THE GOLIATHS OF GATH

INTRO

1. David wrote this psalm when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

2. We need to remember the situation David was in:

David had killed Goliath (of Gath) in the battle of the Valley of Elah. It was an unbelievable victory for David and for Israel.

But the slaying of Goliath not only meant TRIUMPH for David, but it also spelled TROUBLE as well. And the trouble revolved around King Saul, who was instantly jealous of David, wished him ill, and began a campaign of persecution which lasted until the day of his death.

That resentment of Saul’s led him to cast a javelin at David. Later Saul would send a group of men to murder David in his bed. Saul hounded David all over the country.

Eventually, David’s trust in the Lord failed him; he experienced a lack of faith. David went to Ahimelech, the priest, and told four lies in a single breath, conning the priest into giving him and his men shewbread to eat and into giving him the sword of Goliath.

Then David decided to seek sanctuary in a place King Saul would never go: Gath. King Achish was one of the great Philistine lords.

You can be sure that the people of Gath wanted to get their hands on that infamous Bethlehem youth who had been cheered and sung about throughout Israel. As soon as David was discovered for who he was, they clasp him in irons. Any lie David may have told had to be refuted by him wearing the sword of Goliath!

So, we read and understand:

“David was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.”

David pretended to be mad, to be insane. He must have been a pretty good actor, because King Achish had him released and expelled from the land.

Once safely back in Israel, David went to the famous cave of Adullam in the hill country of Judea, southwest of Jerusalem. Now David picks up his harp and converted the cave into a cathedral, echoing to the strains of this psalm.

3. This is an acrostic psalm in the Hebrew language. That is, each verse begins with a             different letter of the alphabet.

4. Part one of this psalm is a SONG; part two is a SERMON.

    Part one is DEVOTIONAL; part two is DOCTRINAL.

    Part one shows us the GRACE of God; part two the GOVERNMENT of God.

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I. DAVID’S PRAISE  (v. 1-10)

            A. What David Resolved  (v.1-3)

                        1. David determined that he would praise the Lord from now on --- no                                       matter what happened to him.

                        2. Read verse 1.

                                    a) When Satan’s poison darts cause us to react in doubt, depression,

                                                and despair, we need to remember this verse is the antidote.

                                    b) Romans 8:28 is one of those verses we tend to forget too quickly

                                                when trouble comes our way:

...all things work together for good to them that love God,

to them who are the called according to His purpose.

                        3. Even in David’s fiery trials of persecution, God is working all things

                                    together for good... and we know how much David loves God.

            B. What David Remembered  (v. 4-6)

                        1. It’s as if David’s mind is going back over the ordeal in Gath, and thus

                                    verse 4 is the cry of David’s heart.

                        2. I Samuel 21:12 says that David was “sore afraid” of King Achish.

                                    If David knew that God could deliver him from the paw of the

                                    lion, a bear, and even a giant’s hand, why was he “sore afraid”

                                    of this king of Gath?

                                    David was, indeed, in greater danger in Gath than he has ever been

                                    in all of his life...never had he been in more danger.... because

                                    David had taken matters into his own hands and he was lost.

                        3. Read verse 5.

                                    a) This verse is saying in the imperative, “Look unto Him!”

                                    b) David had been looking at Goliath’s sword and King Achish to

                                                deliver him from persecution...looking everywhere except

                                                to the Lord.

                                    c) The idea is to look to the Lord and look to Him                                                                              EXPECTANTLY!

                        4. Verse 6 indicates that David’s praying was answered by God---

                                    God stepped in!

            C. What David Realized  (v.7-10)

                        • David looks back and sees what he learned from this experience.

                        • Two lessons, in fact:

                        #1. God PROTECTS  (v.7)

                                    1. If only we could see around us, but we really don’t/can’t see the

                                                invisible host of the world’s darkness... nor the invisible

                                                mighty angels of God...all doing battle for the souls of men.

                                    2. The “angel of the Lord” mentioned in verse 7 is a reference to

                                                Jesus and He is only mentioned twice in this way in the

                                                psalms.

                                                a) Psalm 35:5 is the other reference and we see “the angel                                                               of the Lord” chasing the enemies.

                                                b) In Psalm 34:7 the Lord is seen as PROTECTING the                                                                saint.

                                                c) In Psalm 35:5 the Lord is seen as PURSUING  the                                                                    sinner.

                        #2. God PROVIDES  (v.8-10)

                                    1. Perhaps, when David was thrown out of the Philistine’s camp,

                                                they escorted him to the border, counted to ten for him to

                                                get out of arrow-range, and were totally indifferent to

                                                meeting any of his physical needs.

                                                David may be remembering that as he writes these verses.

                                    2. Facing a hostile wilderness alone can be a frightening thing.

                                                But God had cared for him. David does not tell us how God

                                                provided, but He did see him safely to Adullam.

                                    3. When he gets to the cave, David sees his faithful men, sees

                                                venison hanging from the roof, and the tribute from

                                                surrounding farms.

                                                Perhaps, he hears the cry of a hungry lion.

                                    4. David is praising the Lord for His goodness in the first half of                                                        this psalm.

• Now David looks at his men.

• It is time that he enforced some of the lessons he had learned.

• He will pass on some rules and principles for others to learn and live by.

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II. DAVID’S PROCLAMATION  (v.11-22)

            A. The Summons  (v.11)

                        1. David calls his men to come and gather around him and learn from his

                                    mistakes.

                        2. Because his men love him, they gather around.

            B. The Subject  (v.12)

                        1. Things haven’t changed a lot, have they?

                                    Men still want:

                                                #1. To live to a ripe old age

                                                #2. To live “the good life”

                        2. This is the kind of question designed to get the attention of David’s men.

                                    Remember, these men were ruffians, cut off from the comforts of

                                    home and living constantly with the hangman’s noose over their

                                    heads.

