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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to 1 Samuel chapter 28. My apologies to those who attend 
the Wednesday night Bible study. Some of this will be repetitious. 
It was an abbreviated week in terms of attending conferences. 
And nevertheless, I think what the message of 1 Samuel 28, specifically 
verses 3 to 25, contain for the people of God and for those who 
are not the people of God, is most essential in the church 
today. I do want to read our section 
again, chapter 28, beginning in verse 3. Now Samuel had died 
and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, 
in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums 
and the spiritists out of the land. Then the Philistines gathered 
together and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all 
Israel together and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the 
army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled 
greatly. And when Saul inquired of the 
Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim 
or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, 
find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire 
of her. And his servants said to him, 
in fact, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor. So Saul 
disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went. And 
two men went, two men with him, and they came to the woman by 
night. And he said, please conduct a seance for me, and bring up 
for me the one I shall name to you. Then the woman said to him, 
look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the 
mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay 
a snare for my life to cause me to die? And Saul swore to 
her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall 
come upon you for this thing. Then the woman said, Whom shall 
I bring up for you? And he said, Bring up Samuel 
for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she 
cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, 
saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. And the 
king said to her, Do not be afraid. What did you see? And the woman 
said to Saul, I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. So 
he said to her, what is his form? And she said, an old man is coming 
up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was 
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed 
down. Now Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by 
bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am deeply 
distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God 
has departed from me. and does not answer me anymore, 
neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you that 
you may reveal to me what I should do.' Then Samuel said, So why 
do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has 
become your enemy? And the Lord has done for himself 
as he spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom 
out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because 
you did not obey the voice of the Lord, nor execute his fierce 
wrath upon Amalek, Therefore, the Lord has done this thing 
to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also 
deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. 
And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will 
also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 
Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground and was dreadfully 
afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength 
in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. And the 
woman came to Saul, and saw that he was severely troubled, and 
said to him, Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I 
have put my life in my hands, and heeded the words which you 
spoke to me. Now therefore, please, heed also 
the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread 
before you, and eat, that you may have strength when you go 
on your way. But he refused and said, I will not eat. So his 
servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he heeded their 
voice. Then he arose from the ground 
and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fatted calf 
in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour 
and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. So she brought 
it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose 
and went away that night." Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for the Word of God. We thank you that 
all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. and that it's all profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction 
in righteousness. And we pray now that by the power 
of your Holy Spirit, you would thoroughly furnish your people 
unto every good work. And Lord God, by that self-same 
spirit, we pray that those who are outside of Christ would meet 
the Savior today. We pray that the conviction of 
sin would be produced by the Holy Spirit and the promotion 
of Jesus Christ as the one alone who is able to save to the uttermost 
all who draw near to God through him. Lord, bless your word as 
it goes forth here and elsewhere. May it run swiftly and be glorified. And even now as we come to scripture, 
we confess our sins and transgressions. We pray that you would wash us 
afresh in the blood of the Lord Jesus. When we look at that perfect, 
that holy law, we see how far short we come. and we plead the 
mercy and the merit of the one who alone is able to forgive. 
So wash us and purify us now, and fill us with the Holy Spirit, 
that he may illumine our minds and our hearts, and we ask in 
Jesus' name, Amen. Now as we look at this particular 
passage, in many respects it is a scary passage of Scripture. I mean, after all, there is a 
witch in the passage. But I submit that this passage 
of this chapter is far scarier when we consider what has become 
of Saul, the king of Israel. I hope that you will see that 
as we move through our exposition this morning. It is important 
for us to understand that in many respects what we find here 
in verses 3 to 25 is the last statement concerning Saul. Remember, 
Israel cried out for a king. They wanted to be like the nations 
around them. And through the providence of 
lost donkey, Saul is identified as the man that would, in fact, 
be the leader over God's people Israel. But Saul, getting to 
about chapter 13, makes a series of bad decisions. And it culminates 
here, in chapter 28, where he actually seeks the counsel and 
seeks wisdom from a witch, or a medium, or what we might call 
a necromancer, which is just a big word that means somebody 
who speaks to the dead. So what we see in this passage 
is the decline of Saul, and that is far scarier than the particular 
witch story that we meet with in this particular chapter. Also, 
we need to understand that verses 3 to 25 go with chapter 31. In many respects, the author 
has given us chapter 28, verses 3 to 25, to underscore a contrast 
between David and Saul. Just by way of reminder, in chapter 
27 in 1 Samuel, David goes to the land of the Philistines. 
He approaches the king, Achish, and he asks for safe haven. So 
Achish gives David and his men the city of Zichle. And from 
that vantage point, David goes out and slaughters the enemies 
of Israel. He has safe haven, he has rest 
for his men, but he does such a good job that Achish actually 
solicits David to go into battle against Israel. Look at chapter 
28, verses 1 and 2. It says, now it happened in those 
days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war 
to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, you 
assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle you 
and your men. Now that's a dilemma for David, 
isn't it? I mean, you don't have to have 
attended our Wednesday night studies to realize this. David 
is on his way to being the king over Israel. So David cannot 
march with the Philistines in combat against Israel. This is 
a real dilemma for David. He has a real conundrum, or an 
enigma, or a problem. And we're left at the end of 
verse 2 wondering, scratching our heads, how is David going 
to get out of this? David has this great problem, 
this great dilemma. Now it will be resolved in chapter 
29 in verses 1 to 11. But the insertion of Saul's dilemma 
in 28, 3 to 25 indicates that there is a dilemma or a problem 
bigger than facing Philistines in battle, or bigger than having 
to face Israel in battle with the Philistines. And that bigger 
dilemma is the absence of God. It is the silence of God. You 
may wonder how we know that 3 to 25 goes with chapter 31. Chapter 
31 is the battle between Israel and the Philistines. They are 
in Shunem. When we read verses 3 and 4 here 
in chapter 28, they are in Shunem. Chapter 29 is Aphek. That's about 
halfway between Gath and Shunem. So Aphek in chapter 29 is when 
David finds resolution for his particular dilemma. Now that 
you're all sufficiently confused with that, let's look at the 
text and see what it has to say to us. Very specifically in terms 
of three observations. In the first place, We see the 
occasion of Saul's decision or the enemy confronted in verses 
3 to 6. Secondly, the execution of Saul's 
decision or the medium contacted in verses 7 to 14. And then thirdly, 
the result of Saul's decision or the prophet consulted in verses 
15 to 25. Note in the first place, in verse 
3, we are reminded that Samuel the prophet of Israel is dead. 
