But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. (Quality: very good)

[0:00] I shall call your attention to a subject you will find in the first book of Samuel, chapter 30, and the last sentence in the sixth verse.

[0:19] But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. First book of Samuel, chapter 30, the last sentence in the sixth verse.

[0:45] This word brings before us, in a very brief compass, what it is to live by faith.

[1:00] The word of God says, the just shall live by faith. And without faith it is impossible to please him.

[1:13] For he that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of all them that diligently seek him.

[1:24] And now, this word in here will help you to understand how faith is active in a sinner's soul.

[1:37] Where it is, what Peter calls, like precious faith, and what is the faith of God's elect.

[1:49] David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

[2:08] And what is the province of faith? Faith is that principle wrought in the soul whereby a sinner born again is made to be a believer.

[2:27] There is a word of Joseph Hart's, not to be found in our Gadsby's hymns, amongst Hart's hymns, although it should be found therein.

[2:46] Let us resolutely strive to work good works with good intent. And what is it? And what is it to believe on him whom he has sent?

[3:00] And the Saviour said to his disciples, be not afraid, only believe. All things are possible to him that believe it.

[3:15] And now, that brings us to this subject before us. When David was found at about the worst pass that he was in, in all his long checkered life.

[3:34] And yet, when everything within and without was most of all discouraging, the word of God tells us, but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

[3:53] And I want you, my dear friends, young and older life, when I say young, I mean any of you dear young people who hope in God, I want you to remember that if you have the mercy to be taught of God, that you will find your religion is always at its best, when your circumstances are at their worst.

[4:21] When everyday new straits attend, when difficulties await you, when there are mountains that you cannot overturn by the roots, when you are brought in your circumstances to which end, when all your wisdom is swallowed up, then, then to have recourse to God and pour a prayer in time of need and feel the balm of Jesus' blood, this is to find a friend indeed.

[5:04] And now the setting of the subject is very striking, and I must say a little about it in approaching the subject, because there is a lesson to be learned therefrom.

[5:19] I do not want to take up time in going into too many details, but you will find that David, you will remember, for some long while, in the early dealings of God with him, found Saul, Israel's king, to be his enemy.

[5:47] And it came to pass that David fled hither and thither to escape from Saul. And yet, David had got in his life a way mark that he had set up when Samuel poured the anointing oil upon his head, signifying that it was the will of God that David should succeed Saul and be Israel's king.

[6:18] But ere that came to pass, David was often in distress. And David said, I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul.

[6:32] There is but one step betwixt my soul and death. And now it came about that at length David was so harried by Saul that in fleeing from him he fled out of the land of promise wherein he made a mistake.

[6:56] and it was an error of judgment because being who he was an Israelite indeed his homeland was the land of promise.

[7:12] And he had no warrant at all to go outside it and seek to find a refuge on Philistine territory. I want you to follow this along.

[7:27] And I do want to emphasize that in connection with every one of the exceeding great and precious promises in the word of God there is an equivalent exceeding great and precious precept which you must heed and obey.

[7:49] If you are to receive what the promise makes known do remember that and David could only rely on the help of the Lord his God and plead for it as he dwelt in the land of promise.

[8:12] because you can never think that David would seek the Lord and say Lord I am now going to dwell amongst the Philistines.

[8:28] I can no longer dwell in this land of promise although there was declared I should one day reign over it from one end of it to the other. I must now go and pitch my tent on Philistine territory.

[8:41] Grant me thy blessing in what I do. The thing is impossible. And it should have been unthinkable and you can depend on it that David never made it a matter of prayer.

[8:55] But he fled out of the land of promise and sought refuge on Philistine territory. and that brought him into a very great dilemma.

[9:11] Yes. And remember with caution we should tread for as we sow we reap and offering mischief on our head by some unwary step.

[9:24] You dear young people beware of being found and settling down on Philistine territory. territory I mean to be in any place engaged in any project which the word of God does not allow.

[9:41] You have got to live inside the covers of the holy bible book divine to live in the land of promise. And if you make any breach of what the word of God lays down as what is right to do for your good and the glory of God you will be going out onto Philistine territory and you will reap the consequences.

[10:07] And now listen to this reading. Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel and the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands but David and his men passed on in the rear ward with Achish who was king of God.

