1. "Envy is anger at someone else's good fortune. Envy is sorrow over someone else's success because it's a success that you want and that you lack. Envy is a vice that its perpetrators never enjoy and rarely confess."

2. "The envious are often unaware that they're being motivated by envy. You could be being blindly driven by envy and not even realize it's the gas that's in your tank."

3. "You envy those who are just like you, only better."

4. "When envy is allowed to grow and develop and have its way, it aims not merely at getting what the other person has, but at taking it away from the other person. Envy aims not merely to fill your hands, but to empty theirs."

5. "When you envy, what you're saying is, whoever is in charge of the distribution of gifts and rewards around here has got their head on backward. The management of this universe could do with a rather harsh performance review."

6. "Some friends shrink back when you suffer. Others shrink back when you succeed. Some friends struggle to bear your burdens. Other friends struggle to bear your blessings."

7. "The opposite of envy is the kind of love that rejoices in others' successes, especially when they outshine yours. The opposite of envy is the kind of love that rejoices in others' blessings, especially when it's a blessing you want but don't have."

8. "Sin is senseless and Christ was persecuted without cause. And if you know your own heart at all, you know that deep within you is a senseless, self-sabotaging desire to put yourself first without regard for God and at the expense of others."

9. "If it feels like God is crushing you, maybe he's treating you like a freshly picked herb. He is grinding you up but gently between his fingers with just enough pressure so that the fragrance of a newly Christ-like character will come out and bless all those around you."

10. "God leads us all through different trials, but in all of them, He's the one leading us."

Observation Questions

1. According to 1 Samuel 18:1-4, how did Jonathan respond to David after David's victory over Goliath, and what specific items did Jonathan give to David?

2. In 1 Samuel 18:6-9, what did the women sing as David and Saul returned from battle, and how did Saul respond to their song?

3. What does 1 Samuel 18:12-14 tell us about why Saul was afraid of David, and what happened to David in all his undertakings?

4. According to 1 Samuel 18:25, what unusual "bride price" did Saul demand from David for his daughter Michal, and what was Saul's hidden intention behind this demand?

5. In 1 Samuel 19:9-10, what was David doing when Saul attempted to kill him, and how did David respond to this attack?

6. According to 1 Samuel 19:20-24, what happened to Saul's messengers and then to Saul himself when they went to capture David at Ramah?

Interpretation Questions

1. The text repeatedly states that "the Lord was with David" (18:12, 14, 28). How does this phrase help explain both David's success and Saul's growing fear and envy? What does this reveal about the true source of the conflict between them?

2. Jonathan willingly gave David his royal garments and weapons (18:4), while Saul had his royal garments stripped from him by the Spirit (19:24). What is the significance of this contrast, and what does it teach about willing submission versus forced humiliation before God's purposes?

3. Why do you think Saul's envy progressed from secret scheming (using the Philistines to kill David) to open violence (throwing his spear) to enlisting others in his murderous plans? What does this progression reveal about the nature of unchecked sin?

4. How does David's response to Saul's persecution—continuing to serve faithfully, fleeing to Samuel, and making God his refuge (as seen in Psalm 59)—demonstrate the sermon's main point about trusting God's character, submitting to His will, and waiting for His reward?

5. The sermon draws a connection between David being "persecuted without cause" and Jesus being "hated without a cause" (John 15:25, quoting Psalm 69:4). How does David's innocent suffering in this passage point forward to Christ, and what does this tell us about God's purposes in allowing His chosen ones to suffer?

Application Questions

1. The sermon asks, "When life doesn't go your way, where do you look?" Think of a recent disappointment or unfulfilled desire in your life. Are you more inclined to look to God in renewed trust, or to look at others with envy? What specific step could you take this week to redirect your gaze toward God?

2. Jonathan rejoiced in David's success even though David was taking what would have been Jonathan's inheritance. Is there someone in your life—a coworker, friend, or family member—whose success in an area you desire has been difficult for you to celebrate? How might you practically "rejoice with those who rejoice" with that person this week?

3. The church covenant calls members to "rejoice at each other's happiness." In what specific ways could you actively celebrate the blessings God has given to others in your small group or church community, especially blessings you wish you had?

4. David continued to serve Saul faithfully even while Saul was trying to harm him. Is there a difficult relationship or situation in your life where you are tempted to stop serving faithfully because of how you've been treated? What would it look like to be like a "wind-up toy of faithful service" in that situation?