He died back in chapter 25. That's where it's reported to 
us or declared to us, but here we are reminded that Samuel had 
died and all Israel lamented over or for him and buried him 
in Ramah in his own city. And then this statement in verse 
3, and Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the 
land." So basically, verse 3 sets the setting or provides the setting 
of the context for everything that follows in this consultation 
with this particular medium. Now, interestingly enough, Saul 
was obedient in this regard. The Old Testament law demanded 
that spiritists and mediums and persons who tried to contact 
the dead be put out of the land of Israel. Well, they were to 
be put to death, but putting them out of the land of Israel 
was a good thing as well. In Leviticus 19, chapter 20, 
Deuteronomy 18, several prohibitions against this attempt to contact 
the dead. David Samora says, the very need 
for such prohibitions is an indication that the problem of necromancy, 
again, big word that means trying to talk to dead people, necromancy 
and of religious practices related to the dead was widespread in 
ancient Canaan. In other words, God warns his 
people concerning abuses that were rampant. When they go into 
the land of Canaan, they are not to fetch spiritists. They 
are not to seek mediums. That is certainly an observation 
that we must make from the passage. Do not go get a Ouija board. 
Do not play with the occult. Do not open yourself up to those 
dark and evil forces. Do not do those things that God's 
Word condemns. Davis says concerning this, remember, 
we must remember that scripture describes such practices not 
as futile, but as pagan. He says Yahweh forbids Israel 
to use these means, not because they do not work, but because 
they are wicked. It is an evil practice. As we 
move through the narrative, it does work, but it's still abominable 
before the living and true God. Young people and children, do 
not open yourselves up to those dark things. Do not go down that 
path. Do not play with witchcraft. 
Do not play with sorcery. Do not seek to try and communicate 
with the dead. Again, as this passage testifies, 
it's not that it doesn't work, it's that Yahweh forbids it, 
Yahweh condemns it, Yahweh calls it an abomination, and Yahweh 
calls for death to those who practice such things. Now notice, 
Saul has a problem, as I've already mentioned. Verse 4, then the 
Philistines gathered together and came and encamped at Shunem. 
So Saul gathered all Israel together and they encamped at Gilboa. 
That's the issue. That's what chapter 31 will indicate. 
Saul's got a dilemma. Saul's got issues. David does, 
for sure, according to 28.1 and 2. But Saul's is bigger. Saul's is more desperate, as 
we'll find in chapter 29. David's dilemma nevertheless 
finds Yahweh's resolution. Not so for Saul. Throughout the 
story of Saul and David, beginning in chapter 16 of 1 Samuel and 
ending in chapter 31, we see the rise of David and the decline 
of Saul. And we don't see the rise and 
decline because one's a better political leader or one's got 
more military savvy. David's rise and Saul's decline 
is dependent upon their relationship to the living God. Saul rejected 
God. Saul refused God. Saul distorted 
the Word of God, where David was, in fact, a man after God's 
own heart. And I want to submit to all of 
us that we dare not to be a Saul as we find him in this particular 
passage. So the threat posed by the Philistines 
is a real one, and now notice Saul's desire in verse 5. When 
Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart 
trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the 
Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim 
or by the prophets. You see, that's what's scary. Certainly the witch story is 
scary, and I don't mean to intend otherwise, but the Lord didn't 
answer him. This is the sitting king in Israel. 
This is God's vice-regent over his earthly, typical kingdom. 
And Saul tries to hear the word of the Lord through prophet and 
priest, and God is silent toward him. You see, I submit that there 
is a problem worse than facing Philistines. It's like that story, 
Matthew and Mark, where the persons are all gathered together to 
hear Jesus preach. And the roof is opened by four 
industrious men, and they lower their friend on a mat. And when 
Jesus sees that man on a mat, He says to him, Son, your sins 
are forgiven you. And they're all perplexed and 
scratching their heads and wondering collectively, who does this guy 
think he is? Only God alone can forgive sins. And then Jesus 
says, I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority 
on earth to forgive sins. So he tells the man to pick up 
his mat and walk. Now we as modern readers come 
to that passage and we say, wow, this paralyzed man was healed. 
No, this sinful man was forgiven. This sinful man was cleansed 
in the blood of the Lord Jesus. You remember when we looked at 
that passage in Matthew 9, I said there is a problem worse than 
paralysis. And that problem is sin. You 
see, there's a problem worse than facing Philistines. There 
is a problem worse than facing a job loss. There is a problem 
worse than facing a broken relationship. There is a problem worse than 
hearing a bad diagnosis at the doctor's office. And that problem 
is the absence of God! That's what our author is saying. 
David's got problems, to be sure. But I want to put him on the 
back burner for a moment and let you see Saul's problems. And I want you to come to grips 
with the reality that whatever issues or trials or difficulties 
you may have in this lower world, if you've got God, then praise 
God. Saul has issues and he has no 
voice or no word from the living God. And we know why the Lord 
did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets. Well, in the first place, Saul 
had rejected the Word of God. Saul had rebelled against the 
living and true God. The prophet of God wouldn't speak 
to him. And as well, there was no Urim. That is a reference 
to the priesthood. If you've been with us over the 
Wednesday night studies, you'll remember that something happened 
to the priesthood in chapter 22. They were exterminated. They were massacred because David 
went to the city of Nob, where the priests dwell. When Saul 
got wind of that, he ordered a mass execution of all the priests 
in Israel. Of course, there's no Urim for 
Saul. He's bloodied the ground with 
those priests. Thankfully, one priest was spared. His name was Abiathar, and he 
was with David. So that when David faces problems, 
he can call for the ephod, that device that the priest wore, 
that part of his attire that he wore, wherein he could seek 
the Lord God Most High. Saul seeks a word from the Lord, 
and the Lord God is silent. May I say, brethren, you may 
have trials, and you may have difficulties, and you may have 
hardships, But is it a blessing to go to the Lord and lay your 
burdens before Him and know that He hears you because of Jesus? 
