Well as the 16th chapter of the book of 1st Samuel opens we find that Samuel is grieving over Saul who has been rejected as king over Israel. Samuel's efforts, his warnings, his exhortations to Israel seemed to all have come to nothing. He had warned them that their choice was not a good choice. that they, in demanding a king like the nations around them, were rejecting the Lord as their king. He had warned them that their desire was not a good desire and to be like the nations around them was not a great aspiration to have. He has sought to guide them, even after having anointed Saul as their king, to a renewal of the kingdom of God. had exhorted the people of Israel and he had exhorted Saul as their king to be mindful that it was God whom they all served and to God they must give an answer for the way that they lived and behaved. And he called upon them to remember the Lord, to honour the Lord, to give priority to the glory of God in their midst. But Saul has led the people away from the Lord. He has led them according to his own wisdom and his own understanding. He has not honoured God or glorified God in all his ways. but he has become a man who is self-serving and seeks his own honour and his own glory. and so because Saul has rejected the Lord, the Lord has rejected him and yet Samuel is sad. Samuel grieves over this state of affairs and while it is right and appropriate to some degree for Samuel to be sad that Israel is in such a bad state that its king is leading them astray, and they are not honoring and glorifying their God. While it is appropriate that Samuel should be sad over such a state of affairs, it seems that Samuel's grief is not appropriately focused at this time. The Lord comes to him and says, how long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? It seems that Samuel is almost clinging to some vain hope that Saul will yet mend his ways, that he will yet turn around. that he will yet seek after God. But Samuel instead should be consulting the Lord, I think. And that is the thrust of this question that comes from God. I have rejected him from being king over Israel, so why are you grieving over him? You should be coming to me. You should be asking me now. Now, what's the next step? Where do we go from here? The Lord is King, you see. He is the Great King. He is the Great Sovereign over Israel. And Samuel's cry should be for guidance. Now, which direction do we go in? Now what am I to do? But Samuel's not asking that question. He's not seeking the Lord's guidance. And the Lord comes to him then and gives him direction. He points him in the way that he should go. Fill your horn with oil and go. There's another anointing that needs to take place, another servant to be commissioned, another king to be made for Israel. And so, The word of the Lord comes to Samuel and he says to him, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite for I have provided for myself a king among his sons. I have provided for myself a king. This is the word of God to Samuel. I have provided for myself a king. You see, the Lord is still sovereign. The Lord is still in control. He is still at work in the nation of Israel. He has rejected Saul as king over his people, but he has not rejected his people. He has not turned his back on his people. He hasn't relinquished control and authority and sovereignty over his people. He is still their god and he is still their king. He still superintends the affairs of this nation that hardly knows him and seems unconcerned that he should smile upon them or frown upon them unless they feel the smart of his rod. Only then do they cry out to him for mercy. Only then do they remember that their allegiance should be to him, that they should be serving him. They have made their choice. They wanted a king like the nations and their choice has been rejected. But they have not been rejected by their God. And now is a time for a new beginning for Israel. Now is the time in place of the people's choice for God's choice. And God has been at work. God has provided for himself a king for Israel and this is a man who has a heart that is in tune with God's heart. He has already proclaimed in rejecting Saul as king in chapter 13 and verse 14 that he is going to provide a man after his own heart. And here he reminds Samuel, I have provided. This is a time when the Lord acts. And the Lord comes to his people and he shows the abundance of his mercy and the vastness of his grace towards his people. He doesn't leave them in their predicament. He doesn't leave them in their situation, in their calamity. under the leadership of a king who doesn't acknowledge him and no longer has his favour and his blessing upon him. This is a time for another man to be raised up, another king to lead the people. I have provided. And this is such an important lesson for us to learn. We need the Lord's provision. In our own lives we need the Lord's provision. Our own choices too often are not in tune with God's will. Our own choices too often are for things that this world values, for things that this world counts precious, for things that this world counts worthwhile and worthy of our love and