5. The sermon states that "the cure for envy lies in living under a constant sense of the divine presence." What practical habits or reminders could you put in place this week to cultivate a greater awareness of God's presence and His sovereign distribution of gifts and blessings?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Genesis 37:1-11 — This passage shows Joseph's brothers envying him because of his dreams and his father's favor, illustrating how envy can poison family relationships and lead to destructive actions.

2. Romans 12:9-21 — Paul's instructions to "rejoice with those who rejoice" and to overcome evil with good provide the New Testament foundation for the anti-envy posture the sermon calls us to embrace.

3. Philippians 2:1-11 — Christ's example of humility and self-emptying provides the ultimate model for the kind of selfless love that Jonathan displayed toward David and that overcomes envy.

4. James 3:13-4:10 — James connects envy and selfish ambition to disorder and evil, while calling believers to humble themselves before God, reinforcing the sermon's solution to envy.

5. Psalm 59:1-17 — David wrote this psalm the night Saul's men surrounded his house, showing how he made God his refuge in the midst of persecution and trusted in God's steadfast love.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Nature of Envy Illustrated Through Nixon and Kennedy

II. Envy: Saul's Response to David's Rise (1 Samuel 18:1-16)

III. Plotting: Saul's Schemes Against David (1 Samuel 18:17-30)

IV. Escape: David Flees Saul's Persecution (1 Samuel 19:1-17)

V. Protection: God's Supernatural Deliverance of David (1 Samuel 19:18-24)

VI. The Solution to Envy: Trust, Submit, and Wait for God's Eternal Reward

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Detailed Sermon Outline

In November of 1960, John F. Kennedy defeated then Vice President Richard Nixon in a closely contested presidential election. On January 20th, 1961, Kennedy was sworn in and delivered his inaugural address. Shortly after the speech, Nixon met Kennedy's aide and speechwriter Ted Sorensen. Nixon said to Sorensen, There were some parts of that speech he would have liked to have said. Sorensen asked, Do you mean the bit about ask not what your country can do for you?

Nixon replied, no. The part beginning I do solemnly swear.

Envy is anger at someone else's good fortune.

Envy is sorrow over someone else's success because it's a success that you want and that you lack. Envy is a vice that its perpetrators never enjoy and rarely confess.

The envious are often unaware that they're being motivated by by envy. You could be being blindly driven by envy and not even realize it's the gas that's in your tank.

Envy comes from comparing yourself to someone else, seeing some good they have that you don't, and deciding that's wrong.

Deciding that you deserve that more than they do. That's why, like Nixon with Kennedy, we are often tempted to envy those who are closest to our own gifts and callings. If enough people in enough states had voted differently, Nixon would have been president. If you work in politics, you're more likely to envy a more successful aide or candidate than you are to envy a movie producer.

Or a painter, you envy those who are just like you, only better.

Who and what do you envy?

A coworker is promoted to a role that you are more qualified for. Or maybe you have a coworker whose natural talent enables them to just do more work and do it better, somehow do it faster and it's still of a high quality and so then they get all the more interesting assignments that seems to just flow their way.

Maybe a friend got asked out on a date by someone you were interested in and someone you thought you were closer to.

Maybe it's someone who just bought a house that's bigger and better than yours. Or anyone who owns a home at all since you've been renting for years.

Maybe it's a friend's vacations. Where they go, how often they go. Maybe you envy a friend who just got married or one who just got pregnant.

Have you ever envied a friend's health or beauty or the fact that they seem to be on everybody's invite list while you get overlooked?

If none of those possible targets of envy hit home, I bet what you do envy has been bubbling up in your mind while I've been talking. If not, just take a second and think. Who do you envy? What do you envy? When envy is allowed to grow and develop and have its way, It aims not merely at getting what the other person has, but at taking it away from the other person.

Envy aims not merely to fill your hands, but to empty theirs. Envy often progresses from thoughts and feelings to words and deeds. It grows from secret and underhanded to open and forceful. When you envy, what are you saying about the world? You're saying something like this, it's wrong that they have that good thing and you don't.

You're saying there's something out of whack in a world where she gets married and you get passed by. Or where he gets that promotion and you are stuck in a dead-end job. As one writer has put it, the envious tend to be injustice collectors.

When you envy, what you're saying is, whoever is in charge of the distribution of gifts and rewards around here has got their head on backward. Whoever is in the business of handing out talent and prosperity and gifts and blessings, whoever is apportioning houses and marriages and children and jobs, they're sure making a mess of it. When you envy, what you're saying is, the management of this universe could do with a rather harsh performance review.

