A Royal Lament

You would stand together as we in respect for the Lord is we share in some second Samuel chapter 1 started verse 17 and David lamented with the lamentations over Saul and Jonathan his son and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah, behold, it is written in the book of gesture. He said your glory, O Israel is slain on your high places.

How the mighty have fallen.

Tell it not in gaffe, publish it, not in the streets of Ashkelon West, the daughters of the Philistines rejoice lesser daughters, the uncircumcised, exalt you mountains of Gilboa, let there be no due or rain upon you, nor feels of offerings for their the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed with whole from the blood of the slain from the fat of the mighty above Jonathan turned out back and the sword of Saul returned, not empty.

Saul and Jonathan beloved and lovely in life and in death. They were not divided they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions your daughters of Israel weep over Saul who close you luxuriously and scarlet who put ornaments of gold on your apparel, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Jonathan lies slain on your high places.

I'm distressed for you. My brother Jonathan. Very pleasant.

Have you been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women, how the mighty have fallen in the weapons of war perished that with me as we got our Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you for the privilege of worship today we are living right out of a crazy time, time that just feels weird and everything that we're doing with this because the virus attacking our world with our government situation. Lord in turmoil and the people but Lord, what we know now is this that you are on the throne that you were sovereign over everything that's taken place that none of this is catching you by surprise, and Lord you are in control fill our hearts with that Lord and help us now, that we might put the craziness of this world out of our minds for this time.

That we might focus on the Lord as we worship today. Help me today Lord is.

I preach that I might get across the reality of the presence of death in our life and and help us Lord, that we might approach it in a way that would bring you honor and glory. Heavenly father, we thank you for Jesus today.

The Jesus he went to the cross to die for a sinful people. Lord, we don't deserve your grace, but how we appreciate your grace, help us to realize that it we call it free grace. It was free for us but it cost you your very life guide and direct us to this passage today. May Jesus be uplifted and glorified through it and it's in your holy and wonderful and precious name we pray.

Amen. You may be seated. In Revelation chapter 1 verses five and six we read the following words and for Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood has made us kings and priests to his God and father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The Scriptures feel with different names and titles for the people of God. We are called his sheep. We are call servants we are called the saints. We are called his friends. We are called heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We call the bride of Christ.

We are called the elect.

We are call the chosen ones.

We are called the peculiar people. That's when I'm not really comfortable with but that's what we are called a peculiar people because we are different from the world but here in this passage we have a special designation. We are call kings what you think about when you think about kings, I usually think first of all about power and strength, that authority that I would have us to look today at a another perspective on kings and that is the idea that when you look at yourself as a king you you need to understand the responsibility side of kingship and today we look at at David as God is preparing him to be the next king of Israel. 17 years have passed by since the old prophet Samuel has taken the horn of all and is ported over David's head as he did that he said to David you are the chosen one of God. You are the apple of God's eye. David you are the one who who is going to replace King Saul and be the new king of Israel and you will be a man after God's own heart. Since that day.

David has done many things. He is defeated the giant Goliath. He has become the armor bearer of King Saul. He has been the, the best friend of Jonathan and become his covenant brother, and then King Saul. His chase David around Israel trying to killing for several years now that is gone on so that David has had to take refuge with the people of Felicity and is actually fault with the Philistine army and God is called David together restricts together and to go and fight the Amalekites and David did pretty much wiped them out. Little did David know with that particular time that so much time would pass away, and so much persecution would take place in his life and he would experience so many hard aches before he actually became the king of Israel, but I think we see something in David's preparation for kingship here that is much more important than just history. I think we have a prophetic picture of how God wants to use us in his kingdom of how God wants to use us and how we rain for Christ sake.

Now, hear me out here only make this clear. When I talk about us being kings. I realize that there is only one true King is the King of Kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

He is the king of the church. He is the head of the church. We are kings, but it's kings with the little K it's kings that are under the umbrella of the true King silos.

The Lord fashioned us into little kings. One of things that God cultivated in the life of David is to prepare him for kingship was a godly perspective of death. However, modern day folks dealing with death today. I don't think we really deal with it as a society very well because I think what we try to do is to avoid death willing to call it death anymore. We call it passing away or we do like of Forrest Gump's mother did with him when she was getting ready to die. She said dying is just part of living. I've been frustrated last few years went with how some funeral homes have been have been changing funerals from a situation where people come together to worship God and to godly grief to is a situation where it feels almost like a party. Now I realize it is Christians, we can go along with Paul. He says we are to sorrow not as others who have no hope that means that we don't approach death in the same way the lost person approaches death. I realize that when someone dies that we love God's promise to put into our heart, a peace that passes all understanding. And that is glorious and that is true but yet we cannot skirt around the issue that death hurts death bring separation death brings great sorrow to us. Death hurts first Corinthians 1526. Paul said that the last enemy that we face is death. When Jesus was going to the tomb of Lazarus.

Lazarus had been dead for four days. He walks up to the tomb. The looks into the door. The Scripture says that he wept that tears flowed down the face of Jesus and yet he that was in just a few minutes he was going to be raising Lazarus from the dead, and he wept anyway, that's what death does Paulson the wages of sin is death.

Death is not a party to enjoy. Death is an enemy to hate what is our society doing I think were trying to hide death to disguise it so so that we will have to deal with the reality of it.

I don't think that's what God wants from us. I think God wants us to face it. I think he wants us to feel it. I think he wants us to acknowledge death. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 Scripture says this for theirs appointed enemy and wants to die and after that the judgment a.m. unless we are the generation of people that experience the second coming of Christ.

Every single one of us gonna die. No one cheats death.

Everybody in Jesus generation as God.

Everybody in Martin Luther's generation has died.

Everybody in Charles Spurgeon's generation is died and so will we. Death is certain, the death rate in every generations always the same.

It's 100% everyone dies. And when we die, physical life ends up the blood of the blood quit circulating. They are breath. Stop the breathing stops and that our body begins to decay and go back to the dust.

There is separation and there is sorrow and there is emotional hurt for those that are left behind here to have to deal with the sorrow in their heart over that person who has passed away. In our last accountability group meeting.

We were talking about the monotony of reading the the genealogies and first and second Chronicles and how Tough that he is going through all that long list of genealogies and as we were talking about that incident came to my mind when I was pastoring my first church I was preaching through Genesis and I was in Genesis chapter 5 in Genesis chapter 5 starts with this long genealogy and so I was asking myself will should I even read that it's just a long genealogy and and a and should I read it. I'm not really preaching on Lanham to be preaching on a peanut and hit me. Well the genealogies are part of the word of God. So I'm at least can read it and so I did read it on to share with you very quickly just a few of those verses from Genesis chapter 5 in that genealogy just the days of Adam after he fathered sale for 800 years and he had other sons and daughters. That's all the days that Adam lived were 930 years and he died when Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered English. Seth lived after he fathered English 807 years and had other sons and daughters. This all the days of Seth were 912 years and he died when English live 90 years, he fathered Tina initially up after the father Keenan 815 years had other sons and daughters.

Thus all the days of Danish were 905 years and he died when Canaan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalia Tina and lived after he fathered Mahalia oh, 840 years and at other sons and daughters.

That's all the days of Keenan were 1910 years and he died after that service was over visitor came up to me in and said pastor.

Do you have time to talk and I said sure come on in my office we came in. He came in my office we sat down and and I said what's going on.

He said well I'm lost. I know that I'm lost and I want to be saved.

That sermon that I preach that morning had not been not really an evangelistic sermon been more of a sermon preached to Christians about sanctification said what brought you to this point and he said your reading of the genealogy us in your kitchen and he said no I Civil War what what about it and he said it was that phrase that you kept repeating over and over again said what phrase he said and he died and he died and he died. He said it hit me like a thunderbolt. That's gonna happen to me.

Everybody dies I'm gonna die and I'm not ready to die.

I was able to share the gospel with the repetitive disinterested Christ as his Lord and Savior the reality of death and the absolute certainty of death drove him to the gospel. So is working on this message last week I got to this point in the sermon and my telephone paned and so I looked over to see it was a text was from Bernie Lutz and so I read what Bernie had to say in an Bernie was sharing a quote with me from Lincoln near and you talk about providential own read it to you now because it fit just perfect with what I'm trying to say here. He said God is calling out to the world for repentance.

