You ever felt despondent? Even depressed in spirit and in soul? You know, those things are what seem to be talked about much in these days. We may be tempted to think that it is only something of this modern age. It's only something that is symptomatic of these times. But lest we would yield to such reasoning as that, the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there's nothing new under the sun. And these things you will also find in the canon of Scripture. There were those who were despondent there. There were those who were downcast of soul and depressed in their spirit. We can think this morning of Moses, that man of God, That man who was to lead the children of Israel through the wilderness wanderings. And you know, he came to that point where he felt that the workload was so great upon him. It was so heavy, the workload amongst the people of God, that he felt he couldn't go on any longer. And so he prayed that the Lord might take him in death. Numbers chapter 11 verse 14. You want to listen to these words. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou dealest with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness. There's a man, and because of the great workload upon him, even doing the work of God, he felt he could go no longer on. And he asked that the Lord might take him away. Or who can forget Elijah, that great servant of the Lord, that servant who was to see a great victory upon Mount Carmel, where the false prophets of Baal were put to the sword. They were put to death at the river Kishon. And God showed Himself that day to be the only true and living God, the God that answers with fire. But you know, men and women, yet you read on into chapter 19 of 1 Kings, And you find Elijah, and he's running, and he's running away through fear and through discouragement. And you find him eventually under that juniper tree, and again there, he requests that God might take his life through death. He prays that the Lord would take him home. He's a man who's despondent. You see, here, men and women, it's something that even the believer at times will go through. What was true of these other servants of God, sadly, was also to be true with David as we find it in this chapter. But in considering these verses, we're given to see that this wasn't merely a fit of depression, but rather it was a spiritual low for David that brought on this despondency and all that went with it. And that's a different matter. That is something that we need to be on our guard against. And you know the ironic thing here is that this came after a time in David's life that he had heard Saul speak the most gracious words to him, that he had ever spoken to him ever since, that he had turned against him. But even that was the case. David was to feel his fear more keenly than ever before. And so we're brought to consider David on the run. But this time around, he runs to living with the enemy. And that's the most serious, the most solemn thought for any child of God. I want you to see firstly here the condition of his heart. The opening words, and I'm going to dwell just for a little occasion on verse 1 and no further. For the opening words are to tell us much about this whole episode with David and how he acquired the city of Zaglag. You know, the Scriptures remind us in Jeremiah that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And in those Saul's last words to David, you will find them in verse 25 of the previous chapter. Blessed be thou, my son David, thou shalt both do great things, and also shalt still prevail. Those were the words that David heard, yet David was to answer in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. Chapter 27, verse 1. He said it in his heart. And I believe therein we see his heart was despondent. For while he had every good reason not to trust Saul, for remember he had said such sentiments before, but he was not to honor his word. Yet David had every reason to trust the Lord his God. For the word of God is sure, men and women. And God does not speak words idly, as men are sometimes prone to speak. This response of David is all the more alarming when we think that it was David who had been anointed of God to be king one day over this nation. This was something that had been promised unto him. It was something that even his most bitter enemy was now assured of, as Saul had intimated to David before. It furthermore was something that Abigail had also been the means of assuring of in the incident with Nabal. And even before that time, his best friend, Jonathan, was one who also convinced him that, David, you shall sit one day upon the throne as king. And so you bring that all together. Here was a man who had God's Word, and that's most important. But he also was a man who had the assurances from his best of friends, from his very wife, and from even his enemy. that one day he would be king, and yet for all this he says to his heart, I shall now one day perish by the hand of Saul. I find it more than interesting to see that David uses the same word here as he did when suggesting to Babishite in what manner would Saul meet with his death one day. You turn back to chapter 26 just for a second in verse 10. And it says there, David said, furthermore, as