Isn't that everything? You see, in a Saul and in a David, 
there's going to be trials. We're going to see, in contrast, 
at the end of the sermon this morning, Saul and David. You 
see, difficulties befall Saul's and they befall David's. Difficulties 
befall the Christian believer, but they befall the next-door 
neighbor as well, perhaps as a pagan. The issue is not whether 
or not we'll have trials or difficulties or tribulations on this earth. 
I mean, non-Christians get cancer, non-Christians lose jobs, non-Christians 
have their relationships break up too. Non-Christians go through 
the same sorts of things that Christians go through. The fundamental 
difference is, we can say at the end of the day, I love the 
Lord because He has heard the voice of my supplication. I love 
the Lord because He is there for me in times of trial. I can 
say with the psalmist, or I can echo with the psalmist, I cast 
my burden on the Lord because I know that He cares for me. 
Saul's got issues and he's got no God, so he tells his men to 
find me a woman, verse 7, who is a medium that I may go to 
her and inquire of her. Interestingly enough, his servants 
know specifically where to go to find such a woman. And that 
brings us, secondly, to the execution of Saul's decision where he contacts 
this medium in verses 7 to 14. They say, in fact, there is a 
woman who is a medium at Endor. Now, if you had a map before 
you, you would know that Shunem, where the Philistines are, and 
Gilboa, where Israel is, and Aphek, that sort of halfway point 
is, and Gath is, Endor is just a little northeast of where Philistines 
are. So in verse 8, when Saul disguises 
himself, he has to skirt the Philistines to get to Endor in 
order to contact this particular media. What's a lesson there? We will go, we will seek, we 
will pursue what we think will help us. We will go, we will seek, and 
we will pursue that which we think will help us, even if it 
means having to evade the Philistines in the process. Brethren, are 
we willing to do those sorts of things for the truth of God's 
Holy Word? Would we skirt Philistines to 
get to Endor, not to contact a witch, but to hear the faithful 
preaching of the Word of God? Would we risk our necks just 
a wee little bit to be under the sound and faithful exposition 
of God's holy truth? It's amazing what pagans, what 
unbelievers will go through in order to achieve their particular 
ends. And then conversely, we meet 
the people of God who have access to the Lord God Most High through 
a great high priest And we're oftentimes lazy, unwilling to 
skirt any sort of enemy, unwilling to put ourselves out at all. Brethren, we ought to at least 
admire the industriousness of Saul in this passage. Now, please 
don't go from here and say, I want to be like Saul. That's not my 
point. There was personal risk. When he puts off his clothes 
and he disguises himself, you know what that means. He took 
off his royal robes. The king who gave the order to 
exclude mediums from the land of Israel couldn't walk through 
the front door of the fortune teller's house and say, I want 
you to do your whammy on me. Read my palms and, you know, 
look at my tea leaves and get out your tarot card. He couldn't 
do that. He had to disguise himself. And note what's conspicuous in 
this particular section. In verse 8. So Saul disguised 
himself and put on other clothes and he went. And two men went 
with him and they came to the woman by night. This makes sense, 
if you've got to skirt Philistines and you've got to sneak into 
the medium's house at Endor, you would go by the cover of 
night. But it is conspicuous here. Notice at the end of verse 
25, then they rose and went away that night. Typically in the 
scripture, nighttime is associated with not only darkness, that's 
the obvious, but falsehood. Jesus Christ in John's Gospel 
says, I am the light of the world. The scripture testifies that 
our God dwells in unapproachable light. Isn't that beautiful? But here Saul is seeking around 
under the cover of night. I think the author is underscoring 
for us that this pursuit is one riddled with falsehood. Later, 
the prophet Isaiah will write, and when they say to you, seek 
those who are mediums and wizards and whisper and mutter, should 
not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on 
behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony, 
if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there 
is no light in them. They will pass through it hard-pressed 
and hungry, and it shall happen when they are hungry that they 
will be enraged and curse their king and their God and look upward. 
Then they will look to the earth and see trouble and darkness, 
gloom of anguish, and they will be driven into darkness." Robert 
Vannoy comments, this is the same sort of gloom and darkness 
found in 1 Samuel 28. It is the darkness of the absence 
of God. That's Saul's dilemma. That's 
Saul's problem. That may be your problem today. 
That may be where you find yourself today. Is there an absence of 
God in your life? Is there no presence of God in 
your life? You see, that's far more terrifying, 
isn't it? Later on, Samuel is going to 
tell Saul that his enemy is Yahweh. What's worse, facing a bunch 
of Philistines at Shunem or facing the living God who the Bible 
describes as a consuming fire? What's worse, facing joblessness 
or a bad diagnosis or a broken relationship or facing the God 
of heaven and earth who will hold you guilty for all of your 
sins and violations against His holy law? It's an amazing thing 
what we get so perplexed about, isn't it? You meet somebody and 
they're down or they're sorrowful or they're sad and they say, 
oh, my life is a mess, my life is in ruins, my life is shattered. And you say, are you a believer? 
Well, no, that's the least of my concerns. No, that's the most 
of your concerns. Because the Bible testifies that 
our Lord Jesus Christ is going to come again in glory to judge 
the living and the dead. Our Lord Jesus Christ is going 
to stare into your eyes as you give an account for deeds done 
in the body, whether good or ill. And the Lord Jesus will 
ultimately make a final pronouncement concerning your never-dying soul. It'll either be, well done, good 
and faithful servant, enter into the joy of thy rest. or it will 
be depart from me, for I never knew you, into everlasting fire 
prepared for the devil and his angels." What's a bigger problem, 
Philistines at Shunem or the living and true God in eternity? 