our allegiance. and our service and so we need the Lord to provide for us, we need the Lord to instruct us, we need the Lord to guide us and principally we need the Lord to come to us and to save us. to save us from our choices, to save us from our sinful allegiances, to save us from the mess that we get ourselves into. Israel was in such a mess now with Saul as their king, a rejected Saul, a God-rejected Saul. the nation was on the road to calamity. They have been rescued to some degree by Saul in his warfare against the nations around them. But he will not lead them to God. He will not lead them in the ways of God. He will not lead them as the people of God. And so while he yet reigns in Israel, and while he will yet serve Israel as a warrior king who extends the borders of the territory of their inheritance, he is not a king who will lead them to God, to glorify God, to honour and serve God. And into this mess that Israel has created for itself by its demand for a king like the nations around them, nations who do not serve God and do not honour God. Into this mess God speaks, I have provided for myself a king over Israel. and into the mess of our lives, into the mess of this world. God sent his own son to be king. He sent his own son whom he would raise up as king over this world. He sent his own son into the battle, into the fray, into the mess of this world to redeem those who had been taken into captivity, those whose, whose hearts had wandered away from him, and who were captivated by this world and all its allurements, and served this world, rather than the God who made it. He sent his son to bring this world into a new phase, a new creation, to make it new, to restore it to its former glory, to make it even better than it was before. God has provided for himself a king to rule over this world, to rule over a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And so into Israel's mess God calls Samuel to go, go to Bethlehem, go to the house of Jesse, for from among his sons I have provided myself a king. Samuel's concerned at this request. How can he go off and anoint another king over Israel when Saul reigns upon the throne? Saul's a self-willed man. He will do his own thing. He will go his own way. He has already shown himself to be self-protective. And he has already shown that he is a man who has no concern for the honor and glory of God. And he sees his life in danger as he considered the prospect of Saul hearing him. And the Lord says to him, well, you go anyway. You go and you take a sacrifice. Such an appropriate thing to do. when you're anointing a new king. And if Saul hears of it, then you just say, well, I've gone to sacrifice to the Lord in Bethlehem. And so Samuel does what the Lord commands him. He goes to Bethlehem. He takes the sacrifice with him. And as he approaches the city, the elders of the city come out to meet him. They're concerned too. They wonder, well, what's going on here? Why is Samuel turned up? You almost wonder whether Samuel's tour through Israel was only to correct the waywardness of the people. What error was there that needed correcting in Bethlehem? Have you come in peace, they ask. Well, maybe they too were concerned, knowing about the rift that there has been between Samuel and Saul, knowing that there is No friendship lost between these two now. And if Saul knows that Samuel is there, will Saul be happy? Will their king be happy? And whatever it is that causes them concern, they come with trembling to meet Samuel. Do you come in peace? Yes, he says, I come in peace. I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. So come to the sacrifice. Join me in the sacrifice. Consecrate yourselves for the sacrifice. It's evident that no one is aware of why Samuel is here in Bethlehem. And it may be that even Jesse doesn't know. And Jesse's sons don't know why he's there and why he is to anoint one of them the anointing of a prophet the anointing from the lord would be an anointing for dedication to the lord one of jesse's sons had been chosen to be dedicated to the lord but the manner of that dedication the kind of service that it would involve seems to be something that is kept a secret at this point in the narrative. Samuel knows why he is there but perhaps he is the only one who knows why he is there. And so he goes to the house of Jesse and he prepares a sacrifice and he calls for the family to come and for the sons of Jesse to come before him that he might anoint one of them for the Lord's service. And as soon as he sees the eldest son of Jesse, Eliab, in his stature and his bearing, he immediately thinks, well, here's the Lord's anointed standing before him. He has all of the physical characteristics and the bearing of a potential king, Samuel thinks. But the Lord intervenes and the Lord says to Samuel, no, no, no, not this one. No, this isn't the one. I've rejected this one. He says to him, the Lord doesn't look, doesn't see as man sees. Not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. That's what you've done, you've looked at his stature, you've looked at his bearing, you've looked at his features and you've thought, here's a man who can