This morning we resume our series in the book of 1 Samuel with chapters 18 and 19. If you're new to the church, over the past several months on and off, I was preaching through the first half of 1 Samuel, so we're just picking up here in the middle, chapters 18 and 19. It starts on page 241 of the Pew Bibles, and our passage is a case study in envy. The context is that Saul is ruling over Israel as their first king, but God has already announced the end of Saul's reign because Saul scorned God's commandments and disobeyed him. So Saul will have no dynasty and his own days as king are numbered.

Saul doesn't yet know explicitly who's going to replace him as king, but two chapters before this, unknown to Saul, the prophet Samuel anointed young David to be the next king of Israel. And then in chapter 17, David single-handedly defeated Goliath and rescued Israel from the Philistines. So Saul should be starting to put two and two together. There's going to be a replacement and here's this rising star. Saul should be reading the writing on the wall.

And therefore, he should be submitting to the Lord's will in evidently raising up David to replace him. But Saul's not going down without a fight. If envy is the problem, what's the solution?

Trust God's character, submit to His will, and patiently wait for His glorious, eternal reward. I'll say that again. If you'd like, write it down. Take it as the big idea for the sermon. It's how to pull up envy by its roots.

We see the elements of this throughout the passage. If envy is the problem, what's the solution? Trust God's character, submit to His will, and wait patiently for His glorious, eternal reward. There are two main forces that drive the plot of 1 Samuel 18 and 19. The first is God's election of David.

Which means that he is unstoppably committed to putting David on the throne of Israel. The second force is Saul's envy of David and his increasingly open efforts to kill him. The whole drama of our passage comes in the clash between God's unstoppable purposes and Saul's implacable opposition. So, to see how God's purposes overcome Saul's envy, we're simply going to walk through the narrative in four parts. Point one, envy.

Envy. This is the dominant note in chapter 18, verses 1 to 16.

Excuse me, look first at verses 1 to 5.

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David; and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people. And also in the sight of Saul's servants. So the story picks up right after David kills Goliath and rescues all of Israel from their Philistine oppressors.

In response, Saul makes David a full-time member of his royal staff. And Jonathan, Saul's son, makes a covenant with David. That is a binding commitment. This is basically a declaration of permanent friendship and loyalty. Not only that, but Jonathan takes off his own princely garments and gives them to David along with his military equipment.

This seems to be a symbolic gesture. Jonathan, as Saul's son, would naturally be considered heir to the throne, but here Jonathan is recognizing David as God's chosen king.

By God's sovereign will, David has taken Jonathan's place and yet Jonathan delights in David and is devoted to David.

Jonathan was willing to freely yoke himself to someone who was both surpassing him and and supplanting him. Humble friends are the best friends. One of the toughest tests of a friendship is how you respond when your friend gets something you want but don't have. And some of you brothers and sisters do a fantastic job of this. I can think of one married couple who dearly they desire children and the Lord has not yet given them children.

And instead of growing bitter or envious, they pour themselves out in loving and sacrificial service to families, to children, to newly married couples, to single people, pouring themselves out to the very people to whom God has given that gift they want but lack. What a beautiful picture of selfless, others-focused, love, and care. Prosperity and adversity equally test a friendship. Some friends shrink back when you suffer. Others shrink back when you succeed.

Some friends struggle to bear your burdens. Other friends struggle to bear your blessings.

In verse five, we learn that Saul appointed David to be a military commander and that God continually gave David success in battle. David's prosperity here in the narrative is a sign that God is with him. It's God who's winning all those battles for him. And the text implies that David is a faithful steward of all that Saul gives him, like Joseph was with Pharaoh in Egypt. As we'll see throughout the passage, David is a profile of faithfulness under adversity.

He's like a wind up toy of faithful service. Wherever you drop him, no matter the circumstances, no matter the role, no matter the opposition, he'll just march forward in faithful stewardship. He'll serve God and the human authority over him, no matter whether that human authority is out to get him. Verse five tells us the result of David's faithful service. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

Everybody loves David. Jonathan loves him, Saul's servants love him, his troops love him, everybody loves David.

Well, almost everybody. Look at verses 6 to 9.

As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with songs of joy and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated. Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands.

And what more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David. David from that day on. The passage flashes back in time a little to the time when they were returning from battle with the Philistines. The Israelites naturally broke out into songs that celebrated God's victory, the deliverance he gave, but Saul didn't like the lyrics.

If Saul were humble, he would have realized that the song actually gave him more credit than he deserved. When David killed Goliath, that was it for the Philistines. Basically, with that one victory, David won the whole battle for them. So to say that Saul slew thousands is actually kind of generous.