Saul hasn't even begun to open his eyes to the reality that 
he is faced with. Now, notice requests specifically 
to the medium. She's right to fear consequences 
in verse 9. The woman said to him, look, 
you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums 
and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for 
my life to cause me to die? In other words, Saul, she doesn't 
know it's Saul, but she fears it might be entrapment. There's 
a hidden camera somewhere. She's going to be found out. 
She's going to be caught. There'll be some reality show, 
the outed medium or the outed witch. She doesn't want that 
to happen. So Saul tries to calm her down. Now notice how Saul does that 
in verse 10. And Saul swore to her by Yahweh. 
Here I think the author wants us to go, oh, come on, Saul. Are you kidding me, Saul? You're 
going to swear to her by Yahweh? And then notice what he goes 
on to say. As Yahweh lives, no punishment shall come upon you 
for this thing. Back in chapter 23, Saul has 
the gall to pronounce a blessing in the name of the Lord upon 
the Ziphites. Saul ought not to take the name 
of Yahweh on his lips except in contrition and in repentance 
and in humility. He is in no posture whatsoever 
to swear by Yahweh's life that this witch will be in a good 
state. Again, Vanhoy says, Saul blasphemously 
used the name of the Lord to guarantee the woman that she 
could violate the law of the Lord with impunity. Davis says, 
the reader must not miss the irony. Saul swears the oath by 
Yahweh, by Yahweh's life, as he seeks help from a source that 
Yahweh has condemned. You see what this indicates as 
well, that when a man defects, or when a man undergoes apostasy, 
oftentimes he still thinks he's okay. It's an amazing thing, 
isn't it? I mean, we, the reader, hopefully 
can see that Saul is really messed up. I mean, you don't have to 
have been there every Wednesday night as we developed the particular 
chapters and went through every jot and tittle, but I hope you're 
sufficiently able to say, Saul's not in a good place. Saul's messed 
up. Saul doesn't see that, does he? 
What's one of the reasons why we are to encourage one another 
daily? lest we be hardened through what? The deceitfulness of sin. Sin so wrecks a man that while 
he's flailing about in defection from the living and true God, 
he still thinks he's doing well. For Saul, the only problem is, 
is that in this instance, I'm not getting a word from the Lord. 
So I better do something to try and get some help on how to face 
these Philistines. I know I'll go to this medium 
and I'll swear to her by the Lord that everything's going 
to be a-okay for her. We're looking at this saying, 
Saul, you're nuts. You're out of your mind. You need to repent. 
You need to forsake. You need to flee. But how come 
we don't always see it in our own lives? We entertain a particular 
sin. We make peace with those Canaanites 
in the land. Instead of dispossessing them 
from our hearts, we are like making a peace treaty with them. 
And we'll let them sit there and reside there just so long 
as they don't make us do anything really too bad. How come we don't 
see that deceptiveness? How come we don't see the fact 
that we have shaved off the rough edges? How come we don't see 
the fact that we aren't using the Word of God as we ought? 
How come we don't see that we don't pray like we used to? How 
is it that we could ever write off apostasy or defection saying, 
well, you know, I used to be on fire 30 years ago. Now it's 
just the way it is. You know, we just kind of fall 
into this groove and we just sort of, you know, make it to 
heaven. Why is that ever been accepted that we can lose our 
first love or lose that heat or that fire that we have when 
we're first converted? I love the Apostle Paul. He says, 
for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Wow, he's a brand 
new believer and this is his sentiment? No, he'd been a believer 
for about 30 years. Brethren, we make allowances for laziness, 
for defection, and for what appears at times to be the beginning 
of apostasy, and yet we delude ourselves that everything is 
A-OK. I'm doing well. I'm not doing those great, big, 
wicked, horrible things. I have my Canaanites, but I'm 
managing them properly. You realize you're never called 
to manage Canaanites. You're called to dispossess them 
from the land. Now, you know my analogy here 
when I talk about Canaanites. Remaining sin in your heart. 
I don't know, where's the heart? I'm always confused. It's somewhere 
in here. It's in the chest. We let Canaanites live. I know 
I'm a gossip, but everybody is. I know I like to look at pretty 
women or pretty guys, but you know, everybody does. I know 
I've got a streak of pride that's obnoxious to everyone around 
me, but so does everybody else. We're not called to manage Canaanites. We're called to dispossess the 
land of Canaanites. You might say as a young person, 
I know I'm not that honorable to my parents. I know that I 
don't always obey them in the Lord as I ought, but you know, 
none of my friends do. profess saving faith in the living 
God, the primary orbit, the primary manifestation of that as a child 
is going to be in your relationship towards your parent. You dishonor, 
you're insubordinate, you're rebellious, you reject. Do not 
delude yourselves that, well, I'm not as bad as my friends. 
Again, where in the Bible are we ever called to pursue a life 
of holiness that looks like this? I'm not as bad as my friends. 
That's not what we're told. We're told to put on the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We're told to make no provision 
for the flesh to fulfill its lusts. We're told to pursue holiness 
without which no one will see the Lord. How is it that Christians 
can come to 1 Samuel 28 and rightly conclude that Saul's messed up 
and those selfsame Christians can leave from a church gathering 
and continue to live in defection from God and not see that? How is that? The deceitfulness 
of sin. You know what will help you to 
see past the deceitfulness of sin? The lens of Scripture. Do 
you know why the Apostle Paul tells us not to be conformed 
to this world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing 
of our minds? What's the emphasis there? Say 
you were converted at 25. You spent 25 years not thinking 
God's thoughts after him. In fact, you spent 25 years thinking 
the exact opposite. in contrast to God, with your 
fists raised to God. At age 25, by His grace, you 
become a Christian. You, by grace, believe the gospel. You, by grace, come to the Savior. 
