Please start with me once again to 1 Samuel. We reach chapter 29 and the Lord is leading us to the end of 1 Samuel. The Lord willing, we'll be able in the next couple of Lord's Days, the Lord willing this way, Him with His help to conclude the first book of Samuel. We come to the chapter where we return to David's story. And we return to where the inspired writer left us last when we were talking, where he was narrating what was happening with David. And I truly hope you do remember the exciting moment that that story was. David found himself in the midst of a big conundrum. out of his lies, because David had developed this sinful, terrible pattern of lying his way out of problems, lying his way out of the persecution of David, that brought him to the feet of the Philistines. And the last time we saw David, if you look at the first two verses of 1 Samuel 28, he was drafted by Achish to fight his own people. Well, what is he going to do? Is he really going to be involved in the slaughtering of his own brothers and sisters? Or is the Lord going to deliver him from evil? And what we notice in 1 Samuel 29, please turn your attention to these verses, is that the Lord, Christian, the Lord, delivers us from evil. We place ourselves, because of our lack of faith, because of our sinfulness, we place ourselves in the path of evil. But He, the saving Lord, delivers us from evil, and He does so in the most unexpected ways. 1 Samuel 29, with this in mind, please turn to the reading of God's Word. Hear it with faith. Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphac, and the Israelites encamped by the fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands. But David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. Then the princes of the Philistines said, What are these Hebrews doing here? And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him, since he defected to me." But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him. So the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him. and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? Then Achish called David and said to him, Surely, as the Lord lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless, the lords do not favor you. Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." So David said to Achish, but what have I done? And to this day, what have you found in your servant, as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord, the king? The nakish answered and said to David, I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the Philistines have said, he shall not go up with us to the battle. Now therefore rise early in the morning with your master's servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart. So David and his men rose early to the park in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel." Let's write a reading of God's Word. Let us pray. Almighty God in heaven, we thank you for your inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word. We thank you, Lord, that you have reminded us and taught us that all Scripture is profitable for instruction for encouragement, for exhortation, for guidance. And therefore, Lord, we pray that as we reach this evening, 1 Samuel 29, that you would continue, Lord, to instruct, to guide, to exhort, and to comfort your people through your word. Father, help us to see the Lord Jesus in these verses again. Strengthen our souls and our faith in him, and help us, Lord, this evening to be tremendously encouraged that you are our Lord, the only true God, the one who delivers his people from evil. In Jesus' name, Lord, we pray. Amen. Now, one of the sayings that my mom used to repeat to me back in Brazil every time I would come back from school with a different story, with a different episode that had happened to me when I was young was this, and I'm paraphrasing into English because I really couldn't find a nice match in the English language for the Portuguese saying, but basically it goes like this. If you gather yourself with pigs, you end up in the pigstay. If you gather together with pigs, you end up in the pigstay. I heard that saying so many times. And the principle is really basic, isn't it? The principle is, if you do not separate yourself from those which will corrupt you, from those which will be a bad influence upon you, then you will be led into evil with them. You see, that's exactly where David placed himself, isn't it? David placed himself with the pigs. David placed himself all the way and for years, according to Achish, right? He has been with Achish for years, as we read in verse 3. And here he is in this big conundrum. He was drafted to fight his own people. He was drafted by Achish, whom he has been calling Lord, who he has been deceiving and destroying. As you do remember, back in chapter 27, he would go to the southern border, verse 10 of chapter 27, and he would fight the Jeremelites, the Canaanites, and the old people of the land, but then he would come back to Ashes and Achan and say, well, I was fighting those who are your natural enemies, those who are in the border of Israel. He would be deceiving Achish to the point that now, as Achish reported to the Lord of the Philistines, this is my faithful servant. He deceived Achish to the point that Achish, remember verse 2 of chapter 28, make him his chief guardian forever. David got involved with the pigs, and now he's in the pigstay. Now he's in the trajectory of evil. He has been sinning against the Lord, and now is he going to sin even more grievously? Well, as we have already noticed in these 11 verses, the Lord is so merciful. The Lord is so merciful with His people that even when they place themselves in awful situations, even when they place themselves inside the pigsty, The Lord in His mercy and compassion relieves them from evil, delivers them from evil. And this is really the lesson we learned tonight as we covered these verses, isn't it? A great encouragement for the people of God tonight. We learned