lead the people. Here's a man whom the people will follow. But the Lord, the Lord looks on the heart. The Lord sees not as man sees. And this is so important for Israel. This is so important for the choice of their king, not as man sees. Because God is all-knowing, God is all-seeing, and God sees the heart. He looks into the heart. He looks into the inner being of a man. He looks at the motives of the man. He looks at the thought of the man, those hidden things that no one else can see. We watch, we observe. We try to take a measure of a man. We think we understand the motives of a man, but we can only surmise. We do not know. But the Lord knows the heart. He looks at the heart. He doesn't see as man sees. And the Lord, he has his own plan and he has his own mind about the matter. Indeed, what we need to understand in this passage is not just that the Lord is looking at the heart of Eliab, or at the heart of the Binadab, or at the heart of Shammah, or at David's heart. It's not just that he's making an assessment at this point in time, an assessment that Samuel can't make, because he cannot look into the heart. And the God is evaluating each of these men and he sees in Eliab a problem. There's a problem of pride there. This will become evident a little later on in the narrative. When he looks into the heart of Abinadab or of Shammah and he sees there problems, issues, sin issues. And then he looks into the heart of David and well, there's a man who loves him. There's a man who's ready to serve him. There's a man who is a good man, good at heart. That's not what the Lord is telling Samuel when he says that he sees not as man sees. The man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord's looks at the heart. What God is revealing to Samuel is that God has his own plans and he knows his own mind and here is not a man who is part of God's plan. He's not God's choice. He has been rejected. Elab has been rejected. Abinadab's been rejected. Shammah's been rejected. The other Four unnamed sons of Jesse have been rejected. They're not his choice. Not because of what they're like, but because God has not already been at work. The one whom God chooses is the one whom God has prepared. He's prepared him beforehand. He's been working in this young man's life and he's been getting him ready. So that David the shepherd, David the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, David who was so insignificant that he wasn't worth bringing to the sacrifice of the prophet of God. David who was so insignificant that he wasn't considered among the sons of Jesse, that he should be thought worthy of being anointed by the prophet. and devoted to the service of God. He's left there out in the field, tending the sheep. But out in the field, God has been preparing David. He's been preparing his heart with humility. He's been preparing his heart with courage. He's been preparing his heart with devotion to himself. The Lord has chosen David. Long before he sent Samuel to anoint David, the Lord had chosen David. Even as Samuel had been seeking to encourage and help, soar and direct him towards God and away from the reckless road that he was on. God had chosen David from his infancy God was, David was God's choice and God brought into his life all the influences that he would need to grow up in the knowledge of God and in the love of God and in devotion to God. When God looked into the heart of David, he saw a heart that he himself had prepared for this for this task that was before him. And so Samuel goes through the seven sons of Jesse that are before him, and none of them, none of them are God's chosen. So there's a problem here. There must be another. And Samuel asks Jesse, are all your sons here? Ah! Oh, well, there's the youngest, I've almost forgotten him. There's the youngest, he's tending the sheep. Samuel says, well, you send for him, because we're not sacrificing, we're not eating until he comes, until I've seen him. And when he comes, here comes a young man, a handsome, attractive, strong young man. You see, God's not against attractive young men. He's not against the fact that Eliab was of good appearance and a man of stature. That wasn't Eliab's problem. He was just not God's choice. And here is a handsome young man. And he is God's choice. Not because he's handsome. because God has chosen him. And God says to Samuel, arise, anoint him, for this is he, this is the one. This is the one whom I've seen. This is the one upon whom I smile. This is the one who is my choice. This is the one whom I have made ready. in fold and field I have raised him to shepherd my people Israel.' And so Samuel took the horn of oil and he anointed David in the midst of his brothers. The Lord cease not as man cease. And the Lord has surprised this world in many ways and at different times. But most of all, he has surprised this world by sending his own son from the glories of heaven, where he was worshipped by the angels at whose service command they attended without delay. And he sent his own son. from that place of glory into this world of sin. He sent his own son into this world that has been spoiled, this world that is a