You say, well, I'm justified freely by His grace. Yes, but 
sanctification demands this conforming or transforming by the renewing 
of your mind. 25 years of wretched habits don't 
just automatically disappear. You have to use the scripture. You have to come to church. You 
have to be with Christians. You have to learn what the deceitfulness 
of sin looks like so you can try to dethrone it. Have no chalk 
with such things. It's easy to see Saul and not 
so easy to see our own defection when it's in our own lives. Now notice. Saul assures her 
that everything is going to be OK. Verses 11 and 12, the woman 
says, whom shall I bring up for you? Saul says, bring up Samuel 
for me. Verse 12, when the woman saw 
Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman spoke to 
Saul, saying, why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. The fact 
that the woman is startled that she sees something indicates 
that her job up to this point had been a fraud. You've probably seen those houses 
that say, you know, fortunes read, or crystal balls looked 
into, or, you know, tarot cards, or tea leaves, whatever they 
do. I know there's one, or there was at least one in a path that 
I walked the dog on. Now, do you actually think that 
all of them really do what they say? You can go in there and 
get the skinny on your future. No, they're probably fakes, right? I mean, there's always going 
to be somebody to patronize these people because people want a 
word from without. It's another thing this text 
indicates for us. To be in a place where you have 
no word from without is a horrific place to be. We have a word from 
without. It's the scripture. We need to 
avail ourselves of it. But the fact that this woman 
saw something indicates, or the fact that she was surprised indicates 
that she in fact saw something. Now the obvious question in this 
passage is, was that really Samuel? There's three approaches to answer 
that question. One, it was just a fake. But 
the fact that she's startled and surprised, and the fact that 
Saul has a conversation with this apparition, appearance, 
personage, indicates that it was not fake. The second interpretation 
is that it was actually Samuel. It's a tough way to go with, 
I mean, each of these interpretations have some difficulties associated 
with them. I mean, the fact that, you know, 
this pagan woman is able to call up Samuel after God the Lord 
has said that I'm not going to answer Saul, and here he does 
answer. It's a difficult interpretation. 
Most of the modern commentators take this that it really was 
Samuel. You'll hear me refer to Samuel, and I'm not going 
to keep doing air quotes. The text tells us it was Samuel. But the third interpretation 
is that it was a false spirit, an evil spirit. But it is intriguing 
and a difficulty for this particular view that what this spirit or 
what Samuel says is a prophecy concerning the truth that does 
come true. In other words, Samuel says that 
tomorrow you and your sons will die. Would a false spirit know 
that? That's another indicator that 
28 goes with 31, because tomorrow you and your sons will die. But 
again, brethren, the obvious question of the text is not the 
obvious emphasis of the text. The obvious emphasis of the text 
is that there is a problem worse than Philistines. There is an 
enemy greater than Philistines. There are issues that you haven't 
even begun to dream about in their enormity and in their entirety 
if you have failed to reckon with the living and true God. 
So basically, this now brings us to the result of Saul's decision 
or the prophet consulted. Notice in verses 15 to 25. Verse 
15, Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by bringing 
me up? Saul answers, I am deeply distressed. For the Philistines make war 
against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me 
anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have 
called you that you may reveal to me what I should do." You 
feel the weight of this? You see the gravity of the problem? You see what Saul is facing? 
Can you enter into his hardship? He has no word from the Lord. 
He's gotta face the Philistines in battle. He's gotta go up against 
an enemy. But we can at least survey or 
surmise that Saul's not legit in this aspect. Notice at the 
end of verse 15 he says, "...therefore I have called you that you may 
reveal to me what I should do." What does this betray? Saul doesn't 
want God for God. Saul wants God for deliverance 
from Philistines. Saul wants God to get him out 
of a difficult situation. Saul wants God to give him the 
divine whammy so that he can go into battle against the Philistines 
and not die. You see, I think Saul is like 
us in many respects this way. Are we seeking God for God? Are we seeking God for what God 
gives us? Now there is a sense where we 
seek God for the salvation that he gives in our Lord Jesus Christ. But there's this utilitarianism 
that settles in the hearts of people. We want God when we have 
problems. We want God when we need somebody 
to bail us out. We want God when we face a difficult 
crisis in our lives, but once the crisis is solved, I don't 
want God anymore, thank you very much. Do you see that in the 
text? Do you see that maybe in your 
own hearts? I'm not trying to pick on anyone 
here, I just think it's good for us to come face to face with 
an apostate and say, Saul, teach me how not to go and do thou 
likewise. Are we utilitarian? Do we serve 
God for what He gives us? Do we serve God because He gets 
us out of our trials? Do we say to God before we go 
in the doctor's office, Lord, if the diagnosis is not cancer, 
then I'll make sure I'm in church every Sunday, I'll make sure 
I go to that Bible study and that confession study, and we 
start to sort of bargain and barter with God because we want 
what He has. There's a difference between 
serving God for God and serving God for us. Davis puts it this 
way, if anything, Saul's quest should have been to face Yahweh, 
not to seek Samuel. His need was not for information 
but communion, not so much to prepare for battle but to recover 
God's presence. Saul, it seems, wanted the results 
of God's favor more than he wanted God's favor. He wanted the results 
of God's favor more than he wanted God's favor. J. Gresham Machen 
puts it like this in his excellent book, What is Faith? He says, 
we value God solely for the things he can do. We make of him a mere 
means to an ulterior end. and God refuses to be treated 
so. Such a religion always fails 
in the hour of need. If we have regarded religion 
merely as a means of getting things, even lofty and unselfish 
things, then when the things that have been gotten are destroyed, 
our faith will fail. When loved ones are taken away, 
when disappointment comes and failure, when noble ambitions 
are set at naught, then we turn away from God. We have tried 
religion, we say. We have tried prayer. And it 
has failed. Of course it has failed. We make 
this observation often on Wednesday night as you look through the 
Old Testament. How was Baal served? Baal was 
served as a big machine. If we do the right things, then 
the big machine will spit out the things that we want. God 
is not treated that way. The Lord did not create this 
universe to be your servant. The Lord God Most High is not 
your servant. Now, there is a sense, of course, 
where the Son of God came to serve. He is the bondservant, 
the slave that laid his life down for us. He is a minister 
in that regard. But this idea that we serve God 
for what God gives is wrong. He says, of course it has failed. 
