The Lion-slayer–the Giant-killer

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 5, 1875,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"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 thepaw of the bear, He will deliver me
out of the hand of this Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:36,37.

WE have all thought a great deal of the courage of David in meeting
giant Goliath, but probably we have not given him credit for his
conduct in a previous contest. We have not sufficiently noticed that
immediately before the encounter with the Philistine he fought a battle
which cost him far more thought, prudence and patience. The battle of
words in which he had to engage with his brothers and with King Saul
was a more trying ordeal to him than going forth in the strength of the
Lord to smite the uncircumcised boaster. Many a man meets with more
trouble from his friends than from his enemies. And when he has learned
to overcome the depressing influence of prudent friends he makes short
work of the opposition of avowed adversaries.

Observe that David had first to contend with his own brothers. I hardly
think Eliab was so much swayed by envy as has been supposed. I fancy
that Eliab had too much contempt for his young brother to envy him. He
thought it ridiculous that a youth so given to music and piety and
gentle pursuits should dream of encountering a giant. He derided the
idea of his being equal to such a task and only feared, lest in a
moment of foolish enthusiasm, he might throw his life away in the mad
enterprise. And therefore Eliab somewhat superciliously, but still
somewhat in the spirit natural to an elder brother who feels himself a
sort of guardian to the younger members of the house, chided him and
told him that only pride and curiosity had brought him there at all and
that he had better have remained with his sheep in the wilderness.

Such a youth, he thought, was more fit among lambs than among warriors,
and more likely to be in his place beneath a tree with his shepherd's
pipe than in the midst of a battle. David met this charge in the very
wisest way–he answered with a few soft words, and then turned away. He
did not continue to argue, for in such a contest, to multiply words is
to increase ill feelings and he who is silent first is the conqueror.
Grandly did this young man restrain himself, though the provocation was
very severe, and herein he won the honors of the man who restrains his
spirit and greater than the soldier who takes a city. I admire David as
he selects his five smooth stones from the brook, but I admire him
quite as much when he so gently replies where others might have been
angry–and then so wisely turns aside from a debate which could not
have been to the profit of either party.

Next, he is brought before Saul and enters upon a contest with a king
to whom he felt loyal respect, and with a soldier who had been a man of
war from his youth up and had worked many famous deeds, one, therefore,
to whom David looked up with not a little reverence. When king Saul
said to him, "You are not able to fight with this Philistine, for you
are but a youth and he a man of war from his youth," it must have been
somewhat difficult for the young hero to cope with the weighty
judgment. And yet he did so, answering meekly, forcibly and in all
respects well. Did you notice how David said to Saul, "Let no man's
heart fail because of him." He did not say, "Let not your heart fail
you"–he was too much of a courtier for that–he had too much delicacy
of mind to insinuate that a royal heart could fear.

When he proceeded to argue with the king it was in the most polite and
deferential manners. He begins, "Your servant kept his father's sheep."
He calls himself a servant of the king and does not hesitate to admit
that he is only a shepherd who had no flock of his own, but served
under his father. There was nothing like assumption, but the very
reverse. Yet while he used soft words, he brought forth hard arguments.
He mentioned facts and these are always the best weap-

ons against carnal reasoning. Saul said, "You are not able to meet this
Philistine." But David replied, "Your servant slew both the lion and
the bear." He placed facts against mere opinions and won the day.

He did not quote Scripture to the king, for I suppose he knew Saul too
well for that, and felt that he had not Grace enough to be swayed by
the promises and examples of Holy Writ. But he brought facts before
him, knowing well how to give a reason for the hope that was in him
with meekness and fear. His arguments quite overcame the opposition of
Saul, which would have dampened the enthusiasm of many. And so Saul not
only commissioned him to go and fight the Philistine, saying, "Go, and
the Lord be with you," but he actually clothed him in his royal armor,
which was of no small value and which, of course, would have increased
the honors of the Philistine champion had David fallen before him.

Some little faith in David was kindled in Saul's bosom and he was
willing to trust his armor in his hands. Thus it is clear that David
fought the battles with Saul as admirably as he afterwards conducted
his duel with the giant–and he deserves no small honor for it. No,
rather unto God be honor who while He taught His servant's hands to
war, and his fingers to fight, also taught his tongue to utter right
words by which he put to silence those who would have abashed him! What
was the meat of David's argument? What were the five smooth stones
which he threw at the head of carnal reasoning?