the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend into battle and perish. I want you to notice that word perish. For you come now to chapter 27 and verse 1, and David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. He uses the very same word. Just as Saul, as he intimates to Abishai, just as Saul maybe one day would perish in that battle, he would be consumed, he would be swept away. So now David feels that he too will perish if he doesn't get out of the country. He uses the same word. And that is so even though he has known God's protection, even though he has had God's promises which spoke the contrary to what he was now telling his own heart. I wonder, has that been true with you? Instead of focusing upon what God has done and upon what God has promised in your life, you instead have fed your heart, you have fed your soul with despondent thoughts, thoughts of unbelief, and your gaze has been upon your circumstances instead of upon your Savior, the Savior who can solve every problem and the problems of life He can undo. So easy at times to get our eyes on the circumstances of not in Christ. And if you do that, men and women, young people, you're on the road to the sponsy in your heart. For so it was with David. But let me show you something else here. I believe we see that his heart was distracted. I've already intimated that David had his eyes upon the circumstances, he had his eyes upon the situation that faced him at this time. Now, there is not one of us denying here that he was under immense pressure. Here was a young man who now for years had known the pursuit of Saul against him for his life. He's continually on the run, and now he is the added responsibility of wives of 600 men with him, along with their households. But the sad reality of it all is this, that David never sought the face of the Lord for what he should do and the course of action that he should take. There were those times where we have seen him, he has called for the ephod to be brought along with the high priest in order that he might have God's guidance in what he should do and the way he should go. You turn back, for example, to chapter 23 in verse 9. You'll see one such example. It says there and David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him He's still in the same scenario. He's still there been chased for his life. He's in the heat of the battle and he said to a viator the priest bring hither the ephod and as I Brought out before the ephod was part of the high priestly garments that was used for prayer for seeking the Lord's face And you see in verse 10, for example that David's at prayer So there's an example where he calls for the ephod, he calls for the high priest, he needs to seek God's guidance. There are other times we have seen in our study where he has had the word from the prophet. You turn back a chapter into chapter 22 of 1 Samuel verse 5. And the prophet God said unto David, abide not in the hold, depart and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed and came into the forest. So not only could he seek the Lord through the high priest and through the ephod, but he also at times had the prophet Gad. That word given from God to his prophet, to his servant, and that was passed on to David. And the message to God to David was that he was not to leave the land of Judah. But in this chapter, there's no mention of a prophet being sought. There's no mention of prayer or of God's face been sought by David. I wonder, did you notice in a reading of the chapter, there's not even a mention of God at all. Not a mention of God in this whole chapter. And I therefore suspect that he'd also lost his song. For it's very possible that there are none of the Psalms that relate to this period In David's experience, he's at a spiritual low. His heart is distracted. And when those times arise with us, then it is imperative that we never act in a panic. It is then that we ought to drive ourselves to being alone with God, to wait upon Him, and to know what He'd have us to do. And that will save us from leaning upon our own understanding. That will prevent us from going on our own way. will lead us into such an experience as David had, even in this time of his life. If only David had asked God to reiterate the promises to him, those promises that one day he will be king, those promises of his protection. If only David, if only he had sought God for those things, then he would have prevented a 16 month spiritual wilderness experience. That's how long he dwells with the enemy. full year in four months? Am I preaching to some believer this morning who is progressing through months of being prayerless? Not seeking God for His will in your life? Not seeking God for the direction in which you should go? Then I am speaking, I am preaching to a heart that is also distracted. For sadly you have cut your eyes off the Lord, you have cut your eyes in circumstances, you have cut your eyes in a man, my boy. That's what happened to David here. He said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. His eyes are on Saul, not on the Lord. And I want you to see from this opening verse that his heart was deceptive. His reasoning is that of a wayward child of God. Now, we've seen him doing marvelously in the chapter before. He didn't go against