[10:34] Then said the princes of the Philistines what do these Hebrews hear? And now these princes of the Philistines were very shrewd and cute and they were going to war with Israel and here they see those who are of Israelitish descent amongst the Philistine hosts.

[11:01] The question is very pertinent what do these Hebrews hear? And I thought as I pondered this subject I'm not fitting any caps on if they could be fitted but I'm bound to tell you this I believe it would be possible in their own denominational life to go up and down at times and find those who listen to our gospel and might even have names on our church walls and find them in places where they ought not to be and you could say then what do these Hebrews hear?

[11:42] what are you doing on Philistine territory? What are you doing amongst the Philistines living your life as though you were one of them when your homeland is the land of promise?

[12:00] What do these Hebrews hear? and so it worked out that the princes of the Philistines spoke very plainly to Achish king of Gath who was a Philistinian king and told him that he must give David and all who were with him the Hebrews notice to quit his army and to return to where they belonged David did not behave very well at this time and he could not have been in a very prayerful watchful frame of mind because he uses what seems to me to be diplomacy I merely said and I will duplicity when he says to Ach

[13:02] Achish king of Gath but what have I done what hast thou found in thy servants so long as I have been with thee unto this day that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king and he knew those enemies of the Philistines were his own people so at the head of Israel's host alas how sad our state by nature is but when David and his men returned to where they had taken refuge on Philistine territory to Ziklag what did they find the Amalekites had invaded the south and Ziklag and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire and all belonging to David and his people who were with him all were gone carried captive great and small none were slain and there was

[14:07] David having been found in Ziklag where he should never have been dwelling God dealt with him in judgment and sorely chastened him and burnt him out of it and if any of you you dear young people as you live your lives if you should fall a prayer any time to go outside the word of God and do what your conscience will tell you is not allowable in the sacred pages for a little while you might seem to go on with what you purpose to do and be allowed to build a Ziklag a city and dwell therein but if you should have the mercy as I hope you will to be an Israelite indeed be sure of this a day will dawn in your life when God will burn you out of that

[15:11] Ziklag and it will be well for you when it comes to pass remember that and now here is David burnt out of Ziklag and it says David was greatly distressed and then his own people to whom he had shown great kindness the warriors who were with him going about wherever David was led to go the people spake of storm in him because the soul of all the people was grieved bitter is the margin read him every man for his sons and his daughters and now David encouraged himself in the Lord his God you see then what is the setting of the subject you see also I hope that you are to so live your life as grace is given that you will not be found at any time settling down or seeking to do so on

[16:25] Philistine territory there must be separation from the world otherwise you cannot enjoy the exceeding great and precious promises promises which are known and felt alone as you dwell in the land of promise and it is your homeland you must be found walking according to what the precepts of the gospel set forth otherwise you will find this word a very solemn word if you walk contrary to me I will walk contrary to you and that will mean if my people transgress I will visit their transgressions with the rod and their iniquities with stripes and now I want to look at the subject from just two viewpoints one night if grace was given and time allowed and you had patience enough and grace enough too one might preach a hundred sermons from such a subject as this

[17:39] David encouraged himself in the Lord is God and I will ask this question in opening up the subject did you ever do it let your consciences tell you did you ever as it were sit down before God with whom you have to do and encourage yourself in what you humbly hoped you could see along life's way God had been pleased to do for you and yours and in that sweet blessed occupation you could do what Paul did at one time when he thanked God and took courage and there are two viewpoints of this subject one is the discouragement and you might look within and you do and you look inside it may be a great deal too often but when you do look within you see things which discourage you when you look without you see yet more things which discourage you still more and yet when all is said and done there must always be in the

[19:13] Lord your God ten thousand times ten thousand more wherein you can encourage yourself as a poor sinner hoping in God than there can ever be in all your discouragements within and without to discourage you remember that there is that about us it is in our makeup wrought by the Adam fall which makes us fall a prey so often to self pity and then you pour all what you are by nature within and think your own thoughts about it come to your own conclusions can ever God dwell here and yet you could never look within and see what you do unless

[20:16] God had already begun to deal with you and you in that dealing have been enabled to say one thing I know whereas as I was blind now I can see and you might remember the characteristic given to every sinner born again which you know every man the plague of his own heart not to read in the word of God what it says about his heart the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and accept it as a truth and a doctrine but to know the plague of it feel it to be a felt disease that permeates your system altogether from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises putrefying sores and remember sinner if thou were taught to see how great thy guilt thy misery in every thought and act impure the blood of Christ thy soul can cure there is encouragement in the

