1 Samuel 23

1 Samuel 23

Morgan - 1 Sa 23:14 (Borrow Life applications from every chapter of the Bible) Thus the historian declares a great fact about the history of David. He was the object of Saul's bitter hatred, but he was perfectly safe in the keeping of God. The scores of happenings recorded in the chapter reveal the difficulty of David's position. Saul, still nominally king, was devoting all his strength to the persecution of this man, while the affairs of the kingdom were in the most hopeless confusion. While David in exile was most certainly the popular idol of the people, their fickleness was manifested in the despicable treachery of both the Keilites and the Ziphites. David, with the true spirit of patriotism, waged war against the Philistines. It is yet evident that his exile and persecution were telling upon him, and nervous fear was at work in his heart. Nevertheless, his trust in God triumphed at this time, and to Him he made his appeal in this hour of trial. In that hour of communion he learned that the Divine government would not mean that he would be free from persecution, but it did mean that he would be delivered therefrom. To be in the will of God among men who disobey that will, is inevitably to be persecuted. They will ruthlessly seek to harm and destroy. But they are powerless. God will never deliver His servants ultimately into the hands of His enemies. There came the hour when great David's greater Son was delivered up by the determinate• counsel and foreknowledge of God, but that deliverance was into the pathway that led to final victory. Many scholars believe Ps 63 was written during David’s flight from Saul 1 (A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.) O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, To see Thy power and Thy glory. 3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise Thee. 4 So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6 When I remember Thee on my bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches, 7 For Thou hast been my help, And in the shadow of Thy wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to Thee; Thy right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth. 10 They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped. EXPOSITION OF PSALM 63 SEE ALL NOTES IN Spurgeon's commentary Verse 1. O God, thou art my God; or, O God, thou art my Mighty One. The last Psalm left the echo of power ringing in the ear, and it is here remembered. Strong affiance bids the fugitive poet confess his allegiance to the only living God; and firm faith enables him to claim him as his own. He has no doubts about his possession of his God; and why should other believers have any? The straightforward, clear language of this opening sentence would be far more becoming in Christians than the timorous and doubtful expressions so usual among professors. How sweet is such language! Is there any other word comparable to it for delights? Meus Deus. Can angels say more? Early will I seek thee. Possession breeds desire. Full assurance is no hindrance to diligence, but is the mainspring of it. How can I seek another man's God? but it is with ardent desire that I seek after him whom I know to be my own. Observe the eagerness implied in the time mentioned; he will not wait for noon or the cool eventide; he is up at cockcrowing to meet his God. Communion with God is so sweet that the chill of the morning is forgotten, and the luxury of the couch is despised. The morning is the time for dew and freshness, and the psalmist consecrates it to prayer and devout fellowship. The best of men have been betimes on their knees. The word early has not only the sense of early in the morning, but that of eagerness, immediateness. He who truly longs for God longs for him now. Holy desires are among the most powerful influences that stir our inner nature; hence the next sentence, My soul thirsteth for thee. Thirst is an insatiable longing after that which is one of the most essential supports of life; there is no reasoning with it, no forgetting it, no despising it, no overcoming it by stoical indifference. Thirst will be heard; the whole man must yield to its power; even thus is it with that divine desire which the grace of God creates in regenerate men; only God himself can satisfy the craving of a soul really aroused by the Holy Spirit. My flesh longeth for thee; by the two words soul and flesh, he denotes the whole of his being. The flesh, in the New Testament sense of it, never longs after the Lord, but rather it lusteth against the spirit; David only refers to that sympathy which is sometimes created in our bodily frame by vehement emotions of the soul. Our corporeal nature usually tugs in the other direction, but the spirit when ardent can compel it to throw in what power it has upon the other side. When the wilderness caused David weariness, discomfort, and thirst, his flesh cried out in unison with the desire of his