God's will. He didn't take the life of Saul when he had the opportunity to do so. What a difference now. He's a man who's given into unbelief. He's a man who stopped praying. And so he only concludes that the best course of action left to him is to turn to the world. Do you see it? That's how deceptive his heart really is. For look at the words of verse 1. And David's saying in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines. There's nothing better for me. What a sad and tragic conclusion that is for any believer to arrive at. He in effect is saying, there's nothing better for me than I should live amongst the heathen of the Philistines, and that I should be in danger of being conditioned by their ways. There's nothing better for me. That's how deceptive his heart really is. That's the reasoning of a backslider. Don't miss that. This is a wayward child of God now. This is a man who I wouldn't like to take advice from any longer. He's backslidden. There's nothing better for me than that I should stay away from the house of God. There's nothing better for me than I should stay away from the place of prayer. Did you ever say that? Nothing better for me than merely to go through the dregs of religion. Nothing better for me than that I should forsake the path of separation with God. instead seek to live as close to the world as I can. Many have said that. Dear believer, is that the place that you're in this morning? If it is, then you need to get before God to ask Him to show you what is best for you. For the estimate of our hearts will almost certainly be wide of the mark. And Christ didn't die on the cross. And Christ didn't shed his precious blood for your soul or for mine that you or I should live second best or even worse in this world. He didn't die on the cross for that. He died that we might live lives glorifying to Him, not wayward lives, not lives that resemble the ungodly, the condition of the heart. But let me show you secondly here, as I lead on a little bit, the compulsion of David. Maybe the thought was already in his mind when he spoke to Saul of his actions, or his actions driving him out from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord. We come across that in chapter 26 and verse 19. He said to Saul, are you taking advice, and I'm paraphrasing it, are you taking advice from those men? In effect, they're driving me out of the inheritance of the Lord. The actions of any man. And I underline this, The actions of any man should never drive us away from what we know is God's place and will for us. But maybe this thought was already in his mind. But for David we see that he had a compulsion which meant leaving the land and leaving God's people. Look at the words of verse 2. And David arose, passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maok, a kin of Gath, and David dwelt with a kesh at Gath. He and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelites, and Abigail the Carmelites, Nabal's wife. His prayerless decision, his departure from God, meant now that with his wives and the 600 men in their households, they were to leave the land, they were to leave God's people behind. His decision was to affect others with him. Men and women understand that no man is an island, for our lives either directly or indirectly impact upon others, and sometimes they impact upon those especially who are nearest and dearest to us. I wonder what impact has your actions made upon your loved ones? What example has your life spoken to your offspring? to those that you work with. Here's David's prayerless decision, and it affects over 600 men, their households, and his own children, his own wives. For David, it wasn't for good, for he runs away into the enemy territory of Gath. He leaves the land that God had promised to the nation behind him. And what this amounts to with David is nothing less than seeking to escape the conflict that was ongoing. You see, in verse 1, He's minded to escape the last verse, so shall I escape out of his hand. He no longer has the stomach for the fight, no longer has the stomach for the affliction that had to be faced on a daily basis. And so he wants to escape. If our afflictions come to us by doing the will of God, then we need to guard against looking for a way of escaping. We have those encouraging words in first peter chapter 3 in verse 14, but and if you suffer for righteousness sake happy are ye And be not afraid of their terror. Now, there'll be trouble verse 17 for it is better if the will of god be so That you suffer for well-doing than for evil doing You're in the center of god's will and you're suffering you're being afflicted because of it. You're in a happy position Don't pray to escape But David sought a way out, and that way out took him to Gath, and to request from the king a place by itself where he and the rest of them could reside. It's the present day Gaza, if you like, down that strip of land. That place was Ziklag, a little town that by right belonged to Judah, before it was allocated to them at the time of Joshua entering into the land. But that place was now captured by the Philistines, although they never inhabited it. And instead, we find that the descendants of Simeon were happy to live there. They were to live in a place given to