that Yahweh manifests His grace towards us through separation and deliverance. Christian, let us be reminded of these two great principles of the Christian faith. Separation and deliverance are the ways in which the grace of God is manifested towards His people. We notice first of all in verses 1-5 this principle of separation. We taste Yahweh's grace through separation from our enemies. Even our enemies know we shouldn't be there. Even our enemies know that there is no communion between those who are in darkness and those who belong to Yahweh. We taste Yahweh's grace through separation from our enemies. Secondly, we also notice that we taste Yahweh's grace when He delivers us. from our own sin. We taste Yahweh's grace when He delivers us from our sins. Yahweh manifests His grace towards us through separation and deliverance. So as we look at the first section of this chapter, verses 1-5, again, the story is continuing, isn't it? And what we notice is that David is rejected. David is rejected, and I couldn't help to, as I was reading these verses, to think about those old cartoons that would place a coyote in a hen house. and then would come a farmer and would be counting the hens, and one, two, three, and that would be a coyote pretending to be a hen, and it would be very strange for the farmer to see that coyote there, because what is he going to do there? He's going to devour all the hens. There's this strange element in the midst of all the army of the Philistines, which is the Hebrew David. The Lord of the Philistines get that. Look at verse 2 and 3. They are looking at their troops. They are passing by the troops and making sure that everybody's ready for the war that is going to begin. The Israelites are in Jizreel. The Philistines are encamped in Aphek. And who do they see in the midst of the Philistines? A Hebrew. And it's interesting that they addressed David in this way. You see, this identification as Israelite or a Hebrew takes us all the way back to Exodus, doesn't it? See, he's not simply identified as one who belongs to the nation of Israel, but he's identified as one who the Egyptians were slaughtered by. The Hebrews, or the nation, the race of the Hebrews, were that which were delivered from the Egyptians and brought great, massive slaughter upon them. And verse 3, the princes are just astounded that they find this strange element, this strange bunch in the midst of all the Philistines. Now, Achish tries to debate the situation. He tries to advocate the case of David, as you clearly see in verse 3. Notice how he does not do a good service. He really doesn't do a good job. He begins his description of David as the servant of Saul, the king of Israel. Well, for a Philistine, that's not really a very good introduction, is it? If you're a Philistine, the sores of the battles caused by David, beginning with the slaughtering of Goliath to all the defeats that David was involved in against the Philistines, that sore would be pretty much open. And the words of Achish probably just make it even more open when he reminded the princes where David comes from. It doesn't matter that he defected for him. This is still the servant of Saul, the king of Israel. You see, the princes of the Philistines, they know that there can be no gathering, no mixture between one who has been used by the Lord to defeat themselves, to destroy them and themselves. They are enemies. There can be no communion between them. And they bring up two very logical arguments. Look at verse 4 and 5. The first one is an argument from common sense. Well, as we go to battle, as they see other Israelites, as they see other Hebrews, He will become our adversary. It's obvious. But there is a second, even more urgent reason He's not only simply going to become our adversary, this battle is going to become his way back into the Israelite camp because he will behead all these men. The second argument is an argument from strategy. His reconciliation back to his king from where he came from will begin with us. He will destroy us. Isn't this? And look how the wounds of past battles are so great that even the Philistines know the song that the Israelites sing about David. Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Even the Philistines knows the song. Well, they know the song because they have suffered tremendously As those who abide in darkness, they have been the target of God's judgment through the hands of David. Even the Philistines know that there is no communion between them and a Hebrew. Even the Philistines know that David has been separated. And we know, Christians, that that's the grace of God in the life of David. Do you understand this evening, this simple basic principle, the principle of separation? Young ladies and lads, do you understand this principle this evening? This is so important for you. Because like David, perhaps you sit here tonight and you think that maybe there could be some sort of union, some sort of friendship. Maybe there is some sort of connection with those who are outside of the fold of Christ. Those who do not belong to the kingdom of God, those who do not profess faith in Christ like the Philistines. And in your mind you're saying, well, but they're not that bad, are they? You see, since Genesis 3.15, the Lord has been declaring to you and to me with open mouth that there is no communion between those who are in light and those who are in darkness, those who belong to the serpent and those who belong to the seed. Please start with me briefly to Genesis 3.15. Let us be reminded of them. We know that Genesis 3.15 is about the Savior to come, but it's also about the people of the Savior to come. You see, in Genesis 3.15, this principle of separation is established from the beginning of history after the fall. And this is what we read, I will put enmity, animosity, separation between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. You see, the separation is so clear and it's so foolish to think that that can be any sort