soul. In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. A weary place and a weary heart make the presence of God the more desirable: if there be nothing below and nothing within to cheer, it is a thousand mercies that we may look up and find all we need. How frequently have believers traversed in their experience this dry and thirsty land, where spiritual joys are things forgotten! and how truly can they testify that the only true necessity of that country is the near presence of their God! The absence of outward comforts can be borne with serenity when we walk with God; and the most lavish multiplication of them avails not when he withdraws. Only after God, therefore, let us pant. Let all desires be gathered into one. Seeking first the kingdom of God—all else shall be added unto us. Verse 2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. He longed not so much to see the sanctuary as to see his God; he looked through the veil of ceremonies to the invisible One. Often had his heart been gladdened by communion with God in the outward ordinances, and for this great blessing he sighs again; as well he might, for it is the weightiest of all earth's sorrows for a Christian man to lose the conscious presence of his covenant God. He remembers and mentions the two attributes which had most impressed themselves upon his mind when he had been rapt in adoration in the holy place; upon these his mind had dwelt in the preceding Psalm, and the savour of that contemplation is evidently upon his heart when in the wilderness: these he desires to behold again in the place of his banishment. It is a precious thought that the divine power and glory are not confined in their manifestation to any places or localities; they are to be heard above the roaring of the sea, seen amid the glare of the tempest, felt in the forest and the prairie, and enjoyed wherever there is a heart that longs and thirsts to behold them. Our misery is that we thirst so little for these sublime things, and so much for the mocking trifles of time and sense. We are in very truth always in a weary land, for this is not our rest; and it is marvellous that believers do not more continuously thirst after their portion far beyond the river where they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; but shall see the face of their God, and his name shall be in their foreheads. David did not thirst for water or any earthly thing, but only for spiritual manifestations. The sight of God was enough for him, but nothing short of that would content him. How great a friend is he, the very sight of whom is consolation. Oh, my soul, imitate the psalmist, and let all thy desires ascend towards the highest good; longing here to see God, and having no higher joy even for eternity. Verse 3. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life. A reason for that which went before, as well as for that which follows. Life is dear, but God's love is dearer. To dwell with God is better than life at its best; life at ease, in a palace, in health, in honour, in wealth, in pleasure; yea, a thousand lives are not equal to the eternal life which abides in Jehovah's smile. In him we truly live, and move, and have our being; the withdrawal of the light of his countenance is as the shadow of death to us: hence we cannot but long after the Lord's gracious appearing. Life is to many men a doubtful good: lovingkindness is an unquestioned boon: life is but transient, mercy is everlasting: life is shared in by the lowest animals, but the lovingkindness of the Lord is the peculiar portion of the chosen. My lips shall praise thee. Openly, so that thy glory shall be made known, I will tell of thy goodness. Even when our heart is rather desiring than enjoying we should still continue to magnify the Most High, for his love is truly precious; even if we do not personally, for the time being, happen to be rejoicing in it. We ought not to make our praises of God to depend upon our own personal reception of benefits; this would be mere selfishness; even publicans and sinners have a good word for those whose hands are enriching them with gifts; it is the true believer only who will bless the Lord when he takes away his gifts or hides his face. Verse 4. Thus will I bless thee while I live. As I now bless thee so will I ever do; or rather, so as thou shalt reveal thy lovingkindness to me, I will in return continue to extol thee. While we live we will love. If we see no cause to rejoice in our estate, we shall always have reason for rejoicing in the Lord. If none others bless God, yet his people will; his very nature, as being the infinitely good God, is a sufficient argument for our praising him as long as we exist. I will lift up my hands in thy name. For worship the hands were uplifted, as also in joy, in thanksgiving, in labour, in confidence; in all these senses we would lift up our hands in Jehovah's name alone. No hands need hang down when God draws near in love. The name of Jesus has often