[21:43] Lord for you poor sinner feeling as you do sinner that you are and when you look within you inquire can I deem myself a child and you remember it was said to Jeremiah is there any word from the Lord and Jeremiah said yes there is and there is a word for you feeling as you do a word to encourage you the savior said blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted and that is a word to encourage you to still hope in God David encouraged himself in the Lord his God God and how discouraging it is when being born again

[22:49] I'm only referring to such a character like David was being born again you find in your heart a concern to live unto God and yet you find although you watch unto prayer seek divine aid that you might live unto God every day you have got to come back to the starting point God be merciful to me a sinner and you labor every day under a consciousness of discouragement because you feel I would do good but evil is present with me and now this is the way that all heaven bound pilgrims have gone along down through the ages and this is the way walk ye in it yes daily to feel thyself undone will make thee haste to kiss the sun and on thy knees for pardon sue and praise and bless and love him too and that is this word reduced to practice but David encouraged himself in the

[24:14] Lord his God you may be discouraged because you think the devil has so much to do with you in your religion in your profession of the name of Jesus but it might be well when you labor under much discouragement because you are feelingly as it were in Satan's sieve and you can hardly tell what you are or where you are in things divine you wonder if in spite of all you have hoped that you are indeed what you want to be a sinner to be saved by grace the word of God says I do want you to remember this word neither give place to the devil I should keep reminding you of that because I can see that quite a few people in our denominational life and that will include some under union chapel roof without fitting any specific caps on

[25:23] I can see that quite a few people have fallen a prey in giving place to the devil and they have got much more religion much more evidence that they are indeed sinners called by grace than they ever seem to allow and I think it is a very solemn thing to belittle our religion and to call into question what at other times we hope God has been pleased to do in our soul's experience I take it it is a matter wherein a sinner born again is brought in guilty before God why should the wonders God has wrought be lost in silence and forgot and why should you if the devil does question this or that in your soul's experience give place to the devil in regard to it and behave as though the devil was speaking the truth which is a thing impossible do remember the devil is not omniscient and he can never never know the truth of matters concerning your soul as to how things really are between your soul and God the thing is impossible and so the Lord helped you to encourage yourself in who he is as the sinner's friend trust in him ye tempted saints tell him all your sad complaints he a present help will be give you strength and victory and now you may be discouraged

[27:18] I can only give you hints because you feel more and more as you journey on through life your utter helplessness in things divine and your inability to do good it is a very solemn lesson a very painful lesson but every sinner taught of God is brought to learn it they who fain would serve God best are conscious most of wrong within then you see the apostle Paul who beyond all questioning did live near to God did serve the Lord Christ and was in the forefront in doing it in his day and generation yet he came to this Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief and that is how he felt within felt it before

[28:20] God then you will find there is a word in Isaiah that God will make known in your soul's experience and it says the house of Israel shall take root downward and having done that bear fruit upward and that fruit upward at its best when it is ready to be gathered shall I say will be just this a guilty weak and helpless worm on thy kind arms I fall be thou my strength my righteousness my Jesus and my all you will then encourage yourself and as you help to do it encourage yourself in Jesus

[29:23] Christ as the sinner's friend you will learn another scripture as having nothing and yet possessing all things but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and regarding your discouragement about your inability to do good there is encouragement for you and there is help to be had for you to do good if ye being evil know how to give good things unto your children how much more shall your father in heaven give the holy spirit to them that ask him if any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and afraid it not and it shall be given him there is encouragement in the Lord your God poor sinner whatever your discouragement may be you may be discouraged

[30:27] I hope you are because every day when you weigh up things as to how things really are between your soul and God you are discouraged because you feel your ignorance of God and the littleness of your godliness and the poverty of your profession of Jesus name which you have so long made some of you with the preacher too David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and when you have such an exercise of mind when you look within when you look at the life you have lived when you are overwhelmed with the consciousness of your follies and faults when sins in thought word and deed witness against you oh what a wonderful mercy it is to remember a fullness resides in Jesus our head and ever abides to answer our need and there is a great word in the book of

[31:44] Oseah from me is thy fruit found remember that you might be discouraged because of your everyday life you have got your everyday life to live but you find as you journey further on in life that life becomes more complicated you find your responsibilities increase and you find everyday brings more duties to do than you can attend to and many difficulties to face so that you come at the end of every day to be conscious that you are according to how you feel just a failure and yet everyday you are seeking to follow on to know the

[32:45] Lord and to do that which your hand find it to do with all your might but you have to realise the good that I would I do not the evil I would not that I do and you are discouraged discouraged because of everyday cares anxieties that press upon you and yet this word still looks at you but David encouraged himself in the Lord is God do remember the trivial round and common task will furnish all we need to ask room to deny ourselves a road that leads us daily to our God and then you might be discouraged sometimes because you not only look around in your own soul's experience and seek to weigh matters up as to how things are between you

[33:54] God but sometimes you look out beyond your boundary and when you look around the church of Christ you still see much therein that discourages you as you see godly men decay faithful pastors cease and you see that the last days have come perilous times you and I are living in and the church of Christ as you view it is at a very low ebb the church of Christ collectively as you view it seems often to be honeycomb with heresy and hypocrisy and you cannot but feel discouraged as you view it from that viewpoint and yet there is another viewpoint wherein you can encourage yourself in the Lord you are

[34:59] God and remember who he is Jesus Christ is the church's living head and that is a wonderful word upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it I like that word in Isaiah where God says I will work and who shall let it margin who shall turn it back who shall undo it who shall overrule it I will work yes ye also as lively stones have built up a spiritual house and every day all day God is doing that work I will work and therein you and I can encourage ourselves in the Lord our God remembering that he is the church's living head much might be said along that line of thought and then you might be discouraged because you think of the future and you go forward therein in your mind and meditate upon what may be what may not be but when all is said and done if you are to encourage yourself in the Lord you are

[36:30] God you will have to come back and dwell in the land of promise and remember what the word of God declares it shall be well with them that fear God and let it be our chief concern to be numbered with them living and dying oh cry we to heaven with one loud accord that to us be given the fear of the Lord the future does look discouraging if you just look round the world and view the chaos and confusion in it but if you are to be encouraged in your soul's feelings you must be looking up yes oh David said later on it would have been well had he said it before he fled and dwelt in Philistine territory I will look up and you go and do likewise in the midst of all your discouragements look up but David encouraged himself in the

[37:47] Lord is God and now I must come to the amen I can say nothing at this time about what I wanted to about what there is in God to encourage you but the encouragement is summed up in all that he is as the sinner's friend what do you sing they that in the Lord confide and shelter in his wounded side shall see all dangers overpassed stand every storm and live at last but David encouraged himself in the Lord is God and let this encourage you the Lord your God is approachable the Lord your God is guaranteed to make you welcome when you seek his smile his divine aid his grace to help in time of need let this encourage you there is the throne of grace set up and every day you are welcome at any time anywhere to go to it and there tell all the truth concerning your discouragements and seek the help of God not only so it is encouraging to remember there is a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness and that

[39:21] Jesus blood through earth and skies mercy eternal mercy cries and in the word of God itself from cover to cover oh how much there is recorded by a divine pen inspired of God for poor sinners like you and me to be engaged in this sweet blessed holy occupation but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and there is one thought here I must just make plain how did all this work out with godly David long ago but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and now here he is as I said earlier on burnt out of zit lag and in that Philistine territory where he had no warrant from God to be found what does he do and David inquired at the Lord saying shall I pursue after this truth shall I overtake them and he answered him pursue for thou should surely overtake them and without fail recover all you read this when you get home read the chapter right down it might help you and mark this wording thou shalt surely overtake them and without fail recover all and David was helped to do it and what do you read when he had smitten the Amalekites having found where they were the word of God says and David recovered all that the

[41:19] Amalekites had carried away and David rescued his two wives and there was nothing lacking to them neither small nor great neither sons nor daughters neither spoil nor anything that they had taken to them David recovered all do you see dear friends what it must be your everyday business to be doing it is your everyday business as you have these discouragements come upon you depressing you oppressing you to pursue after them before God the remedy lies before thee pray and thou should surely overtake every discouragement that you are the subject of and in the ultimate issue you shall be encouraged in the Lord your God and find out of the eater shall come forth meat out of the strong shall come forth sweetness you shall prove every state our distressing shall be prophet in the end every ordinance of blessing every providence of friend but

[42:39] David encouraged himself in the Lord his God and let every sinner born again under Union Chapel root seek divine aid and go and do likewise amen amen