That shall be the subject of this morning's discourse. We will consider
the way in which he argued down all doubts and fears and, by the Spirit
of God, was nerved to go forth to deeds of sacred daring in the name of
the Most High, for the same conquering arguments may, perhaps, serve
our turn also. Three things are before us in the text, recollections,
reasonings and results.

I. First, RECOLLECTIONS. "Your servant kept his father's sheep, and
there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I
went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth:
and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him,
and slew him. Your servant slew both the lion and the bear." These were
noteworthy facts which David had stored up in his memory. And he now
mentions them, for they exactly answered his purpose. We ought not to
be unmindful of the way by which the Lord our God has led us, for if we
are, we shall lose much.

Some saints have very short memories. It has been well said that we
write our benefits in dust and our injuries in marble! And it is
equally true that we generally inscribe our afflictions upon brass,
while the records of the deliverances of God are written in water. It
ought not to be! If our memories were more tenacious of the merciful
visitations of our God, our faith would often be strengthened in times
of trial.

Now, what did David remember, for I want you to remember the same. He
remembered, first, that whatever his present trial might be, he had
been tried before–tried when he was but a young man peacefully
employed in keeping his father's flocks. A lion rushed upon his prey
and he had to defend his sheep–that was no small trial for a young
man–to have to meet a savage beast, strong, furious and probably
ravenous with hunger. Yet the ordeal had not destroyed him and he felt
sure that another of the same kind would not do so.

He had encountered that danger in the course of his duty, when he was
in his proper place and engaged in his lawful calling. And he had
thereby learned that the path of duty is not without its difficulties
and perils. He was keeping his flock as he ought to be and yet a lion
attacked him. And so you and I have met with trials which did not arise
from sin, but, on the other hand, came to us because we conscientiously
did the right thing and would not yield to temptation. We must not
think that we are out of the right road when we meet with difficulties,
for we must expect, through much tribulation, to inherit the kingdom of
God. Severe afflictions and afflictions arising out of holy walking are
not new things to us! Let us now remember our old encounters.

He remembered, too, that he had been tried frequently. He had not only
been attacked by a lion, but also by a bear. He had been tried in
different ways, for lions and bears do not fight exactly in the same
manner, neither are they to be met with precisely the same tactics.
David remembered that his trials had been of different sorts and that
in each case the battle had been hard. It was no small matter to fight
hand to hand with a lion, and no child's play to rush single-handed
upon a bear. We, also, in looking back, remember sharp encounters with
foes of many kinds which were terrible battles to us at the time.

Brothers and Sisters, some of us who have been for years in the ways of
the Lord can tell of shrewd brushes with the enemy. We can speak of
wounds and ugly tears of which we wear the scars to this day. Many have
been our adversaries, and furious–yet we have been upheld till now by
Jesus, the Captain of our salvation! Why, then, should we fear concern-

ing the present fiery trial, as though some strange thing had happened
to us? Is it a Philistine this time? Well, it was a lion before, and a
bear on another occasion–it is only a little change of the same
constant trial of our faith–therefore let us not shrink from the
conflict.

Next, David remembered that he had risked all in the prosecution of his
duty. He was set to take care of the sheep and the lambs and he did so.
A lion had dared to leap into the fold and seize a lamb, and without a
single thought of anything but the lamb and his own duty, the young
shepherd rushed upon the monster with all the ardor of youth! And
smiting him with his crook compelled him to drop his prey. He had put
his own life in jeopardy for the poor defenseless lamb. Can you not
remember, my Christian Brothers and Sisters, when you, also, took no
thought as to what you should lose if you followed Christ and cared not
if it cost you your very life? With earnest honesty you desired to
learn what you ought to do and you did it, regardless of the cost.

You defied Reproach, slander, misrepresentation and unkindness, so long
as you could but clear your conscience and honor your Lord. O blessed
recklessness! Do you remember those early days when you could
cheerfully have gone to prison and to death for Christ's sake? For
Scriptural doctrines and ordinances you would willingly have suffered
martyrdom! Perhaps some of you have, on more than one occasion,
actually risked everything for the sake of integrity and for the honor
of the Lord Jesus Christ, even as others have defied the utmost power
of Satan and the most virulent hatred of men for the sake of the Lord
God of Hosts. You have felt that you could sooner die than deny the
Truth of God and sooner perish from off the face of the earth than to
turn from the trust which the Lord had committed to you.

