Peter Barnes | 1 Samuel 29:1-11
SERMON NOTES
GOD’S OVERRULING PROVIDENCE
1 Samuel 29; Matthew 10:16-31
This is almost a humorous story; the Scylla and Charybdis situation – the sailor who faced a rock on one side and a whirlpool on the other.
1. God uses the ungodly.
– 29:1-5. Apparently the princes or commanders of Gaza, Ekron, Ashdod, and Ashkelon raised objections to Achish of Gath. Unwittingly, they pave the way for David to get off the hook.
– God’s sovereignty works both ways – see Amos 9:7.
2. The godly can get themselves into serious trouble.
– 29:6-11; Achish is completely taken in by David. Achish appreciates David not for who he is but who he thinks he is.
3. God sovereignly sustains His people.
– Socrates: ‘God is the cause, not of all things, but only of good.’ The Bible goes further than that. God is not the author of evil, but He is sovereign over evil – Prov.16:4; 21:1. He uses evil without taking away our responsibility for sin – Gen.50:20.; Luke 22:22.
– Augustine: ‘Through the bad wills of evil men God fulfills what He righteously wills.’ Luther was unwittingly protected by the pope, the emperor, and the Turks.
Dale Ralph Davis: God’s mercy to His people is ‘un-let-go-able’. See Ps.118:18. David’s cleverness gets him into trouble; God’s mercy delivers him.