But Saul's ears are clogged by envy. He resents that these singers are praising David more. Then they're praising him. How does the praise of other people ring in your ears? How does it feel when someone near you is praised more than you?

The roots of Saul's envy included the fact that he desired praise from people more than praise from God.

And he forgot that even as the king of Israel, he's only a steward. He is accountable to God and he serves at God's pleasure. He should care more about God's work of delivering his people than he cares about who God chooses to use in the process. So Saul envies David's reputation. Not only that, but look at the end of verse 8.

And what more can he have but the kingdom? Saul's suspicious of David's rise. He suspects that the people are going to want to make David king. Like I said earlier, God had already told Saul that he was being replaced. And so if Saul trusted God's character and submitted to his will, he would have welcomed his replacement with open arms.

Instead, looking at verse nine, and Saul eyed David from that day on.

Day on. Saul eyed David in the sense of envy, jealousy, what many cultures call the evil eye. He's eyeing him to do him harm. Saul is looking out for David, not for his good, but to try to find a way to hurt him and stop his rise. So here's a test of whether you're envying others or trusting in God's sovereign distribution of rewards.

When life doesn't go your way, where do you look? Do you look to God's character and renewed trust in him? Do you look to his word to see what lessons God might be intending to press home upon you through this disappointment? Or do you look at other people with envy?

Do you think, if I can't have it, why do they get it? Members of CHBC, I'm not sure if you realize it, but our church covenant is an anti-envy pact. It's right there in the line, We will rejoice at each other's happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens and sorrows. And that is just a paraphrase of Romans 12:15. Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Weep with those who weep. The opposite of envy is the kind of love that rejoices in others' successes, especially when they outshine yours. The opposite of envy is the kind of love that rejoices in others' blessings, especially when it's a blessing you want but don't have. And the opposite of envy is the kind of love that responds to others' suffering, not with any hint of a kind of sick satisfaction, but with tender and patient care. Saul's eye was on David for evil, but our eyes should be on each other for good, for burden sharing, for rejoicing together, for helping each other bear the load of the trials God has put in our lives.

When you see God drop a big fat blessing that you would love to have into somebody else's hands, do your eyes darken with envy or light up with joy? How can you come to live like that? How can you put envy to death and find the freedom of self-forgetfulness? Trust God's character, submit to his will, and wait patiently for his glorious eternal reward. Here's how Spurgeon put all of this.

The cure for envy lies in living under a constant sense of the divine presence, worshiping God and communing with him all the day long, however long the day may seem.

The more of heaven there is in our lives, the less of earth we shall covet. The fear of God casts out envy of men. The death blow of envy is a calm consideration of the future. But sadly, that's not at all what Saul was doing. Look at verses 10 and 11.

The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre. As he did day by day, Saul had his spear in his hand, and Saul threw it at him. Hurled the spear, for he thought, I will pin David to the wall. But David evaded him twice. Here, God is carrying out judgment on Saul.

He sends this harmful spirit to punish Saul, to inflict pain on him as a fitting repayment for Saul's disobedience. And like he was doing back in chapter 16, David is playing music to comfort and soothe Saul. He's a serving Saul in his suffering.

But Saul's envy is quickly giving birth to other sins, like anger and violence. Instead of being soothed, Saul is seething. Why on earth is he sitting in his court holding a spear? It's almost like a verbal declaration. Lord, I don't trust yout and I am here to secure my own fortunes by my own sin.

Why would a king need to sit with a spear? Someone gonna rush in and attack him? That kind of paranoia is a sign of the degrading work that Saul's sin is performing on his mind and heart. So Saul tries to kill David twice in his own court and David escapes. And then verses 12 to 16 reveal more of what's going on behind the scenes and how Saul's envy and David's fruitfulness are each bearing fruit in their kind.

Verses 12 to 16, Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.

But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them. Saul fears David because he knows David has something he doesn't, namely, God's favor, God's presence. God's blessing. God has graciously set his love on David and he has righteously withdrawn his love from Saul. Saul's right to detect God's hand behind David's success, but he's wrong to fear David as a result.

Saul should have gotten with God's program. He should have made like John the Baptist and said, He must increase, I must decrease. Instead, Saul thought he could at least stall David's rise by getting him out of the court and shipping him off to military service. Maybe if he's out on the sort of front lines on military duty, he'll at least be out of the public eye and he'll quit being such a nuisance to me. Well, like so many schemes birthed by envy, Saul's plot backfired.