mess, this world that would not know him. would not recognise him, indeed would reject him. This isn't the kind of man that we want to rule over us. Those are the actions, those are the words of the people of Israel to whom he came. He came to his own people and they would not have him. We will not have this man to rule over us. But he is God's choice. this unassuming man from despised Nazareth, the carpenter's son, as he was perceived. He is God's choice and he is a perfect saviour for God's people, for the blind and the undiscerning, for the people who don't see him. don't know him, cannot perceive who he is until he causes the scales to fall from their eyes so that they can see clearly, so that they will bow before him as their king, as their lord and sovereign. God surprises the world with his own son, sending him into this world. to do the work of a conquering king, to bring the destruction of the enemy, and to raise up a kingdom in which he will reign forever and glorify the Father in heaven. And as David is anointed by Samuel, the Spirit of the Lord, we're told, rushed upon David. The Spirit of the Lord had rushed upon Saul before him. The Spirit of the Lord had rushed upon Saul and caused him to prophesy so that the people asked his soul also among the prophets. The Spirit of the Lord had rushed upon Samson before him. He had rushed upon him at the time of need so that he was able to prevail against the Philistines. The Spirit of the Lord had rushed upon these men and had equipped them and empowered them to do the work of the Lord at that time. And now the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon David to give him all the power and all the wisdom that he would need to lead Israel as their king. But there is a difference in the way that this is expressed in this passage. The Spirit of the Lord had rushed upon Saul, certainly, but now the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. This was God's gift to David. the Spirit of the Lord to guide him, to help him, to give him discernment, to enable him to make wise choices in leading the people of God to God and for God. But in the very next verse, we're also told that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. The Spirit of the Lord had come upon Saul, but not from that day forward and forever. The Spirit of the Lord now departed from Saul, was taken away from Saul. That which had rushed upon Saul did not abide with him, because Saul did not abide with the Lord. The Spirit of God withdrew from Saul and instead an evil spirit, a harmful spirit became the new influence upon his life. The narrator tells us that this harmful spirit was from the Lord and it tormented him. This is how his court attendants understood and interpreted the situation. Behold, they say a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. They understood sovereignty of God in this situation? Was it a situation like, like Job's situation, where God permitted Satan to afflict Job and in that sense, Job's calamities were from God's hand through the work of Satan? Was it like the thorn in the flesh? that God used to keep Paul humble. A messenger from Satan is the way that Paul describes him. Was it in that way that this is a harmful spirit or an evil spirit from the Lord? Well, we're not told precisely what the nature of this spirit that has come from the Lord, but it is all within the permission and the purpose of God. But the attendance of Saul in the court as one commentator points out, have an interesting reaction to this harmful spirit that they acknowledge is from God. Instead of appealing to God or encouraging Saul to appeal to God to take this spirit away from him, this harmful spirit, this spirit that was tormenting him, They say you need to appease this spirit, you need to calm this spirit, you need to settle this spirit. Find a musician, a gifted lyre player, and he will lull this spirit to sleep. And that's their advice in dealing with this harmful spirit that has come from God. But in God's providence, This harmful spirit and this advice from the court attendants are the means of bringing David into the presence of the king, into the court. The new king-in-waiting is now serving the old king. And there he is in the court of the king as he's required from time to time. He even finds favor in the eyes of the king whose heart loves him and he gives him position, a royal title, he becomes his armour bearer. And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David would take up the lyre and play with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well and the harmful spirit departed from him. Well, as the harmful spirit comes upon Saul and the Spirit of God is taken away from Saul, David has been anointed with the Spirit of God. He has been filled with the Spirit of God, who has rushed upon David from that day forward. And how he would need the Spirit of God, with all the grace of God, with all the perseverance and patience that the Spirit of God could give to him and the wisdom that he would need in his dealings with the treacherous Saul into whom he has now, into whose presence he has now come. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David and he would need him so much in the days and even the years that would follow. For without the Spirit of the Lord, no man can do anything well. It is the Spirit of the Lord who gives strength. It is the Spirit of the Lord who gives wisdom. And the Son of God, whom the Lord provided for himself as a king, whom the Lord surprised the world with in sending him to be its saviour. The Son of God received the Spirit of God without measure, as in his human nature, he bowed under the anguish and suffering of a sinful, filled world. The Spirit of God strengthened him. The Spirit of God directed him. The Spirit of God was with him. And even as the Spirit of God rushed upon David in order to equip him and strengthen him, as he was thrust into the cauldron of Saul's presence and his own rejection of God, the Son of God was blessed with the presence of the Spirit of God as he was thrust into the cauldron of this sin-filled world, as he was sent into the battlefront of conflict with evil, even on the day that he was baptised and identified with sinful humanity. And the Spirit of God came upon him from heaven The Spirit took him out into the wilderness, took him out to a confrontation with the evil one over whom he became victorious for a time and then for eternity as he continued to persevere in this world among the sinners of this world, doing the will of God, performing the works of God, in order to be a saviour to God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, then went to the cross and he bore the anguish of God's wrath there upon the cross as he took our sins upon himself. And the Spirit of the Lord bore him up. and raised him again from the dead and exalted him to the right hand of the Father in heaven. What a saviour we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God prepared to be a king for his people, whom God sent into the world to be a saviour for his people. whom God raised to his right hand to be sovereign over his people. And not only has God provided for himself an eternal king, he's provided an enduring kingdom, a chosen people. He has taken out of this world from every nation, from every tribe, from every language, from every people. They've been chosen by Him and they've been prepared by Him, by His grace. He has worked in their lives and He has sovereignly overruled in their circumstances until at last the Spirit has worked in them to give them eyes to see the glory of God and hearts that bow in repentance before Him. And the Spirit of God whom the Lord has given to them has empowered them for His service so that they are able to do all things to the glory of God. Look around you. What do you see? Think in your minds to the people who make up Crosspoint Church. Though they're not sitting beside you or in front of you or behind you today in this day of lockdown. Think about them. What do you see? Well, man looks on the outward appearance. And that's to a large degree what you see. You see me with all of my faults and failings as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a pastor. And you're right to see those things. But can you see deeper than that? As you look around you and you see Others around you, men and women, boys and girls, you see sinners. There are people who rub you up the wrong way, they irritate you. There are others whose choices and actions you question and you wonder. You look at the outward appearance, don't you? And there are some that you like, there are some that you love, there are some that you engage with and you love their company and you delight in them. But the Lord looks on the heart. The Lord looks on my sin-stained heart, on your sin-stained heart. The Lord looks on my heart, on my blood-cleansed heart. The Lord looks on my heart, on my spirit-filled heart. The Lord looks on my heart, a heart that he has caused to love him. And despite all of my failures as a man, as a husband, as a father, as a pastor, the Lord sees me in his Son with a heart renewed by his grace and a life destined for his eternal service. Do you have such a heart? A heart taken captive by God, transformed and changed by the work of his Son, renewed and sealed by his Spirit. This is the glory of our God. He overwhelms us by his choices, and surprises us in his love. To him be glory and praise, both now and forevermore. Amen. Our Father, we thank you for your love and for your mercy in Jesus Christ, our Saviour. We thank you that you do not look on the outward appearance, but you make your choice according to your sovereign will. and you prepare and you transform and you renew according to your sovereign pleasure. Be pleased even this day, even now at this moment, to work this life-transforming work in the hearts of sinners, that they may look to you and see your smile upon them not because of who they are, but because of what you have made them through Jesus Christ, your Son. Be pleased to save and to build the kingdom of your Son, adding to it sin-stained hearts that have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, filled with the Spirit of God, and now honour and love you. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.