of union between those who are in the light of Christ and those who are in the darkness of Satan and hell. David, in some sort of way, placed himself in that position in the midst of those who were perishing. But even they knew his place is not here. His place is not with us. There can be no communion between them and us. There is a war going. You see, this principle of separation is also proclaimed to us through the sacraments, isn't it? Think of circumcision, for example. Wasn't that a sign of separation from all other nations to the Lord? Think about baptism. Your baptism, young lady, your baptism, young man, is your sign of separation from this world. It's your sign that the Lord has given you that you belong to Christ, that you belong to His church, that you are separated from that which is outside of the kingdom, and that you are to seek communion and life in the kingdom. And yet we insist in seeking counsel, best friendship, conversations with those who are outside of the Kingdom of God. Instead of remaining with the Hebrews, we go to the Philistines. And the Lord calls us to repentance tonight, doesn't He? He reminds us there can be no communion. Now, let me just be more specific about this, there can be no communion. This doesn't mean that we cannot talk with those who are unbelievers. This does not mean that we cannot have interactions or even so business transactions, but we are not to place ourselves in a position that they may exercise authority over us. You see, this principle of separation is carried into the New Testament. Please turn with me to 2 Corinthians 6, and I'm sure you remember this very simple, clear principle that the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, communicated to us in chapter 6. In 2 Corinthians 6, verse 14, he says, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Do you see the stark contrast? It is so terrible when people think that we can get in some sort of relationship with those who are outside of the kingdom of God, and all of a sudden they dominate your thought, they dominate your actions, and they put a yoke, a devilish, hellish yoke upon your shoulders and lead you, instead of going to the path of righteousness, into the path of wickedness. That's what's happening with David. But this principle of separation is so clearly established. I know sometimes, especially those who are in young age, are tempted to flatter with the ideal of relationship with unbelievers. May you be warned tonight that the Lord has separated you for Him, not to be involved with Philistines. but to be involved with the people of God. Be warned tonight that association with unbelievers in such a way that will place a yoke on your shoulder will lead you away from the path of Christ and will take you into battle with the kingdom of God, just the same way David was in that position. Let us be warned tonight. You want to know why? The Apostle Paul explains to us, still in 2 Corinthians, look at the text. He says, for what fellowship, do you see the essence of the problem? What fellowship, what communion can be between righteousness and lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? And what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And he continues on and on, basing himself on the same principle. Many of you are close to come to the time when you will apply for different colleges and universities. Some of you sit here tonight and are on the time when you're looking for relationships. And many of you are here in the age when you are surrounded in your workplace by those who do not profess faith in Christ and the Word of God is raising an alarm to you tonight. Beware. of relationship with unbelievers, beware that it will not be a yoke upon you. Remember separation. Remember your baptism. Remember the visible expressions that you belong to Christ. Remember the war. Remember the conflict that there is between those who are the seed of the serpent and those who are the seed of the woman, who belongs to the woman and her seed. Remember this morning. Remember for which purpose you were separated for. Remember the purpose for which you were separated for. Don't you remember? You see how this principle of separation impregnates the Word of God, that we find it also in 1 Peter 2. Please, start with me briefly there. In 1 Peter 2, you will notice that the apostle describing the church, he precisely articulates this ideal of separation, but reminding us what this separation is for. In verse 9 he says, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. Now listen to this. His own special people. That's who you are. Because Christ has died for your sins. Because you have been chosen before the foundation of the world. If you are in Christ tonight and you profess faith in Him and you have come to Him, you were drawn to Him in faith and repentance, the Lord reminds you, you are this special people. Now look at the purpose of your separation, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Your purpose is to proclaim the praises of God's mercy and grace. That's your separation. That's the reason why you're separated. Oh, are you delighting in your separation this evening? Are you treasuring it? Or are you wavering it? Notice where negotiating separation took David. It's almost like he thought he could maneuver things with his lies and deceit until it came a moment when he was against the wall. You're going to fight against your own people tonight. David neglected the principle of separation so that we would be warned tonight not to neglect it in our own lives. But look into Christ, Christian, the one who separated us to himself. and the one who separated us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in us, the one who separated us to proclaim the praises of His glory in Him and through Him, we will remain separated for His glory, for His honor, and for our joy and delight. We taste Yahweh's grace through separation. But what happens when we really fail into applying this principle