Again, we read that the Lord was with him and so David had success in battle and in everything he ever did. Saul's schemes will not thwart God's purposes. And now the people love David all the more because whenever he leads, they win. What's not to like? Saul's envy is what's driving him and on the surface level, it's what's driving the whole story.

But on a much deeper level, the real engine of what's happening here is God's choice of David and God's presence with David. No matter how hard Saul tries to bring David down, God keeps bringing him up. And yet, Saul keeps trying. Point number two, plotting.

Plotting.

In verses 17 to 30, Saul's plots against David grow bolder. First, Saul plays a trick on David in regards to marriage. Look at verses 17 to 19. Then Saul said to David, Here's my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife.

Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul thought, Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him. And David said to Saul, who am I? And who are my relatives, my father's clan in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king. But at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

Verse 17 in our chapter refers back to chapter 17 verse 25 where we learned that Saul promised to give one of his daughters to be the wife of whichever Israelite soldier defeated Goliath. So Saul owes it to David. To marry one of his daughters to him. But he adds a rider along with it. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord's battles.

Saul is basically saying, yeah, I'll dangle my daughter in front of you, but you have to go notch a few more wins first. Let's see how that goes. That's what Saul was thinking as verse 17 tells us. He sent David back out to the front lines thinking, Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines. Be against him.

Sadly, that's a strategy that David himself would use against Uriah the Hittite in 2 Samuel 11. But for now, the point is that Saul is trying to get David killed while maintaining plausible deniability. Oh, David finally got killed after his 340 second battle with the Philistines. What a shame. He was such a promising young man.

In verse 18, I don't think we should understand David's protest as a refusal. Instead, in an ancient Near Eastern context, it's the kind of formal expression of deference and humility that was expected when you spoke with a king. If the king offered to become your father-in-law, you didn't just say, Gee, great. Thanks so much. This is a kind of ritualized expression of appropriate deference to the authority.

So, in verse 17, Saul's envy gives birth to treachery and deceit. He's not trying to kill David, he's just trying to get him killed. But then in verse 19, we see Saul renege on his word. He gives his daughter, Merab, to be somebody else's wife. The text doesn't tell us explicitly, but it seems like Saul is just playing a trick.

He knew what he was doing, he just said one thing and then did another. But then he sees yet one more opportunity to trap David through marriage. So look at verses 20 to 24.

Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David and they told Saul and the thing pleased him. Saul thought, Let me give her to him that she may be a snare for him and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore, Saul said to David a second time, 'You shall now be my son-in-law.' and Saul commanded his servants, 'Speak to David in private and say, 'Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you. Now then become the king's son-in-law.' and Saul's servants spoke these words in the ears of David. And David said, 'Does it seem to you a little thing to become the king's son-in-law, since I am a poor man and have no reputation? '

and the servants of Saul told him, Thus and so did David speak. Different daughter, same plot. When Saul learns that Michal loves David, he spots another opportunity to harm him. So he sends servants as intermediaries, makes the same offer, and David offers the same kind of reply of ritual self-abasement. But what does Saul mean by saying that Michal will be a snare to him?

And the hand of the Philistines will be against him? We only learned that in the next verse, verse 25. Then Saul said, 'Thus shall you say to David, 'The king desires no bride price except 100 foreskins of the Philistines, that he may be avenged of the king's enemies.' Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. The phrase bride price makes it sound like a husband purchased a wife from her father, but that's not at all the case. That's just an indication of the cultural gap between our sort of commodity-based culture in modern Western capitalism and a sort of ancient gift-structured society like ancient Israel.

So the phrase could more helpfully be translated as a marriage present. It wasn't a purchase price, but a customary gift. The gift was offered to bind the two families together and to honor the worth of the woman who was now leaving her father's household to go make a new one.

In any case, the marriage present that Saul names is both gruesome and, in its intent, deadly. Saul hopes David will pay for his bride with his life. But Saul's plot fails again. Verses 26 to 29.

Actually, read through verse 30. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. Before the time had When they expired, David arose and went along with his men and killed 200 of the Philistines. And David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. And Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife.

But when Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy. Continually. Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul so that his name was highly esteemed. David, who is as cheerful and courageous as ever, doesn't just meet Saul's demand, he doubles it.

So Saul duly grants David to marry Michal, and then in verses 28 we see the same pattern repeated. Verses 28 to 30, Saul resents God's favor he resents Michal's love for David. He envies David, so he fears David. The fear comes from the envy. Verse 30 tells us that David just kept winning and the people just kept loving him more.