God is not content to be an instrument in our hand or a servant in our 
beck and call. He is not content to minister 
to the worldly needs of those who care not a bit for Him. Has 
it ever dawned on us that God is valuable for His own sake? 
That just as personal communion is the highest thing that we 
can know on earth, so personal communion with God is the sublimest 
height of all? If we value God for His own sake, 
then the loss of other things will draw us closer to Him. We shall then have recourse to 
Him in time of trouble, as to the shadow of a great rock in 
a weary land. Saul is not that way. I wonder 
if we're that way at times. We want God for what God gives. 
Again, if you're a sinner here this morning and you haven't 
come to Christ, go to God for what He gives. Grace, mercy, 
forgiveness, and a righteousness that avails with Him in the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus. By all means, go! That is an 
emphasis in scripture. Those who believe that God is, 
or those who believe, must believe that God is and that He is a 
rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. So by all means, but 
I think you know the difference. Those who use God for better 
jobs, those who use God for more personal satisfaction, those 
who use God for a better relationship, God's not at our disposal to 
use that way. So this is Saul's problem. Now 
notice, Samuel's response in verses 16 to 19. We're coming 
to a conclusion soon. The first place, Samuel underscores 
the fact of Yahweh's departure. Verse 16, then Samuel said, so 
why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and 
has become your enemy? You see, that's the scariest 
part of this chapter. That is a terrifying reality. God has become Saul's enemy. The least of your problem is 
the Philistines. God is your enemy. What does 
the Apostle Paul ask in Romans chapter 8 at verse 31? He says, if God is for us, who 
is against us? If God is for us, who can be 
against us? In Saul's situation, and unfortunately 
probably in the situation of a multitude of people out there, 
I don't mean just here, but out there, if God is against us, 
who can be for us? It doesn't matter if you don't 
have cancer. It doesn't matter if you have 
the best job. It doesn't matter if your wife 
is, you know, pretty and well-adjusted and your children render obedience 
and all those things. If God is against you, what good 
are those things? You see, Saul faces this dilemma, 
which far exceeds anything David has going on in this section. Notice, Samuel says, this is 
the fulfillment of God's word. Verse 17, the Lord has done for 
himself as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom 
out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. This 
was prophesied in chapter 15. Samuel said, God's going to take 
the kingdom from you and give it to your neighbor. Now, Samuel 
underscores that his neighbor is David. I'm sure that Saul 
really had a problem with this. If you've been in the book for 
any time, you'll know that Saul has been engaged in a murderous 
rage against David. He has tried on multiple occasions 
to commit homicide against that future king. And so for Samuel 
to say, David has the kingdom, I'm sure Saul probably didn't 
go, wow, that's great news. This just added fuel to the fire. Notice as well the reason for 
Yahweh's action in verse 18. Remember back in Amalek chapter 
15, Saul was given instructions. Go in, destroy the Amalekites 
and kill Agag. Pretty basic instructions, isn't 
it? Before you start saying, wow, that just doesn't sound 
Christian. This was time of war. Amalekites were the enemies of 
God. Saul was supposed to go in and take care of business. 
He doesn't go in and he doesn't take care of business. Remember, 
he reports back to Samuel. He says, Samuel, I've done everything 
God said. Samuel says, if that's the case, why am I hearing the 
lowing of the cattle and I'm hearing the bleeding of the sheep? 
Those preachers, those beasts preach to your infidelity. And 
why is Agag in all of his wickedness still with us? Interestingly 
enough, it's in that section in chapter 15 where the Lord 
God Almighty says that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. 
Saul rebels against the word of Yahweh in chapter 15. God 
says he's going to cut him off from kingship, and by the time 
we get to chapter 28, full-blown witchcraft. And then notice the judgment 
of Yahweh upon Saul. Verse 19, Moreover, the Lord 
will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, 
and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will 
also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. 
Not only does Saul not get the help he wants, but he gets the 
prophecy concerning his death on the morrow, and that with 
his sons. And not only is Saul and his 
sons going to die, but Israel's going to lose in battle. Essentially, 
the medium says, I want you to eat, Saul. And Saul says, no, 
I don't want to eat. She keeps on it. Gil makes the proper observation, 
I think, that she didn't want him dropping dead in her living 
room. It's a wise woman. If there's anything else we can 
say about her, she doesn't want the dead king who has forbidden 
her to exist in Israel. She didn't want him dropping 
dead in her living room. So she says, eat, eat. The servants 
say, eat, eat. Reluctantly, Saul eats. Off he 
goes. He goes into battle, according 
to chapter 31, and he dies. And his sons die. What do we 
learn? Well, as I said, the question, 
was this really Samuel? I don't know. I have my hunch 
in one direction or the other, but I don't think that's the 
point. And notice as well how brief it is in terms of what 
she does. There's not 15 verses concerning 
the incantations that she did or the process by which she went 
through. The author doesn't want to legitimize 
or validate or say to you, the reader, try this. It is briefly 
explained to bring us to the point where God the Lord condemns 
Saul. It is not to create a curiosity 
among readers so that they'll go thou and do likewise. Again, 
stay away from the occult. Stay away from the Ouija boards. 
Stay away from the black arts. Stay away from those things. 
Especially you in the church, you have access to the living 
and true God through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light 
of the world, who's given us his scripture, who has given 
us this light in a dark world. There ought to be no hankering 
in the heart of a believer to pursue such wickedness. The emphasis 
in the chapter is on the apostasy of Saul. And I think as Christians 
we can learn four lessons from this. In the first place, the 
professing Christian who refuses God's word will be refused by 
God. See, that's what ought to scare 
us when we neglect our Bibles. When we neglect church, when 
we neglect the means that God has ordained, if we continue 
to reject God's word, God may reject us. may evidence the reality 
that we never came to Christ in the first place. Because persons 
who come to Christ now are those described in the Beatitudes as 
those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Now, some hunger 
and thirst in a way that we don't, maybe necessarily. I mean, you 
read biographies, you go, wow, that guy really hunger and thirsted. 
