David's Mercy

David: The Man of Prayer PART VII
Dr. Timothy Keller
24 May 2015

1Samuel 26:7-14, 21-25
7So David and Abishai went to the army by night, and there was Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck to the ground near his head.  Abner and the soldiers were lying around him.
8Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy in to your hands.  Now let me pin him to the ground with one thrust of the spear; I won't strike him twice."
9But David said to Abishai, "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?  10As surely as the Lord lives," he said, "the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish.  11But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.  Now get the spear and water jug that near his head, and let's go."

12So David took the spear and water jug near Saul's head, and they left.  No one saw or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up.  They were all sleeping, because the Lord had put them into a deep sleep.
13Then David crossed over to the other side and stood on top of the hill some distance away; there was a wide space between them.  14He called out to the army and to Abner son or Ner, "Aren't you going to answer me, Abner?"
Abner replied, "Who are you who calls to the king?"

21Then Saul said, "I have sinned.  Come back, David my son.  Because you considered my life precious today, I will not try to harm you again.  Surely I have acted like a fool and have been terribly wrong."

22"Here is the king's spear,"  David answered.  "Let one of your young men come over and get it.  23The Lord rewards everyone for their righteousness and faithfulness.  The Lord delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the Lord's anointed.  24As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble."

25Then Saul said to David, "May you be blessed, David my son; you will do great things and surely triumph."
So David went on hi way, and Saul returned home.

What it means for those that have wronged you.

LOVING A NEIGHBOR
--David could have killed Saul
--v.9; Saul is God's anointed, so he won't kill him.
--He was great, but he is also fallen; I will spare him in the hopes that he will find it again.
--We're all surrounded by people who don't deserve good treatment, because they are in the image of God, so they must be protected.
--God's image--they have a certain dignity to them (image could be physical, attitude, personality...)
--Give that person the treatment that God deserves since they are in His image.
--Weight of our neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back--a load so heavy that only humility can carry it (CS Lewis)
--people have the potential to be angelic or demonic in the long run.
--we should be kind, non-abusive, etc.

LOVING AN ENEMY
--Somebody who's wronged us or owed us.
--v.10; the Lord will take care of it.
--Only God has the wisdom to know what he deserves and the right to give it to him.
--We live only by God's mercy, so it would be unjust to withhold it to others.
--By showing mercy, David shows that he will not become capable of cruelty as was Saul.
--By not forgiving, we sort of become something like them--makes us harder.
--David thinks respectfully of Saul and thus forgives him--refers to him as "my lord, the king"
--It hurts to forgive, because we're paying the debt of forgiveness.

LOVING A FOOL
--v21; I have acted like a fool - willfully blind to my own faults (Saul)
--Forgiveness is not being passive.
--v22 David goes on a hill and announces that he has Saul's spear and could have killed him.
--David doesn't trust Saul so he stays on the mountain top--he is not naive.
--David goes after Saul's hardness of heart.
--It's never loving to let people keep on sinning.
--He is confronting them for their sake, not for his own sake.
--Realistically and aggressively love people and confront them out of love.

WHERE TO GET THE POWER FOR DOING ALL THAT
--Learning to love God's anointed and how he loved you.
--Anointed one is done to save and serve his people.
--David is using his position not to serve himself.
--Jesus was also driven into the wilderness and didn't strike back.
--Humility is needed for forgiveness--we can't feel superior to them.
--Affirmation of who we are is in Jesus, not in worldly things.
--We live in a culture of self-assertion and should look towards self renunciation that comes from JC.