Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1810
“Your servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:36,37.
DAVID had lived with God. Throughout many a solitary day he had kept his father’s flock among the lone hills of Judah and had worshipped the Unseen but Ever-Present Lord. He had grown into an adoring familiarity with the Most High so that, to him, the name of the one and only living and true God was a deep and solemn joy. As you may have spied far up among the ramparts of the mountains a solitary lake, whose one office it is to mirror the face of Heaven, so had David’s hallowed life become the reflection of the Light and Glory of the Lord of Hosts. It had not occurred to him, in his meditations, that base men would dare to challenge the infinite majesty of God, or that proud adversaries would come forward and defy the chosen people of the Most High—but now that he hears the defiance and beholds the challenge, all his blood is up. He is amazed! A holy rage is upon him! Yes, it is true—he hears Jehovah blasphemed! How can it be? The youth’s holy soul is undergoing a new experience. He is bringing his whole life to bear upon it. He reaches the conclusion that as bears and lions die when they meddle with sheep, so must Goliath fall, now that he dares to attack the Lord and His people.
When David finds himself in the camp and when he hears Goliath of Gath pouring forth his blasphemies against Jehovah and defying Jehovah’s people, David has no thought of having been mistaken in his former lofty adoration. He entertains no notion of adopting a lower style, but he inwardly burns with indignation against the infamous reviler. An insult against God cannot be allowed! This abominable blasphemer must be silenced. Somebody must put him down and so dispose of him that none shall ever dare, again, to do the same. David enquires whether somebody or other is not going to batter the bronze champion. If any man in the camp will meet this huge man-mountain, David will not stand in his way—he is not so covetous of glory as to deprive a more deserving person of these huge materials for renown. But it is imperative that some hand should silence that hillock of proud flesh! It is driven in upon David’s devout heart that this blasphemous mouth must be shut and God’s name and God’s people must be clear of such a brutal enemy.
About the stilling of this enemy and avenger David has no enquiry to make. It is going to be done, done soon, and done without any particular display. When he kept his sheep and the lion came, David did not raise the question whether he could kill the lion—he killed him—and the question was settled. When the bear came and was about to rob him of one of his lambs, he did not say to himself, “Have I a call to kill that bear?” Not he—he killed him—and then he knew he was called to do it! He feels within himself at this moment, “If nobody else will deal with this Philistine difficulty, I must do so, for I cannot live and see God opposed. Jehovah is All in All and beside Him there is none else—He can put an end to an opponent with a word—it must not be that He shall be insulted continually after this fashion. I feel an impulse upon me. This Philistine has defied the armies of the living God and down he shall come.”
And so, yielding to the Divine impulses by which the truly great are led, David puts himself forward to stand in single combat with an enormous giant. Observe a stripling set over against a son of Anak—but when you have made the observation, be sure to note that the stripling, by no means, seeks your sympathy, or appeals to your pity. It sometimes happens that a tremor will come over a man when he feels that he has stepped out of the ranks and come forward without any call from his fellow men—when he feels that he has taken up Jehovah’s quarrel and constituted himself the champion of the Most High. If he is not quite sure about his commission and if he is not quite sure that God is with him, he will soon repent his own temerity and make an ignominious retreat.
In David’s case there is no flush of excitement, no fierce light of eyes lit up with a semi-madness. Evidently he is quite at home and has the entire business well in hand. He tells us why he is so bravely venturesome. It is well worth our while to see what made David so strong and confident, for if it has never occurred to us, up to now, it may yet occur that we shall be called out to do some deed of daring for the Lord. Come, let us learn how to be Davids, should a voice call us from among the sheepfolds! I wish that young men here would aspire to brave lives for the God of Israel. I would that for the Truth of God, goodness and the eternal Glory, they would be ready to rise to the measure of their destined hour. Why should we all be mean men? Is there not room for a few downright devoted beings who will lift their hands unto the Lord and never go back? If self-sacrifice is needed, let us make it. If someone is needed for a heathen land, or to bear testimony for the Truth of God in this almost apostate nation, let us cry, “Here am I! Send me!”