            C. The Sermon  (v.13-20)

                                • Must have been a pretty good sermon, because the Holy Spirit chose                                                          to pick it up a thousand years later and quote much of it in the                                                      New Testament.

                                • See I Peter 3:10-12.

                                • David is saying, “Based on my recent experience I would like for all                                                                 of you to remember 3 things:”

                                    1. David must have said some very foolish things in Gath. He must

                                                have wanted to relive those days again, taking back some of

                                                his own words.

                                                Keep in mind that he pretended to be mad, so there’s no

                                                telling how evil his words were.

                                    2. David knew that he couldn’t take back such words, so he tries     

                                                to warn his men to learn from his mistake.

                                    3. Have you ever spoken some words and later felt ashamed?                                                    Perhaps, a blush stole across your cheeks as you remember                                                         it even now. Is it settled with the Lord? If it is, then you can                                                     do as David: Learn from your mistake and teach others to                                                 learn as well.

                                    1. David knew his real troubles did not begin in Gath, but when he

                                                lied to Ahimelech, the priest. His lying led to the murder of

                                                Ahimelech.

                                                Things just boiled over in Gath.

                                    2. David came to regret the day he walked into that place.

                                    3. There are some places where a believer should never go;

                                                there are some doors a Christian should never darken.

                                                Stay away from places where evil runs freely.

                                    1. GOD was in Gath... seeing all, hearing all.

“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous...”

                                                David forgot that simple fact.

                                    2. When we do good, we think it’s terrific that God saw and                                                    heard.

                                        When we do wrong, we think it’s terrible that God saw and                                                    heard.

                                    3. It would do us well to remember that if we can learn some                                                    lessons of life from the bad experiences of other, we do                                                     ourselves and the testimony of God a great service.                                                                         Sometimes people say, “Well, my boy needs to see what life                                          is like in the real world,” and they put them in places like                                                       “Gath.” (i.e. government schools)

                                                Stay in Gath very long and you will become a Philistine.

                                                Thankfully, David realized even though God was in Gath,

                                                David had no business being there himself!

                        1. Paraphrased, David is saying, “I am living proof of what I have been

                                    telling you. Down there in Gath I was a broken man, bitterly

                                    sorry for what I had said and done. I had no business in the camp

                                    of the enemy of Israel and God. I still don’t know why Achish let

                                    me go. Get right with God; and He will see you through!”

                        2. It is a wise man who is able to learn from the example of others, even

                                    when that example is a bad one.

                                    Isn’t it sad sometimes to watch our own children ignore good

                                    parental advise and go the very way you warned them to avoid,

                                    because of the grief it brought you?

                                    Parents should never give up “preaching” and training their

                                    children in Biblical instruction. How important it is to stay at the

                                    task of warning others of the mistakes that they can make, because

                                    you made the same ones one time. Wise, discerning Christians will

                                    listen to you; don’t stop training others. This is called discipleship.

            D. The Summary  (v. 21-22)

                    1. The Law of The Weasel

                                    1. Some years ago a preacher watched some rabbits flying in terror

from a strange brown creature which began to follow one of them with slow, serpentine movements. It was a weasel. The preacher was puzzled how so slow a creature as the  weasel could make a much faster animal its prey. Later he read that a weasel has an insatiable thirst for blood. It singles out a particular rabbit for destruction and persistently follows its trail, never losing the scent of its victim. It is generally a long chase. The rabbit makes a dash ahead, then a double or two, and halts at the mouth of the hole. The weasel follows. Although the bank is tenanted by fifty other rabbits past whose hiding place the weasel must go, they scarcely take notice. They seem to know it is not their turn. So the chase goes on, for the weasel never allows himself to be turned aside. The stricken rabbit rushes from the field to field and from hedgerow to hedgerow, but still his pursuer follows. The rabbit, tired to the death, at last hides in the grass, but across the meadow, stealing along the furrow, comes the weasel.

                                    2. Evil is God’s weasel on the trail of the rabbit.

                                    3. Nothing but intervening grace can turn it aside.

                    2. The Law of The Wave

                                    1. An Englishman, Archibald Brown, who experienced a wild night

on the southern shore of the Isle of Wight, helps to illustrate this law. The wind had been blowing all day and the sea had risen mightily. It was near time for high tide, and Brown and his wife came out and stood on the balcony of their home, watching the inrushing sea. Between them and the sea was but a narrow strip of roadway. The waves broke in fury on the sea wall, fell back, and came on again. Far away in the moonlight they could see line after line of advancing billows.

                                                After a while, Mr. Brown turned to his wife and said, “Well,                                           we can go to bed now!”

                                                What? Go to bed with those wild waves still thundering on                                                    the shore? Go to rest with destruction so near? Yes! For he                                                         had taken a look at his watch and realized the tide had come                                                         and gone.

                                                “The waves will come no further,” he said. “We can go to                                                    bed now.”

                                    2. What perfect faith in a simple law of nature...faith in the law of

                                                the tide...of the waves.

                                    3. “The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants:

                                                and none of them that trust in Him shall be                                                               desolate.”

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Conclusion:

1. For the sinner it is the law of the weasel, but for the saint it is the law of wave.

            a) The sinner has evil relentlessly following him all the days of his life, following

                        him right into eternity, into judgment.

            b) The saint has the assurance that God can be counted on, His way is the right

                        way---it is the way of obedience...just as the tide obeys His will.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

He will not, He will not, desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

He’ll never, no never, no never forsake.