David's star keeps rising and rising and rising. He's outshining all of Saul's other servants but they don't care. They love him. They're just happy he's playing on their team.

Brothers and sisters, when you're tempted, to envy, someone else's gifts for ministry or service, remember you're on the same team.

What do you care more about? That the team wins or that you're the MVP? In the body of Christ, we shouldn't see others' gifts as threats but as assets that are meant to enrich us all.

Saul's envy led him to plot continually against David. His envy turned someone who should have been a friend into an enemy. He turned someone who should have been an ally into a threat. Saul's envious actions only made the situation worse. Every attempt to harm David or dent his status only caused David to shine all the brighter.

Saul's sin only sabotaged. Himself. Saul kept trying to curse David and God kept turning all those attempted curses into blessings. God flipped all of Saul's plans upside down. He turned all of Saul's schemes on their heads.

God is always willing and able to turn the designs of his enemies upside down. So if your life looks like it's upside down, look up, wait patiently for the Lord to act, keep an eye out for surprising blessings, crowding in offstage, waiting to flood in. As we sing in the hymn, God moves in a mysterious way, ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break with blessing on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace, behind a frowning providence.

He hides a smiling face.

Saul was scheming, but the Lord was smiling. Saul kept calling down dark clouds on David, and the Lord kept filling them with mercy. When David's life wasn't going his way, he looked to the God who was with him. He looked to the God who had made promises to him. He looked to the God who was powerful enough to reverse all of Saul's envious plots.

But that reversal didn't always happen right away. Point three: Escape.

Escape. We see several dramatic escapes in chapter 19, verses 1 to 17.

These escapes teach us that when God's people are on the run, God goes with us and goes before us.

Sometimes faithfulness looks like trusting God while fleeing from danger. Look first at verses 1 to 3 in chapter 19.

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning, stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are.

And I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything, I will tell you.

In verse 1, Saul shifts his strategy. From secret scheming to open assault. He enlists his servants and his own son, Jonathan, in trying to kill David. It's as if Saul calls a staff meeting at the beginning of the week and says, all right folks, priority number one for this week is to get David dead. All other projects on hold till further notice.

And this, despite the fact that he himself knows that his servants love David, like he said back in chapter 18, verse 22. So Saul's evil is breaking through barriers. It's growing. It's got a mind of its own. It's got momentum.

Before, it seems like his conscience restrained him from taking any direct action against David. Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Lord be against him. Philistines be against him. But now this sin, like all sin, has its own momentum. It's like driving down a steep hill in a car whose brakes are disabled.

You might think you're in control, but your car has other plans. And you'll only discover them when it's too late. If you're not a believer in Jesus, have you ever crossed a moral line that you set for yourself? Have you ever done something that you know was wrong and then said, I'm not going to go any further? And then you still went further?

If so, I hope you could see a little bit of yourself in Saul right here. And so my question for you would be, How can you escape from sin's downward gravity? How can you be free of that power?

These verses show us not only Saul's treachery but also Jonathan's costly faithfulness. So Jonathan, in these verses, becomes a peacemaker, knowing that his father is against David. Jonathan steps in and steps up for David. This is a bold and risky move. As Matthew Henry put it, Never was a friend so surprisingly kind as Jonathan.

And so Jonathan pleads with his father on rational, moral, and theological grounds. Look at verses 4 to 6.

And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, 'Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hands and he struck down the Philistine. And the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?

And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore as the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.

Jonathan is saying, David has done you no wrong. Instead, everything he's done has brought good to you and you yourself said so. So now, if you harm him, it'll be without cause. You'll be dirtying your own hands with innocent blood. And so, at least for now, Saul relents.

He changes his mind. He even declares an oath in the name of the Lord that no one is going to put David to death. A few chapters from now, on into the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 7, God will make a promise to David that one of his descendants will reign on his throne forever.

That descendant is the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. And one of the most eye-opening and fascinating patterns in all of Scripture is the way that God in his sovereign providence ordained for David's life to anticipate, details in the life of Jesus, both what happened to him and then the way he wrote it down in the Psalms. So that we get David both reflecting on his own experience in a way that points forward to Christ and also even prophesying about stuff that didn't happen to him but that would happen to Jesus. So here's just one parallel. One of those parallels between the life of David and the life of David's greater son is in being persecuted without cause.

So right here, what's happening to David, he later would write in Psalm 69:4, More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause. Mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. And on the night before his death, Jesus in John 15:25 cited this very passage. He said, the word that is written in their law must be fulfilled. They hated me without a cause.