made lame men leap as a hart, and it has made sad men clap their hands for joy. Verse 5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. Though unable to feast on the sacrifice at thine altar, my soul shall even here be filled with spiritual joys, and shall possess a complete, a double contentment. There is in the love of God a richness, a sumptuousness, a fulness of soul filling joy, comparable to the richest food with which the body can be nourished. The Hebrews were more fond of fat than we are, and their highest idea of festive provision is embodied in the two words, marrow and fatness: a soul hopeful in God and full of his favour is thus represented as feeding upon the best of the best, the dainties of a royal banquet. And my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. More joy, more praise. When the mouth is full of mercy, is should also be full of thanksgiving. When God gives us the marrow of his love, we must present to him the marrow of our hearts. Vocal praise should be rendered to God as well as mental adoration; others see our mercies, let them also hear our thanks. Verse 6. When I remember thee upon my bed. Lying awake, the good man betook himself to meditation, and then began to sing. He had a feast in the night, and a song in the night. He turned his bedchamber into an oratory, he consecrated his pillow, his praise anticipated the place of which it is written, "There is no night there." Perhaps the wilderness helped to keep him awake, and if so, all the ages are debtors to it for this delightful hymn. If day's cares tempt us to forget God, it is well that night's quiet should lead us to remember him. We see best in the dark if we there see God best. And meditate on thee in the night watches. Keeping up sacred worship in my heart as the priests and Levites celebrated it in the sanctuary. Perhaps David had formerly united with those "who by night stand in the house of the Lord, "and now as he could not be with them in person, he remembers the hours as they pass, and unites with the choristers in spirit, blessing Jehovah as they did. It may be, moreover, that the king heard the voices of the sentries as they relieved guard, and each time he returned with renewed solemnity to his meditations upon his God. Night is congenial, in its silence and darkness, to a soul which would forget the world, and rise into a higher sphere. Absorption in the most hallowed of all themes makes watches, which else would be weary, glide away all too rapidly; it causes the lonely and hard couch to yield the most delightful repose—repose more restful than even sleep itself. We read of beds of ivory, but beds of piety are better far. Some revel in the night, but they are not a tithe so happy as those who meditate in God. Verse 7. Because thou hast been my help. Meditation had refreshed his memory and recalled to him his past deliverances. It were well if we oftener read our own diaries, especially noting the hand of the Lord in helping us in suffering, want, labour, or dilemma. This is the grand use of memory, to furnish us with proofs of the Lord's faithfulness, and lead us onward to a growing confidence in him. Therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. The very shade of God is sweet to a believer. Under the eagle wings of Jehovah we hide from all fear, and we do this naturally and at once, because we have aforetime tried and proved both his love and his power. We are not only safe, but happy in God: we rejoice as well as repose. Verse 8. My soul followeth hard after thee, or is glued to thee. We follow close at the Lord's heels, because we are one with him. Who shall divide us from his love? If we cannot walk with him with equal footsteps, we will at least follow after with all the strength he lends us, earnestly panting to reach him and abide in his fellowship. When professors follow hard after the world, they will fall into the ditch; but none are ever too eager after communion with the Lord. Thy right hand upholdeth me. Else he would not have followed the Lord with constancy, or even have longed after him. The divine power, which has so often been dwelt upon in this and the preceding Psalms, is here mentioned as the source of man's attachment to God. How strong are we when the Lord works in us by his own right hand, and how utterly helpless if he withhold his aid! Verse 9. As David earnestly sought for God, so there were men of another order who as eagerly sought after his blood; of these he speaks: But those that seek my soul, to destroy it. At his life they aimed, at his honour, his best welfare; and this they would not merely injure but utterly ruin. The devil is a destroyer, and all his seed are greedy to do the same mischief; and as he has ruined himself by his crafty devices, so also shall they. Destroyers shall be destroyed. Those who hunt souls shall be themselves the victims. Shall go into the lower parts of the earth. Into the pits which they digged for others they shall