I must not be a Christian. Don't make that necessary or 
make that implication necessarily. But nonetheless, there should 
be some desire in the heart of a believer to want the Scripture. 
I mean, I like to think when my wife met me, she wanted to 
talk to me once in a while or hear what I had to say. If I 
sent her those ushy-gushy love letters and she, you know, just 
threw them in the trash, I'd be curious if she was really 
in this, wouldn't I? Did you read my letter, sweetie? 
No, I threw it in the trash. You gonna write me back? No, 
why would I write you back? I would probably have bowed out 
at that time. I'm insecure as it is, man. If she'd have laid 
that on me, I'd have been running. But isn't that our relationship 
with God sometime? I'm not going to read His letters 
to me, and I'm certainly not going to send letters to Him. 
I don't mean, you know, typing out an email to God, but praying. You see, brethren, at some point, 
a lack of a spiritual appetite must evidence or at least suggest 
the lack of the reality of saving faith. In the second place, the 
professing believer faces an enemy worse than the Philistines 
when they reject the living God. I call Saul a professing believer 
here. Now to take our New Covenant 
Ordo Salutis and try to read it back into the life of Saul, 
you can't do that, or it's difficult to do that. But Saul was. a member 
of the Covenant community. Saul was the king of said community. 
Certainly Saul had recited the Shema he had said in his lifetime. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So Saul, 
at least outwardly and externally, would have professed to be a 
believer. In fact, that's his consternation. Yahweh won't answer 
me. What's the implication? He thinks 
Yahweh should answer him because Yahweh answers Covenant members. that the professing believer 
faces an enemy worse than the Philistines when they reject 
the living God. The third place, the believer, 
we learn this for ourselves, must pursue faithfulness and 
not defection as was the case with Saul. Brethren, you're going 
to have difficulties and trials and hardships in the Christian 
life. They're there, man, they're going to be there. What's the 
point, or what's the emphasis here? Get up, dust yourselves 
off, and press on. Do you know what the Christian 
life in many respects is made up of? I know grace, and mercy, 
and the spirit, and the glory of God, and the efficacy of Christ 
as mediator. But you know, on the human level, 
do you know what two things need to be there, and very often aren't? Faithfulness and discipline. 
What's Paul tell Timothy? Exercise yourself toward godliness. Not go sit on the beach in Hawaii 
and it's just going to overtake you. I mean, wouldn't that be great? 
That was the pathway to sanctification. We'd be a godly bunch, wouldn't 
we? Wow, I'm so holy. I spent, you 
know, a week on the beach and I'm holier for it. Discipline 
and faithfulness. I mean, I don't know how many 
times in my life as a Christian those things have been or had 
to have been underscored for me or how many times, you know, 
in my encouragements to children, encouragements to brethren. I 
don't know what to do. I'm really struggling. Are you 
faithful and disciplined? I'm not saying these are magic pills 
to make all your worries go away, but I'm certainly suggesting 
that unfaithfulness and a lack of discipline is not the pathway 
to communion with God. Again, I'm not saying this in 
separation from grace and mercy and the presence of the Spirit 
and the power of God and all those sorts of things. All that's 
true and all that's necessary. We need that divine aid and emphasis. But as Christians, we are not 
supposed to just lie down and be holy. That's not it, brethren. Saul is a perfect example of 
defection in times of crisis. And then in the fourth place, 
the believer who senses silence from God continues to seek God. And I want to illustrate that. 
This is our last point. Actually, our second to last 
point, but I'm sure we'll be done in six minutes. There's 
a contrast, as I've suggested, with David and Saul. So how does 
David's dilemma resolve? 28, 1 and 2, Akish says, I want 
you to march with us against Israel. David can't do that. 
He's going to be the king of Israel. He can't join with Philistines 
to go fight Israel. So in chapter 29, as I said, 
Gath, Aphek, Shunem. On the way to Shunem, the military 
battle site, they stop in Aphek. And they have a military parade. 
The lords of the Philistines want to survey the troops. They 
want to make sure they've got their kit, their gear, their 
equipment. They want to make sure they're ready to go and 
fight the Israelites. And so as the troops of the Philistines 
are marching past these lords of the Philistines, the lords 
of the Philistines see David and his men. The Lords of the 
Philistines say, we don't want David and his men. This could 
be a strategy by David and his men. When we face Israel, they're 
at our rear flank or our rear guard. They turn on us. They 
set up basically an ambush. Akish says, no, David is trustworthy. David's a great guy. David is 
a wonderful human being. His time in Ziklag has been nothing 
but pleasant for all of us. The Lords of the Philistines 
say, no, we can't have David march with us. So Akish tells 
David, you can't march with us. What is that? God's blessed providence 
to deliver David via Philistine lords. There goes his dilemma. David can now go home, and to 
home he goes. So David and his men make the 
now 60-mile track from Aphek back down to Ziklag. And I'm 
sure that these men, on their way back home, are thinking food, 
they're thinking wives, they're thinking children, they're thinking 
comfort. They're like us. We do a hard 
day's work, or we go through a particular trial or a difficulty, 
and we believe God owes us some R&R, don't we? I mean, I put 
in eight hours of solid work today. Nobody mess with me. We 
deserve it, because we're us. At any rate, David and his men 
go back to Ziklag for some healthy R&R, for some time with wives, 
time with children, time at their homes, and what do they find 
when they get to Ziklag? They find the city burned down. 
They find their houses burned down. They find their wives and 
their children taken captive. Now, you think you've got problems. 
I don't want to minimize what you're going through. I don't 
want to say they're not problems, but you need to sometimes put 
things into perspective. David was hunted like a dog. 
David was pursued unto death by Saul, the king of Israel. 