them by God, but yet under the control of the enemy. And God forbid that I should ever get to that place in my life. God forbid that we should settle down like that, to be content to live with some area of our life which God has possessed, which Christ has purchased with His own blood, and yet the old devil has overcome, and he's ruling in that part of our life, and we have no guts, we have no stomach now to chase him out. I don't want that place in my life. Bought by God, bought by Christ, and yet the devil overruling it. That's the place that he wants. His compulsion was to leave the land and the Lord's people. His compulsion went further. It was to mean living with the enemy. David was content to leave the people of God behind and go and live amongst the very enemy. He believed that there was no other course of action other than to run to Gath to seek help of this king whom he had been with before. What one of us can forget is demented behavior in chapter 21 as he scrabbled upon the gates of the city. But this time was different. He was no longer alone. But now he goes with his 600 men, the great army of men with him. And men and women, does not this reinforce upon us that we need to beware of the old remedies that we would tend to go for? We need to beware of the old sins? We need to beware of the old acquaintances that do not come from God? These things have a habit of returning. But it is not for the believer to be happy living with the world and having our acquaintances among the ungodly. The Lord has saved us from the world and from its ways. Therefore, the exhortation of Galatians 5 and 1 is very, very appropriate. For it simply says, Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Those old remedies that you would be prone to go to. Guard against them. The old sins. This is what it was for David. He went back again to Achish. But for David, things were to go from bad to worse. For his compulsion also meant that he had to lie to the king. From his dwelling place of Ziklag, David was to make incursions into the land. Verse 9, And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish." The Amalekites were the old enemy of God's people. And David may have reasoned in his heart that he was fighting the Lord's battles. Look at the job that I'm doing. I'm fighting against these old enemies of the old people. But David was doing something out of the will of God. And that didn't make it right. For God's will at this present time was to fight against the Philistines. But having gone into this land, and having routed this people who were allies to Achash the King of Gath, he returns with the spoils that we read about there in verse 9. And he returns to Achash the King only to be faced with the very last question that he ever wanted to be faced with. And you'll find it in verse 10, for Achash said, whether have you made a road today? If I can paraphrase it, he in effect was saying, what have you been doing today, David? And that's the last question that any backseater wants to have to face and answer. What have you been doing today? And in reply, David gives himself to telling lies. in order to get away from this position. He returns to some old ground again. He told lies to Himilak at the place called Nob. He had used Jonathan, his friend, to lie to Saul about his whereabouts. And now he feels the need to lie again. Why? Because God wasn't in his actions of that day. David was out of God's will. He tries to be evasive by speaking of the south country, causing Akash to think he had been fighting against his own people. But when all is said and done, David is lying to the king. For he says in verse 10, or verse 9, and David said, "...against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Gerilimites, and against the south of the Canaanites." That's what I've been doing, Akash. Let me say this, that playing around with words with the intent of concealing the truth is still telling lies. And David was doing exactly that. He had a compulsion to leave the land and the Lord's people. He had a compulsion to live amongst the very enemy. He had a compulsion to lie to the king. And David, later on, is moved by the Holy Spirit to write and to pen the words of Psalm 119, verse 29. Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me thy law graciously. Maybe you need to pray that God would remove from you the way of lying. I'm speaking to God's people, those little twisted sentences, those little concealed truths, those little half-truths. Here's something that is extremely easy to develop. And the psalmist, the man after God's own heart, the sweet psalmist of Israel, he had cause to pen and to say, remove from me the way of lying. And so do we. And as the rest of the verse would teach us, God is able to be gracious. He's able to be merciful toward us. Sadly, that was the compulsion of David. I hope it's not the compulsion of any believer in this room, this house of God this morning. Compelled to leave God's work. Compelled to leave God's people behind. Compelled to live with the enemy. Compelled to lie. Let me show you finally here the condemnation of David. You see, David may have felt that his strategy was the right one. After all, Saul sought him no more. After all, he had befriended Achish. He was engaged