Peter Barnes | 1 Samuel 18:17-30
SERMON NOTES
David’s Hard Road to be Prince
1 Samuel 18:19-30; Acts 5:1-11
1. The wickedness of sin.
(a) Saul’s deceitfulness – 18:17. He speaks the language of a wedding, but he is planning for a funeral.
(b) Saul is quick to break his word – 18:18-19; James 5:12.
(c) Saul is hypocritical – 18:17.
(d) Saul uses people – 18:20-27. Saul even uses his own daughter, Michal. He pretends to be generous when he is actually murderous.
Evil always tries to appear good – Psalm 55:21; 2 Cor.11:13-14. Bernard Nathanson in The Silent Scream recalled how abortionists refer to the head of the aborted baby as ‘Number 1’, obviously to cloak the fact that it is a child’s head that is being crushed. The push for sodomite marriage today is called a campaign for Marriage Equality, because equality sounds such a wonderful thing.
2. The blessings of faith.
(a) David walks humbly through this life – read 18:18, 23; Rom.12:3; Luke 14:7-11.
(b) David underestimates evil. This is not a good thing, but it shows that we are all flawed – 18:25-26; see Matt.10:16.
(c) David has God with him – read 18:27-30.
Question 1 of the Shorter Catechism: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’ The other answer is that given by the Bohemian poet, A. C. Swinburne: ‘Glory to Man in the highest!/ For Man is the master of things.’