It is bad enough if somebody's upset with you, but when it's 
the king, I mean, if Prime Minister Trudeau shows up at your house 
to kill you, that's a problem, don't you think? David has been hunted like a 
dog, delivered by his God, on hot pursuit, living with the 
Philistines. He comes back to Ziklag, and 
everything is an utter mess. As Davis says, just when you 
think you've hit your last straw, there's another last straw. Just 
when you raise your hands and say, I can't handle any more, 
1 Samuel 30 says, yes, you can, and yes, you must. So what happens 
when they find that their cities are burned, and the houses are 
burned, and their families are gone? What do they do? They cry. 
It's a good response to calamity, isn't it? Chapter 30, verse 4 
says, they weep till they could weep no more. I get that. I understand that. If my wife 
and my children were taken, my house was burned, and everything 
was a mess, I think I'd weep. I think we'd all weep. Verse 
5 underscores that it's not only the men, but Ahinoam and Abigail 
are gone as well. David's wives, the king, select 
or elect for Israel's throne. His wives have been abducted. 
And then in verse 6a, it tells us that the men wanted to stone 
David. Think about the rationale here. 
They've lost everything. David's lost everything. And 
now David's men start picking up stones and say, we're going 
to get rid of you. It's not going to bring your wives back. It's 
not going to make your house magically reappear. No, but it's going 
to make us feel better, because David, you got us into this mess. 
You see how bleak and how terrible and how distressing David's dilemma 
really is? But then in verse 6b, we have 
one of those statements that ought to throw the heart of everybody 
who believes on the Lord Jesus. It says, but David strengthened 
himself in the Lord his God. Beautiful, isn't it? We always 
have recourse to the Lord our God. We come back to Ziklag and 
it's burned down. We come back to our families 
and they're gone. We still have recourse to the Lord our God. 
You say, what does it mean to strengthen oneself in the Lord 
his God? Well, it means at least three 
things. In the first place, it means that we find strength in 
the experiential knowledge of God. He strengthened himself 
in the Lord his God. Galatians 2.20 Paul says, who 
loved me and gave himself for me. You know one of the chief 
boons of the Christian religion is that it's a religion of personal 
pronouns. He loved me and he gave himself 
for me. David strengthened himself in 
the Lord his God. McLaren said he could no longer 
say my city, my possessions, my wife, my children, but he 
could say my God. That's how one strengthens himself 
in the Lord as God. The second place, it's through 
the rehearsal of God's promises. Back in chapter 23 at verse 16, 
it says that Jonathan strengthened David's hand in the Lord God. How did Jonathan strengthen David's 
hand? By rehearsing to David the promise 
that David would be the king of Israel. Isn't that beautiful? 
Rehearse the promises of God. How do I find strength in God? 
By rehearsing the promises of God. And notice as well, Jonathan's 
effect on David. Jonathan strengthens David in 
the Lord his God in chapter 23. Jonathan's gone, David's alone, 
but David reckons, hey, I can still strengthen myself in the 
Lord my God. The benefit, the encouragement, 
the exhortation, and the love that you pass on to a brother 
or a sister may serve them long beyond the time that you speak 
to them the truth. You recall something, you remember 
something. That brother said this, that 
sister reminded me of this, and wow, can I feed afresh on it. 
And in the third place, David strengthened himself in the Lord 
his God by using the means of grace. I preached this sermon 
last week at Pastor Barcelos' church, and I said to them, as 
I'll say to you, you Reformed Baptists are always talking about 
using the means of grace. Yes. Absolutely. How do I know that that's what 
David did? He calls for a biathar. He calls for the ephod. He calls for the means by which 
he can seek the Lord his God. You see the contrast between 
Saul and David. They both have dilemmas. They 
both have trials. They both have issues. They both 
have challenges. But when Saul calls upon Yahweh, 
there's no answer. When David calls upon Yahweh, 
God answers. And the final observation is 
this. I've already pointed it out. Saul, in verse 8, goes by 
night. Saul, according to verse 25, 
leaves, and it's still night. What two themes permeate this 
chapter? Darkness and the absence of God. 
Right? Would everybody agree? Darkness 
and the absence of God. Now, when we go through our studies 
in 1 Samuel, we look at the typical significance of David, how David 
is a type of Jesus. When David cuts off Goliath's 
giant head, that's typical of his son, when he will crush the 
serpent under his foot. Now, I'm not prepared to say 
that Saul is a type of Jesus in this passage, but I am prepared 
to say that the episode is typical of what we find in the latter 
passages of the Passion of our Lord Jesus. What pervades the 
Messiah in his last hours? Darkness and the absence of God. Darkness and the absence of God. The same sorts of things that 
Saul faces here. In fact, Vanoy says Saul's abandonment 
was justified and merited, while Christ's abandonment was substitutionary 
and redemptive. Jesus is on the cross and the 
whole land is engulfed in darkness. Jesus cries from the cross, my 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So this episode, in some 
sense, is typical of what befalls the Savior. He does that, as 
was said by Van Eyck, in a redemptive and substitutionary manner. And 
the beautiful reality is, is that those, by God's grace, who 
look unto Jesus, will not undergo that darkness and abandonment. 
The fact that Christ cried that on the cross ensures that none 
of the elect, none of the people of God will ever, ever, ever 
have to say, why have you forsaken me? Because Christ undertook 
on our behalf, Christ poured out his life. Christ took the 
wrath and fury of God that we deserve. Brethren, we ought to 
learn from this darkness and abandonment that there is one. 
who bore the darkness and who bore the abandonment such that 
all who believe in him will have everlasting life. And that means 
light and communion. The direct opposite of darkness 
and abandonment is light and communion with God Most High. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you for these 
passages in the Old Testament many respects, what we find in 
our Old Testaments is the Christian life lived. Help us to receive 
these things, help us to think through them and pray through 
them, and may we, Lord God, seek to glorify and honor you, and 
to find our strength in you. We ask that you would go with 
us now, we pray for Dr. Lawson, that he'd have a safe 
trip here, and that you'd bless the preaching of the word tonight, 
that you would edify and encourage your church, and that you would 
build us up in our most holy faith. And we pray through Christ 
Jesus, our Lord. Amen.