And one of the ways he does this is by reminding us of our frailty. We cannot connect every natural disaster to a specific sin, but these troubles do remind us that we will die, and therefore that we need to be prepared to meet our maker.

Let us consider our frailty and remind people that they need to know Christ before it's too late.

Folks, there is a stain to death. Death is real and we as humans can't do anything, humanly speaking, to remove that stain.

But Jesus can. It was Paul who said this of death wears testing a grave wears a victory for the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be in the God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John Piper – a very wise counsel on what we should do about these thoughts of death that we have the Cynthia's.

I suppose for some of you, the thought of dying is so morbid, so gloomy, so fraught with grief and pain that you do your best to keep it out of your minds, especially during the holidays. I think that is unwise and that you do yourself a great disservice. I found that there are few things more revolutionizing for my life than a periodic pondering of my own death. Folks, we should so prepare for death that we would know that when we come to that last day of our life that we might be able to say, along with the apostle Paul primed and ready to be offered in the time of my departure is at hand. Fry fought a good fight, I finished my course, I've kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge of give me at that day and not to me only, but to all them also who love his appearing.

With all that said, let's go to the text therefore points on share with you this morning. Number one emotional and intellectual grief. Look at verse 17 through 18, and David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah, behold, it is written in the book of Josh or emotional grief was David's first response to Saul and Jonathan's death. The Scripture says he was grabbing onto his robe and he just ripped his close David first looked at first grieved in his heart, but secondly he grieved in his mind. This lament was written down and it was recorded in the book of Josh, or later on. It was recorded in the Scripture right here in second Samuel chapter 2 with many people. One way to deal with grief is to write down your thoughts, or to verbalize your sorrows. I've been in the ministry for 41 years now. Not just trying to figure out how many's funeral sermons that I preached during that time I think is somewhere between six and 700 funeral services. Remember the first year that I was at at at Southside. It was an elderly church and I had a funeral on the average that year of one funeral every 10 days. I can remember one particular day I had three funerals on one day that'll wear you out better but preparing funeral sermons is a way to compel me to think about a person's life and his relationship with Christ and his relationship with others. The hardest funeral service that I ever had to preach was my dad's only reason I did it was because he asked me to but I can remember getting up in the pulpit in front of you guys so that particular morning when our afternoon when my dad had died and I remember my voice cracking, tears rolling down my cheeks, but as I began to share with with you as a congregation about my dad's love for Jesus about his interest in entrance into glory. All of a sudden my my soul was just absolutely soon is amazing what that did books putting it in words help me through the sorrow of missing my dad so sometimes testifying. Words can be helpful and sometimes you don't need any words it at all.

Robert Dabney was a great, great theologian.

He was a Presbyterian pastor lived that during the Civil War times and it was a lady in his church that had a son who young son who died and she was grieving over the is nobody can seem to help her.

He found about it out about it and he went to see the lady just a year before this Robert Dabney had lost two young sons himself to death, and so he went to see this lady were nobody else could help her. He was able to only read this to you and eyewitness reported that Dabney gently walked to the house to the back parlor where the child was lying.

The mother was on her knees near the child. Dabney walked to the bed, knelt beside the mother and gave way to a flood of tears. Then he offered a prayer for the parents and the boy a prayer that could only have come from one capable of empathizing with the families affliction after the child was buried. The mother reported that Dr. Debbie's visit did more good than all the visits and prayers of all the other friends there times when I take a friend with me to go to visit a person whose experience of death in the family and oftentimes the friend will say Doug, I don't know what to say and I'll say that's okay. You don't have to say anything.

It's when that person sees that you're here and that you cared enough to come and grieve with them there to be very blessed by that and they always are David's lament here is more than just personal grieving is also a military order. David's lament was copied down, to be read to the nations. Look at verse 18.

Again, it says it shall be taught to the people of Judah and written in the book of Josh or if you got a ESV that's what it says it shall be taught if you got a King James or new King James R. New American Standard Bible.