fall themselves. The slayers shall be slain, and the grave shall cover them. The hell which they in their curse invoked for others shall shut its mouth upon them. Every blow aimed against the godly will recoil on the persecutor; he who smites a believer drives a nail in his own coffin. Verse 10. They shall fall by the sword. So David's enemies did. They that take the sword shall perish with the sword; bloody men shall feel their own life gushing forth from them, when their evil day shall at last come, and they shall be given up to feel in their own persons the horrors of death. They shall be a portion for foxes. Too mean to be fit food for the lions, the foxes shall sniff around their corpses, and the jackals shall hold carnival over their carcases. Unburied and unhonoured they shall be meat for the dogs of war. Frequently have malicious men met with a fate so dire as to be evidently the award of retributive justice. Although the great assize is reserved for another world, yet even here, at the common sessions of providence, justice often bares her avenging sword in the eyes of all the people. Verse 11. But the king shall rejoice in God. Usurpers shall fade, but he shall flourish; and his prosperity shall be publicly acknowledged as the gift of God. The Lord's anointed shall not fail to offer his joyful thanksgiving: his well established throne shall own the superior lordship of the King of kings; his rejoicing shall be alone in God. When his subjects sing, "Io triumphe, "he will bid them chant, "Te Deum." Every one that sweareth by him shall glory. His faithful followers shall have occasion for triumph; they shall never need to blush for the oath of their allegiance. Or, "swearing by him, "may signify adherence to God, and worship paid to him. The heathen swore by their gods, and the Israelite called Jehovah to witness to his asseveration; those, therefore, who owned the Lord as their God should have reason to glory when he proved himself the defender of the king's righteous cause, and the destroyer of traitors. But the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. And the sooner the better. If shame will not do it, nor fear, nor reason, then let them be stopped with the sexton's shovelful of earth; for a liar is a human devil, he is the curse of men, and accursed of God, who has comprehensively said, "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." See the difference between the mouth that praises God, and the mouth that forges lies: the first shall never be stopped, but shall sing on for ever; the second shall be made speechless at the bar of God. O Lord, we seek thee and thy truth; deliver us from all malice and slander, and reveal to us thine own self, for Jesus' sake. Amen. PARALLEL PASSAGES RELATED TO DAVID'S TIME IN THE STRONGHOLD From the Gadites ("an invader: a troop: fortune") there came over to David in the stronghold (metsad) in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains. 9 Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third, 10Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth, 11 Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh, 12 Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 13 Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh. 14 These of the sons of Gad were captains of the army; he who was least was equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand. 15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west. 16 Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. 17 David went out to meet them, and said to them, “If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide.” 18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said, “We are yours, O David, And with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to him who helps you; Indeed, your God helps you!” Then David received them and made them captains of the band. NOTES: Gadites - The portion allotted to the tribe of Gad was on the east of Jordan, and comprehended the half of Gilead, a region of great beauty and fertility (Deut. 3:12), bounded on the east by the Arabian desert, on the west by the Jordan (Josh 13:27), and on the north by the river Jabbok. It thus included the whole of the Jordan valley as far north as to the Sea of Galilee, where it narrowed almost to a point. This tribe was fierce and warlike; they were "strong men of might, men of war for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, their faces the faces of lions, and like roes upon the mountains for swiftness" (1Ch 12:8; 5:19-22). Barzillai (2Sa 17:27) and Elijah (1Ki 17:1) were of this tribe. It was carried into captivity at the same time as the other tribes of the northern kingdom by Tiglath-pileser (1Ch 5:26), and in the time of Jeremiah (49:1) their cities were inhabited by the Ammonites. 