of separation? Is the Lord going to simply abandon us? Well, as we read in verses 6 through 11, we are encouraged in being reminded that we also taste of God's grace through deliverance from our own sin. We may place ourselves in the path of sin. But the Lord, in His grace and mercy towards us, comes in the most unexpected manner. and deliver us from sin. We learn in verses 6-11 that Achish now goes to David to deliver the sad news. And we notice that Achish even begins to speak with a Hebrew language, a Hebrew expression. Notice, he says, as the Lord lives, he even calls on the name of Jehovah, the name of Yahweh. And that's another breaking of the third commandment, isn't it? This is a misusing of the name of the Lord. when we do not use it in true faith. Akish is no believer. Akish is a pagan Philistine, but he's invoking the name of the Lord to sympathize, to connect with David, not out of faith in Yahweh. Yahweh is David's God, but not Akish's God. But notice that Achish is full of praise to David. You are an angel of God, he says, coming to me in verse 9. And yet the lords do not want you to go up with me. The Philistines rulers don't want your company. Now verse 8 is quite puzzling, isn't it? Because I would suggest that if we were in the very same situation, we would be in our hearts praising the Lord. Praise God. We would be silent, we would receive the news, and off we go. I do not need to be involved in any sinful action against the Lord and against God's holy people. But it's puzzling because David again uses deception, isn't it? David responds to Achish instead of expressing any sort of delight. And I truly believe that in his heart of hearts, David is rejoicing, but he expresses, and it seems to me that he continues here with his deception, which he began in chapter 27. He says, look, I have been faithfully serving you all this time, all these days. You are my Lord, the King. And what did I do to displease you? It really seems to me that David is simply playing again with the facade. He's still playing his character as someone who is faithful to the Philistines. But ultimately, what we notice in verses 9-11 is that David is delivered. The text ends telling us that David rise up in the morning, different from Saul. Remember, he rose up at night. It's all dark for Saul. There's no hope for Saul. But for David, the text tells us, he goes back in the morning. After having a refreshing night of sleep, he departs and returns to Ziklag, to the land of the Philistines, where he has his allotted land. The Lord has delivered David. Even when David himself placed him in the path of sin. The deliverance of the Lord is towards His people, just as we have sang in Psalm 39. Deliver me from evil, O Lord. Deliver me from those who plot to hurt me. Preserve me, O Lord, and keep me. Safeguard me in Thy care. And that's exactly what the Lord did. Now, please don't get me any wrong here. This text is not telling us in any way, shape, or form. It's not teaching us that we shouldn't be concerned about going into the path of sin because the Lord will deliver us in any way, shape, or form. That's not what the text is teaching us at all. That would be tempting the Lord. That would be tempting with the Lord's grace and mercy towards His people. But the text is reminding us that as the people of God, as we find ourselves entrapped in sins of our own doing, that we have a delivering Lord, that we are not to despair. That if there we are right at that moment in the path of sin, and then we snap out of our own sin, we snap out of it, and we cling to repentance, we have a delivering Lord who is ready to come and save His people. That's what He promises in Psalm 118. Please turn with me to Psalm 118. See, we see this pattern of the Lord. In saving His people from their own doing, from their own doing doom, in Psalm 119, we read verse 16, He says, The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Now look at verse 18. The Lord has chastened me severely. but He has not given me over to death." Oh, praise it be the Lord. For He chastens us, He disciplines us, but He does not deliver us unto death. Psalm 119 confirms the experience of David in 1 Samuel 29, chastened but delivered. The Lord relieves us in our distress. That's exactly what the psalmist continues to sing about in verse 5 of Psalm 118. I called on the Lord in distress, and the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me?" You see, as those who have sons and daughters or those who have family members who are nodding the Lord, we frequently worry about them, don't we? We are concerned with the paths that they are trailing, with the direction and trajectory of their lives. You see, 1 Samuel 29 reminds us that in the hands of the sovereign Lord who has called sinners to Himself, all those appointed by the Lord to be His will come in His appointed time. Mom, Dad, you may trust in the Lord. You may rest in the Lord this evening. Perhaps you sit here tonight and you are concerned, deeply concerned with the trajectory of your son or your daughter. The Lord reassures you tonight that if he is one or she is one of those whom the Lord has elected and predestined and appointed unto salvation, the Lord will take care of them. And even through the different circumstances and dangers and perils and even snares that they place themselves into, the Lord will turn that into their own good. Now, where did we hear that before? Romans 8, verse 28. Please turn there with me. In Romans 8, verse 28, we have this beautiful principle, which is the ground of Lord's day nine, isn't it? that the Lord will avert all evil to our good. That's His promise. And in Him we may rest and rely, never tempting Him, never challenging the Lord. But when we find ourselves or those whom we love in terrible, terrifying circumstances, let us trust in the Lord. Romans 8, 28, we are reminded. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. to those who are called according to His purpose. Notice that the promise is not to everyone. The promise is for those who are called by the Lord. The promise is for those who love the Lord. That's why Lord's Day 9 reminds us why we can call the Lord our Father. You see, what do you believe when you say in Lord's Day 9, question 26, I believe in God the Father Almighty. Where we are believing, we are confessing and saying that this eternal Father is my Father. That the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is my Father. That's my faith that He has given me and that out of nothing created heaven and earth. And He sustains and upholds everything and rules them by His eternal counsel and providence. Now here's the application. I trust Him so much. that I do not doubt He will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and He will turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this sad world. Let us be encouraged tonight by the Heavenly Father that has adopted us, that even when we find ourselves because of our own foolishness in the pig's day, He does not leave us nor forsake us. If we are His children, He will come to us. Perhaps you sit here tonight and you are precisely in that place. Nobody knows, but you know you are in the big stay. And the Lord is proclaiming that to you tonight, that you are in the path of doom, in the path of battle against Him. The Lord is calling you to repentance tonight and reminding you that as a child of God, you must turn to Him in faith, in repentance, confessing your sin, and He will deliver you from evil. That's in fact the second application from this text, isn't it? We notice here in this text what we learn from the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10. In 1 Corinthians 10, the Apostle Paul reminds us that there is escape for the believer when he founds himself in the midst of trials and temptations. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13, the apostle says, No temptation has overtaken you except such as in common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Do you see the way of escape for David? Now, this is what is fascinating about the David situation. The way of escape came through the Philistines themselves. Please, once again, we're not to count on that. David's experience does not necessarily mean that it's going to be our experience. But David's God is the same Lord that we worship and glorify tonight together as God's people. We praise the same Yahweh who revealed Himself in the blessed person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, this text reminds us that the Lord gives us escape. It doesn't matter where the pigsty that you are, the Lord will grant you escape. If you are a child of God, the escape is right there for you. That's the promise of God's Word. Perhaps you're saying, where is the escape? Well, let me give you some examples. What about the escape of the Word? That's the escape that we neglect so often, isn't it? The escape of the Word of God, where all wisdom abide, where all instruction that I need to live piously and godly lives are found. What about the escape of the church, of your brothers and sisters? of your fathers and mothers who gather together here in this congregation, those whom the Lord has appointed, even this morning we were reminded that the Lord has placed officers in this church to be an escape to us. When sin creeps in, when temptation assaults us, there is an escape that the Lord gives us and the church is one of them. It's the group of God's people, His fellow soldiers in combat to whom we can come and ask, help me! Come to me! Sustain me! Lift up my hands, for I am about to falter. But most important, what about the escape of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us? The spirit of truth and consolation and comfort. that gives us wisdom and entice us to mortify sin and to live for God's glory. And that must be pursued. We are to cultivate His presence as we seek Him in prayer and as we seek His wisdom through the Word, as He speaks to us through the Word, the Holy Spirit who abides in us. Isn't He the mainscape? that this great God has given us. Let us therefore be comforted tonight and encouraged to pursue the escape that the Lord gives us even when we find ourselves, even if we find ourselves advanced in the pig's way, even sometimes into the pig's day. Yahweh manifests His grace, Christian, through separation and deliverance. Let us be reminded of that tonight. We are a separated people to praise His glory. We are a delivered people to live for God's glory. And even if we find ourselves in dire straits, He doesn't leave us or forsake us. He delivers us from evil. Let us pray. Almighty God in heaven, we thank you for reminding us together of your abiding, protective, caring presence towards us. Father, I pray for my young brothers and sisters sitting here tonight who are particularly and especially tempted into this terrifying and life-destructing area of fellowship with unbelievers. who are tempted so easily to place themselves into an equal yoke, sometimes in their relationships, sometimes in their workplace, sometimes in their school place. Lord, I pray that you would deliver them from evil and that you would make them, O Lord, alert to the separation for which you have separated them. But Father, we also pray for those who are in the snare of temptations. May they be reminded tonight that you provide escape for your people. That you are not, O Lord, the one who leaves us or forsake us. On the contrary, you promise that you will never leave nor forsake your people. Therefore, Lord, may you encourage those who perhaps are into some snare to cling to you in confession of sin, repentance and faith. May they seek, O Lord, the escapes you have appointed to your people, your word, your church, your Holy Spirit. And may they, O Lord, abandon the path of pigs and be in the path of righteousness. with the Lord Jesus Christ, the path for which they have been freed unto. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray.