would learn the lesson of these chapters, that 
it would encourage our heart, that you would stabilize and 
strengthen us and grant us the grace and the help to persevere. 
to learn from passages like these, to go the route of David and 
not the route of Saul. Go with us now, we pray, in the 
name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. We'll close 
with a brief time of meditation.