1 Samuel 23:15 Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. BGT 1 Samuel 23:15 καὶ εἶδεν Δαυιδ ὅτι ἐξέρχεται Σαουλ τοῦ ζητεῖν τὸν Δαυιδ καὶ Δαυιδ ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ αὐχμώδει ἐν τῇ Καινῇ Ζιφ LXE 1 Samuel 23:15 And David perceived that Saul went forth to seek David; and David was in the dry mountain in the New Ziph. KJV 1 Samuel 23:15 And David saw that Saul was come out to seek his life: and David was in the wilderness of Ziph in a wood. NET 1 Samuel 23:15 David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph. CSB 1 Samuel 23:15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in Horesh when he saw that Saul had come out to take his life. ESV 1 Samuel 23:15 David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. NIV 1 Samuel 23:15 While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life. NLT 1 Samuel 23:15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. NRS 1 Samuel 23:15 David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life. NJB 1 Samuel 23:15 David was aware that Saul had mounted an expedition to take his life. David was then at Horesh in the desert of Ziph. NAB 1 Samuel 23:15 David was apprehensive because Saul had come out to seek his life; but while he was at Horesh in the barrens near Ziph, YLT 1 Samuel 23:15 And David seeth that Saul hath come out to seek his life, and David is in the wilderness of Ziph, in a forest. GWN 1 Samuel 23:15 David was afraid because Saul had come to kill him at Horesh in the desert of Ziph. 1 Samuel 23 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries DAVID REALIZES LIFE IN DANGER IN WILDERNESS OF ZIPH Now David became aware that Saul had come out to seek his life while David was in the wilderness (midbār; Lxx = eremos) of Ziph at Horesh - See map #11 for location of Ziph. NIV = "he learned that Saul had come out to take his life." How would this make you feel if you knew someone was on their way to kill you? Fearful. Discouraged. And a host of other emotions. And God knew how David felt which is why He sends Jonathan (1Sa 23:16). 1 Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God. BGT 1 Samuel 23:16 καὶ ἀνέστη Ιωναθαν υἱὸς Σαουλ καὶ ἐπορεύθη πρὸς Δαυιδ εἰς Καινὴν καὶ ἐκραταίωσεν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ ἐν κυρίῳ LXE 1 Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan son of Saul rose, and went to David to Caene, and strengthened his hands in the Lord. KJV 1 Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. NET 1 Samuel 23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him through God. CSB 1 Samuel 23:16 Then Saul's son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and encouraged him in his faith in God, ESV 1 Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. NIV 1 Samuel 23:16 And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. NLT 1 Samuel 23:16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. NRS 1 Samuel 23:16 Saul's son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through the LORD. NJB 1 Samuel 23:16 Jonathan son of Saul set off and went to David at Horesh and encouraged him in the name of God. NAB 1 Samuel 23:16 Saul's son, Jonathan, came down there to David and strengthened his resolve in the LORD. YLT 1 Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan son of Saul riseth, and goeth unto David to the forest, and strengtheneth his hand in God, GWN 1 Samuel 23:16 Saul's son Jonathan came to David at Horesh. He strengthened David's faith in the LORD. encouraged (strengthened): De 3:28 Ne 2:18 Job 4:3,4 16:5 Pr 27:9,17 Ec 4:9-12 Isa 35:3,4 Eze 13:22 Lu 22:32,43 Eph 6:10 2Ti 2:1 Heb 12:12,13 1 Samuel 23 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. Dore Woodcut - Jonathan and David JONATHAN ENCOURAGES DAVID IN THE LORD And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged (strengtheneth his hand in God,) him in God - In this time of intense emotional and physical crisis, the Lord once again provided for David’s needs. Jonathan was a "Pr 17:17 man," sticking close to David in his adversity. And do not miss the fact that Jonathan was risking his life to visit David! Had his father discovered this visit, he surely would not have hesitated to kill his son! And so we see that God's provision is providentially, perfectly timed, for David needed some encouraging. And God provided it in sending his kindred spirit some 28 miles from his home in Gibeah! The ways of God are so much higher than our ways! I love the NIV rendering that Jonathan "helped him find strength in God." GWN says "He strengthened David's faith in the LORD." Literally it reads "strengthened (chazaq) his hand (yad) in God." The Septuagint has "strengthened (Lxx = krataioo) his hands (cheir - hand) in the Lord." How did Jonathan strengthen David? With words in next verse, which included a reminder of God's promise that he would be king. THOUGHT - When your brother or sister needs encouragement, one of the best ways to encourage them is with the promises of God. Note I said encourage them, not preach to them! See Dr Gene Getz's thoughts on applying the friendship of Jonathan and David to our lives. Warren