Look back upon your brave days, my Brothers and Sisters, not that you
may be proud of what you did, but that you may be ashamed if you are
afraid to do the same today! Blush if what you could do as a babe in
Grace should appear too difficult for you in riper years! These
remembrances have precious uses–they will lead us to bless God and
humble ourselves in His Presence.

Next David remembered that he had on that occasion gone alone to the
fray. The antagonist was a lion! A dozen men might have found
themselves too few for the fight and David remembered that in that
contest he was quite alone–he had not called in other shepherds to the
rescue, but armed only with his crook, he had belabored the lion till
the monster found it convenient to leave his prey and turn upon the
young shepherd. David was ready for him, seized him by his beard,
dashed his head upon the rocks and did not relinquish his grasp till
the king of beasts lay dead at his feet. It was a grand incident, even
had it stood alone, but a bear had supplied an equally memorable
trophy.

Some of us may well recall hours in our past lives when we were all
alone and, as we went forth to serve the Lord Jesus, our enterprise was
regarded as Utopian and spoken of as sure to end in failure. Many a
good man has gone forth for Christ's sake even worse than alone, for
those who should have aided have done their best to criticize and
prophesy disaster. But men whom God ordains to honor have shut their
ears to critics and pushed on till they have reached success. And then
everybody has said, "We always thought so," and not a few have even
claimed to have been ardent admirers all along!

Brother, do you remember when everyone said you were foolhardy and
self-sufficient, and regarded your course as absurd and sure to come to
an end? Remember when they said six months were to see the end of your
career which was a mere bubble and would soon collapse? Ah, those were
brave times when the Lord was with you and man's opinion weighed but
lightly! It may be that your relatives turned their backs upon you and
no man would give you a good word. And yet, in the name of the Lord God
of Hosts, you did the right and dared all results! And you have had no
cause to regret it, but overflowing reasons to bless God that He
strengthened you to "dare to be a Daniel and dare to stand alone."

Look back at that courageous hour, and now that you are surrounded by a
goodly company of friends, think whether you have as simple a trust in
God, now, as you manifested then. If you judge that you have, prove by
your actions that you can still dare to go forward under difficulties,
unshackled by dependence on an arm of flesh. The discipline of
desertion ought not to have been lost upon you–you ought to be all the
stronger for having been compelled to walk alone. The friendship of
your fellows has been a loss rather than a gain if you cannot now wage
single-handed battle as you did in former times. Have you now become
slavishly dependent on an arm of flesh? If so, chide yourself by the
memories of braver days!

David also remembered that on that occasion, when he smote the lion and
the bear, he had nothing visible to rely upon, but simply trusted his
God. He had in his hand no sharp weapon of iron with which to smite the
wild beast to the heart. Careless as to weapons, he thought only of his
God and rushed on the foe. He was as yet a young man, his muscles were
not set and strong, neither did he seem fit for such a venturous deed!
But his God was almighty and, reliant upon the Omnipotence of God, he
thought nothing of his youth, but flung himself into the fray. What
more in the way of help did he need, since God was with him? Oh,
Brothers and Sisters, there were times, with some of us, when we
commenced our work when our sole reliance was the unseen Lord!

We were cast upon the invisible power of God and if that could fail us
we must fail. Our attempts were such as carnal reason could not
justify, such indeed as only Divine interposition could carry through!
We were right enough if the Divine power could be calculated on, but
apart from that, we were near insane! Glory be to God, He has been as
good as His word! Our faith has been justified by results and unbelief
has been struck dumb. The Lord taught us to rest in Him from our youth
up and to declare His wondrous works! And now that we have tried and
proved His faithfulness, we dare not hide these things from the
generation following. Our witness must be borne even though we should
be charged with boasting! "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord."

But can it be true that now we have begun to coolly calculate means and
to rely upon methods and plans, whereas once we looked to God, alone?
Do we now trust in this friend and rely on that, and distrust the Lord
if friends are few? Shame upon us if we do, for this is to leave the
way of victory for the path of defeat, to come down from the heroic
track to the common highway of carnal reasoning and so to fall into
care, fretfulness, weakness and dishonor! Happy is the man who trusts
in the Lord, alone, by unstaggering faith! He shall go from strength to
strength, but he who chooses to walk by sight shall utterly decay.