It doesn't say it shall be taught. It says the boat shall be taught to the people of Judah and written in the book of Josh or that the boat was like a bow as a bow and arrow like a weapon of war which stated say in here. This is a a a a motivation is a call to arms. He is calling the people of Israel to not put up with what the Philistines are done in causing all this pain and all this hard day is as you take up arms and we are going to fight against the Philistines height .2 is the disgrace of sin. Look at verses 19 to 21. Your glory of Israel is slain on your high places have a mighty have fallen Kelly Nightingale publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon listed dollars and Philistines rejoice listed dollars uncircumcised, exalt you mountains of Gilboa, let there be no due or rain upon you, nor feels of offerings for their the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul not anointed with all use a good question.

How in the world could David describe King Saul. This way, Saul died as an apostate.

Saul died just given himself over to the powers of darkness. The answers found in Saul's beginning as Israel's king first Samuel chapter 9 Saul is described this way. There was not a man among the people of Israel who is more handsome than Haley from the shoulders upward.

He was taller than any of the people. Saul started out not only looking good but also doing good for very early in his reign of the meningitis Gilead weren't great troubled ammonites were going to bring destruction and into their lives and King Saul gathered the armies together. He came against the ammonites, he defeated them and set J Vecchio lead free than he and Jonathan went on to to win many other wonderful and great great battles. John Calvin said this since God elevated Saul to such dignity. That is reason enough for me to honor him. That is how greatly David is staying the grace of God in a man who was so perverse, but David didn't stay on the subject of honor for very long daily. He moves on to his main point Saul's death was a disgrace to Israel. David is concerned about the glory of God.

And so David cries out telling Notting Gath don't publish it in Ashkelon.

Don't let the.

The Philistine women rejoice in other words, this defeat of Saul brought dishonor on the name of the Lord puts me ask you something is the worst thing about our sin. Some bad things about RC and then it it causes us to lose fellowship with God as bad it hardens.

It hurts our personal testimony as bad, it hardens our hearts in sin.

That's bad, but that's not the worst thing the worst thing is this, it blurs the glory of God. The Philistines were rejoicing over their false gods over Dagon and and Ashton Roth because now they believe that their false gods were greater than the true God, Jehovah, and what Saul had done the disgrace that he brought up in Israel because of his sin, made them believe that what is the church's greatest era in this current Americas moral and spiritual decay.

We sat back and we did nothing when prayer and Bible reading was kicked out of our public school. We sat back and we did nothing when our government legalized abortion.

We sat back and we did nothing when gay marriages was legalized here in an America now we're on the very brink of destruction in our in our country. So what's the worst that can happen. Churches being shut down, pastors being thrown in jail us as believers being just canceled out ignored not paid any attention anymore. Will those are bad things, but they're not the worst. The worst thing is this the glory of God is diminished that matters. How often do I as a preacher sound off on the culture. How often do I fuss about Macadamia and higher education. How long do I express anger against Hollywood. How often do you do I express my anger against the corrupt politicians in our in our land. I do that often, folks, you know, they're not really the problem are the for they are dead in their trespasses and sins, they are spiritually deaf. They are spiritually blind but yet were not so, who should I be preaching to. Maybe I'll be preaching to me. Maybe out to be preaching this to you because folks we have the spirit we have the truth. We have the promises of God and what if we chosen to do too many times we've chosen to do nothing. Too many times we have chosen to just given the sin and not die to self we chose to not glorify God through our everyday lives and what does that do. It brings dishonor on the name of God, and it kills our witness. Saul's death reminds us of Proverbs chapter 14 verse 34 righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is. It is a reproach to any people I .3.

The failure see in verse 22 through 25 from the blood of the slain from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back in the sort of Saul return not empty.

Saul and Jonathan beloved and lovely in life and in death. They were not divided they were swifter than eagles that were stronger than lions you daughters of Israel weep over Saul who close you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel, how the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle. Here David speaks of the horrible defeat almost picture David staying there, tears rolling down his cheeks and he says all how the mighty have fallen. What's David's intention here is teaching us that sin is just not worth it that when we give over our sales to sin.

There's always going to be loss.