Jesus was hated without a cause because sin is irrational. Sin doesn't make sense. The more questions you ask about sin, the less sense it makes. God is all of our maker, so why have we all rejected him? God is supremely generous.

So why do we resent his commandments as if they're rules laid down to limit our joy? God is infinitely satisfying. So why do we seek satisfaction everywhere else but him? God is a perfectly impartial judge. So why do we fool ourselves into thinking that our good works will be enough on the day of judgment?

Sin is senseless and Christ was persecuted without cause. And if you know your own heart at all, you know that deep within you is a senseless, self-sabotaging desire to put yourself first without regard for God and at the expense of others. That's the essence of sin. And that's the deep root of envy. And God promises to judge those who persist in sin, to deliver them into eternal punishment.

And yet in his mercy, God sent his son to fulfill his promise to David and to bear that punishment for us on the cross. Jesus died in human terms without cause. And yet the ultimate cause was God's grace paying the debt for the sins of all who had turned from sin and trust in him. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. Now he reigns at God's right hand in power and glory, and he calls all people everywhere to turn from sin and trust in him.

If you've never believed in Jesus, turn from trying to be your own master, your own center of gravity, your own supreme satisfaction, and trust in him alone to save you.

Back in verse seven, We see how Saul has changed his mind about David, but it's not real repentance. It's not the kind of U-turn from self that we were just talking about. It'll only take the briefest time to show that the change was superficial. So verse 7, Jonathan called David and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence as before.

But then look at verses 8 to 10.

And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul so that he struck the spear into the and David fled and escaped that night.

Saul just swore an oath in the Lord's name that no one would kill David and here he is flinging his spear at him again. And so David has to escape again. But Saul's pursuit doesn't stop there. Look at verses 11 to 17.

Saul sent messengers to David's house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, told him, if you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed. So Michal let David down through the window and he fled away and escaped. Michal took an image and laid it on the bed, and put a pillow of goat's hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes. And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

Then Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him. And when the messengers came in, behold, the image was in the bed with the pillow of goat's hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, why have you deceived me thus, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped? And McCall answered, Saul, he said to me, Let me go. Why should I kill you?

So David runs home, Saul chases him there, and David's wife, McCall, proves both loving and savvy. She senses the way the wind is blowing and she helps David escape. Like Paul would much later, David escaped persecution by being let out through a window. And lowered down out of the building. And McCall creates a sort of David dummy made out of household idols to buy some time for him.

Now, obviously, it is no good thing that she has these idols around, but the text doesn't really focus on that. The question is, what about the use she made of them? Many of you may wonder, is this a justified deception? I'm not 100% sure, but I would say probably yes.

On just war grounds since Saul has effectively declared open war against David. If Saul's messengers beat on your door, are you allowed to lie to save the life of your husband? I think so. Saul shows how devoted he is to David's destruction in verse 15. When the messengers tell Saul that David is sick, he says basically, okay, if he's sick and he's in bed, bring him back to me, bed and all, so I can finally kill him.

That's when his messengers discover the ruse and Saul angrily confronts Michal. Saul is pursuing and persecuting David and David is on the run. But unlike Saul, David is running not from God but right into God's protecting arms. How do we know that? In part, because of Psalm 59, which Amy read to us earlier in the service.

David wrote Psalm 59 this very night, as he confesses in verse 16 of that Psalm, But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning; for you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Which brings us to point four, protection. Protection. We see God protect David in a remarkable way in the last bit of our passage, verses 18 to 24.

Start with verses 18 and 19. And now David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah. And told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and lived at Naioth. And it was told Saul, behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.

David is a refugee. He is seeking asylum with Samuel in the region of Ramah. He's finding Samuel now in this city called Naioth. And as we're going to see in a minute, Samuel is presiding there over a kind of college of prophets. So David is hassled and harried and now he's even homeless.

He's taking shelter, he's forced to rely on other people's hospitality. He's needy and weak and none of that is any sign of God's displeasure. Just like we've seen in our studies in Job, the Bible has a large category for innocent suffering. Like with Job, none of David's sufferings here are tied to his sins. He would later sin and suffer for it, but right here, he's innocent of anything that Saul could charge him with.

So, if you looked at David's life right here, and this is all you knew, you could not judge David's character from his circumstances. Just like Job's friends. If you brought this to Job's friends theology and they'd say, David, you must have done something. But that's not the case. Like his greater son to come, David was persecuted without cause.

And so God goes out of his way to even show his favor to David in the midst of these trials. That's what's going on in verses 20 to 24.

Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing his head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came to the great well that is in Seku.

And he asked, where are Samuel and David? And one said, behold, they are at naioth in Ramah. And he went there to naioth in Ramah. And the spirit of God came upon him also. And as he went, he prophesied until he came to naioth in Rahab.

And he too stripped off his clothes and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, is Saul also among the prophets?

Here the Holy Spirit is proving to be the shelter of the most high, the shadow of the Almighty under which David dwells. When Saul sends troops of persecutors to hunt David, the spirit turns them into prophets. When Saul sends three rounds of messengers to curse David, God, the Holy Spirit, makes them bless God instead. When Saul himself comes chasing David with murder on his mind, the Spirit makes him prophesy too. Not only that but the Spirit humiliates Saul.

We see this in a few different ways. Saul, back in chapter 10 at the very beginning of his kingship, had a similar incident. He prophesied, he found a band of prophets, the Spirit comes upon him and so people say, Saul also among the prophets. It's kind of, oh wow, we didn't know this was a thing. We didn't know this could happen.

This seems like a promising sign for the beginning of his reign but now it's as if the Lord is closing that chapter. Is Saul also among the prophets? Well, when he came to try to kill David, the Holy Spirit stopped him in his tracks and turned him into one. So the Spirit is neutralizing Saul. The Spirit is freezing Saul.

The Spirit is also humiliating Saul. It's not language of nakedness that he took his clothes and lay naked. It probably does not mean literally absolutely naked, but that his normal outer clothing was all removed, all taken away. Any sort of royal robe. Any military gear, anything indicating his kingship is all gone.

Just like Jonathan willingly disrobed himself to put his princely garments on David, now it's as if the Holy Spirit is sovereignly, single-handedly removing that sign and status of kingship from Saul. And so Saul's laying there on the ground. No spear in his hand, no royal garments on, he's been neutralized. So the spirit is acting here as a kind of force field around David. Threats coming in and when they get too close, they get zapped.

The Lord is protecting David in a remarkable way. Sometimes in God's providential protection of his people, He intervenes directly, miraculously, in marvelous ways. Sometimes he stops his enemies in their tracks. But even when he doesn't, we can trust God's protection. David wrote Psalm 59 when the men came to his house.

He didn't know this would happen. He didn't know that the Holy Spirit would set up a perimeter around him. He was trusting in God when the threat was knocking on the door. In the midst of his distress, he cried out to the Lord and made the Lord his refuge. That is what you can do and should do in every trial the Lord sends you.

Right there, right now, in the midst of the trial, as your first spiritual reflex, regardless of what the outcome will be, make the Lord your refuge. Very often, God doesn't preserve us from trials, he preserves us in trials. God displayed his faithfulness to David not by keeping him out of trouble, but by keeping that trouble from sinking David's soul. When you're feeling hard pressed by trials, all sorts of new temptations crowd in. Bitterness or anger at God, envy of those who aren't suffering, growing weary and losing heart, the temptation to simply quit, or craving in and caving in to some sin as a pressure release.

How can you fight all those temptations? By fleeing to God for refuge and seek help from other believers like David did by going to Samuel. At this point, David's story makes very little sense to human reason. This is the next king, then why is God putting him through the ringer? What's going on here?

Why is he letting his enemy chase him all over Israel? Is this just random? It might have looked random. The theologian Oliver O'Donovan has written, Randomness is the is the inscrutable face which providence turns to us when we cannot trace its ways or guess its purpose. To accept that face is to accept that we cannot plan for the best as God plans for the best and that we cannot read his plans before the day he declares them.

If it feels like God is crushing you, maybe he's treating you like a freshly picked herb. He is grinding you up but gently between his fingers with just enough pressure so that the fragrance of a newly Christ-like character will come out and bless all those around you.

God leads us all through different trials, but in all of them, He's the one leading us.

If envy is the problem, what's the solution? Trust God's character, submit to his will, and wait patiently for his glorious eternal reward.

That's how David spiritually survived Saul's persecutions. He made God his refuge. He fixed his eyes on eternity's horizon. He knew that in all the evil Saul meant for him, God was working.

When through the deep waters I cause thee to go, the rivers of woe shall not thee overflow, for I will be with thee, by troubles to bless and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we praise you because you are a God who's with us in the waters and the flood.

We praise you because you're with us in the fire. We praise you because you never leave us nor forsake us. You cause all things to work together for good for us. Pray that we would trust yout to provide all we need and to satisfy us forever. In Jesus' name, Amen.