now in destroying his allies, albeit under his very nose, and he not knowing about it. But I believe these verses leave us in no doubt that the condemnation of the one who sees all things was upon David. He was condemned for his practices. We have seen that deceptively. He was to go out amongst those nations that had been the old enemies to the nation of God. He was to do so by using deceit and for the purpose of putting every one of them to death. He now has blood upon his hands, doing something that God never told him to do. But you notice the words of verse 9 and verse 11. And David smote the land and left neither man nor woman alive. Verse 11, And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines." You read those two verses, you're left with the impression that he made sure there wasn't one left who would tell the tale. Wasn't one left to tell the tale. He didn't want anyone to tell it in Gath, what he had done. He saved none alive. Was he acting out of a troubled conscience? We don't know, but what is certain is that it seems that he was uneasy about what he was doing. He didn't want anyone else to speak of his actions or his conduct. And the man who had forsaken the people of God, and the man who left the land of God's inheritance behind him to live amongst the very Philistines, the very enemies of God, is a man now who's far from being the happiest man in the land. David is in very dangerous footing. For he's a man who has a whole lot to hide. He put everyone into death, children, women, men, the whole lot, that no one might escape and tell what was happening. Might tell Gath, might tell Achish and Gath. He has too much to hide. And so it is with the Baxleys. So it is with the one who has tasted and seen that the Lord is good. So it is with the soul... I beg your pardon. So it is with the soul who knew the sweet presence and blessings of the Lord upon them. But now, now they're trying whatever they can to fill their life with so much and in order that their troubled conscience may be appeased. He's condemned for his practices. And whatever you're doing, if you're backsliding this morning, listen. Condemnation of God is upon those actions. God hasn't saved you for to live like that. God hasn't sent a son to die on the cross that you might be cold of heart and away from the people of God. You might tell yourself you're doing a good work, you're doing the job right. You're out of the will of God. The condemnation is upon him because of his pretense. Notice the words of verse 12, and Akash believed David. The eternal record of God the Holy Spirit is that Akash believed David. The lying and dishonest words were enough to deceive Akash. He was taken in with him. But God is not mocked. He can see through every attempt at making a hollow pretense. And that pretense is brought to the fore even more so when we consider the words of Akash a little later on. You turn to chapter 29 of 1 Samuel in verse 9, for example. Listen to these words. And Akash answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight as an angel of God. Akash is found speaking genuine words of praise to David, but how they must have struck the heart of David with conviction. For while he passed himself as a very angel of God before Akash, he all the time was practicing murder and practicing deceit. Just pretense. That's how far David got away from the Lord. That's how far the believer can go who leaves off prayer and those times with God to the point where you believe that you're in the right place. You're even doing the will of God while all the time like David, God is not in your decision to run away to wrath, to gas. God is not in your decision to live amongst the enemy. For those 16 months, David was not to enjoy the blessing of God. Ziklag, it marks the place of a spiritual wilderness for David. What about you? Are you enjoying the blessings of God? Are you in the right place with God? Are you happy to know that you're in the center of His will this morning? I trust you are. But if not, Praise God, there's a way back then. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And you know the call of the Lord is the same today as it was in Jeremiah's day. Jeremiah 3 in verse 12, Return thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord. And I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful, saith the Lord. and I will not keep my anger forever." What a merciful God we have. May you be compelled by God's Spirit to know that return to your first love this morning, even the Lord Jesus Christ, and again to know the full joy of God's salvation. May you know that reviving of spirit, May you know that restoration of the months, the weeks, maybe even the years that the locust has ate away at, and come back to Christ. Maybe I'm preaching to someone who's not saved. Oh, dear friend, come, come even this morning. The world you have tasted, the world may try and fill that void in your life, but it will never satisfy. The pleasures of sin are only for a season, but come to my Come and taste by experience that He is good. Come and let the Lord guide every step of your life. Know this morning it is well with your soul. You are walking with Christ. May God enable you to do so. May the Lord bless His Word for His own name's sake.