Think of the man he pours over pornography pours over pornography is driven by lust and into an adulterous affair that destroys his marriage breaks his wife's heart brings disappointment and sadness into the life of his children. Think of the so-called academic scholar who formulates his heretical views and and writes a book in that book is is put into the hands of young theologians who are not yet ready in an instant, grounded in the word of God and they read it become apostate. Some sales. Think of the woman who grants herself the pleasure of passing along gossip that does what that destroys relationships and hurts feelings, how the mighty have fallen puts the real battle in our lives is the battle get sin and we as God's people need to realize this, we need to realize that were on a battleground on the playground and that would be called to across another cushion point for the pain of grief versus 26 or 27. Jonathan lies slain on your high places.

I'm distressed for you. My brother Jonathan. Very pleasant. Had you been to me. Your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women, how the mighty have fallen in the weapons of war perished David's lament moves from a sorrow over the death of a government leader and over the destruction of Israel's military moves on to the sorrow that he feels for the death of his best friend, brokenness, deep, deep grief over the over the death of a man who he loves very very deeply in verse 26 has been used and is still being used today by the LGBT community to say that David and Jonathan had a homosexual relationship. I want you to not because it says that his love surpassed the love of women. I want you to know that that is not the truth is an absolute lie. David and Jonathan had a spiritual and emotional relationship that was extremely strong battle so much in common. They both love the Lord. They were both great military warriors that they they were both great leaders and they got together. They had so much in common.

They could talk easily, they could pray together.

I could talk about the Lord. Praise the Lord together and hold each other accountable was that kind of relationship wanting David had that kind of relationship with that with with his wife because David had broken the commandment of God concerning marriage and the commandment of God concerning marriage is that marriage is between a man and a woman, one man and one woman until death do you part and David had many wives and so that that command of God had been broken and the result of that is David's affections have been divided how you think, his wife, but wives failed OR why call to feel cherished shield field adored shell field put on a pedestal shield to feel like my husband loves me, as Christ loved the church. You think Dave is wise felt that way I don't think so.

I think they felt jealous and I think they felt anger and I think think they felt left out front from day of David's heart. I don't think they felt like David loves them in a way that Christ loved the church. I think they felt abused.

I think they felt left out and got me and friends here in our church because of my accountability group for an example that I love very deeply we get together we pray together we we are able to trust each other, share our problems with each other.

We are unable to hold each other accountable.

I love those men. I trust those men, but Cindy Agnew is my best friend.

I would rather be with her than with anybody else on the face of the earth. I can share my heart with her. Like I can share my heart with nobody else in the face and sits on the face of this earth and we have that kind of relationship and the reason is my affections are not divided. Some other woman or some other women.

And David didn't have that so so David had this relationship with Jonathan that I think was just so special to him. I think one of the reasons was because he didn't have it with his wife because he broken God's command. There David's heart was absolutely broken when Jonathan his friend died so only close with these wise words from Richard Phillips by displaying his heart is grieved for beloved Jonathan David performed a valuable ministry for his readers. Some of my most cherished memories from childhood involve emotional sharing with my father during times of trouble. My father allowed me to pray with him and anxiety when my mother was having surgery. He held me in his arms and cried after our family dog died the day that he went away into war, perhaps never to see his family again. He opened his heart to us in sorrow and in love. In these and other settings I knew had a feel is a young man because my father and shared his feelings with me. David's lament for Jonathan perform something similar for all Israel. After the death of Saul is wise. Active leadership offered others access to his heart.

Blessing them through sympathy for the sorrows, under which they suffered and spoke to my heart. When we are able to be honest in as dyads as husbands and share which really going down and inside of a heart with them. It does something to them. It ministers to them.

That's part of what God commanded husbands and dance to do and what husbands and dads need to do to be like Christ is pray.

Heavenly father, we thank you and praise you for this passage is not easy to have to deal with the subject of death because death hurts death ring. Sorry. Bring supper separation and it it it just is our great enemy that we do.

Thank you Lord that we sorrow not as others who have no hope for our hope is that this life is not the end. Our hope is that we are going to be with you when we die and we will be with you personally and face-to-face and we will never be separated from you again.

Father through the blood of Jesus that was accomplished and we give you praise for that got us and direct us now.

Lord help us that we might be a people who learn our own kingship that we might realize that we are little kings that we are called to reign in your kingdom. Pray part of that is fighting for holiness and fighting against the sin that wants to capture us and do us damage. We love you Lord, thank you and praise you for your goodness and loved us and we assess prayer in Jesus name, amen