David remembered, also, that the tactics which he adopted on that
occasion were natural, artless and vigorous. All that he did was just
smite the lion and the bear with his staff, or whatever came first to
hand, and then to fight as nature and the occasion suggested. He did
what his courage prompted, without waiting to consult a committee of
lion-slayers and bear-trappers. His whole art was faith! This was his
science and his skill. He consulted not with flesh and blood. He
followed no precedents, imitated no noted hunters and encumbered
himself with no rules. He did his best as his faith in God directed
him. He threw his whole soul into the conflict and fought vigorously,
for his faith did not make him sit still and expect the lion to die in
a fit, or the bear to become insensible.

He seemed to say to himself, "Now, David, if anything is to be done,
you must be all here and every muscle you have must be put to the
strain. You have a lion to fight with, therefore stir up your strength
and while you rely upon God, alone, take care to play the man this day
for your father's flock." Courage supplied coolness. And energy, backed
up by confidence, won the day. Do you remember, my Brother, when in
your own way you did the same? You were reliant upon God but not idle.
You put your whole force of soul and energy into your Master's service,
as if it all rested on you and yet, you depended wholly on Him and you
succeeded! How is it with you now? Do you now take things easily? Do
you wonder that you do not succeed? If you are growing cold and
careless. If you are getting sleepy and dull, rebuke your soul and use
your past experience as a whip with which to flog yourself into energy!
Let it never be said that he who woke himself up to fight a lion now
falls asleep in the presence of a Philistine!

David remembered that by confidence in God his energetic fighting
gained the victory–the lion was killed and the bear was killed, too.
And cannot you remember, Brothers and Sisters, what victories God gave
you? When you were little in Israel and despised, yet His hand was upon
you! And when few would bid you God speed, yet the Jehovah of Hosts
encouraged your heart! And when you were feeble and but a youth, the
Lord Jesus helped you to do exploits for Him in your own way. Remember
this, and be of good courage this morning in the conflict which now
lies before you. David talked of his former deeds somewhat reluctantly.
I do not know that he had ever spoken of them before. He did so on this
occasion with the sole motive of glorifying God and that he might be
allowed to repeat them.

He ravished for permission from Saul to confront the Philistine
champion and bring yet greater glory to God! Brethren, whenever you
talk of what God enabled you to do, mind you lay the stress upon God's
enabling, and not upon your own doings. And when you rehearse the story
of your early days, let it not be as a reason why you should now be
exonerated from service and be allowed to retire upon your laurels, but
as an argument why you should now be allowed

the most arduous and dangerous post in the battle! Let the past be a
stepping stone to something higher–an incentive to nobler enterprise.

On, on you soldiers of the Cross! In God's name eclipse your former
selves! As Grace enabled you to pile the carcass of the bear upon the
corpse of the lion, so now resolve that the Philistine shall increase
the heap and his head shall crown the whole, to the honor and glory of
the God of Israel! So much for remembrances. I pity the man who has
none of them and I pity, yet more, the man who, having them, is now
afraid to risk all for his Lord!

II. Now for REASONING. David used an argument in which no flaw can be
found. He said, "The case of this Philistine is a parallel one to that
of the lion. If I act in the same manner, by faith in God, with this
giant as I did with the lion, God is the same and, therefore, the
result will be the same." That seems to me to be very good reasoning
and I bid you adopt it. Such-and-such was my past difficulty and my
present trouble is of the same order. In that past trial I rested upon
God and acted in a right way–and He delivered me. Therefore, if I
trust in God, still, and do as before, He is the same as ever–and I
shall triumph again!

Let us now consider the case and we shall see that it really was
parallel. There was the flock, defenseless. Here is Israel, God's
flock, defenseless, too, with no one to take up its cause. In all the
camp there was not one single man who dared take up the giant
challenge. David was a shepherd and, therefore, as a shepherd, bound to
defend his flock. And in the present instance he remembered, I doubt
not, that Samuel had anointed him to be king over Israel and he felt
that some of the responsibility of the anointing rested upon him even
then. And if no other man would play the shepherd, the anointed son of
Jesse must do it!

And so it looked to him like a parallel case–Israel the flock and he
the shepherd who must defend it. He was alone that day when he smote
the lion and so he was this day when he was to confront his enormous
foe. Of course it was one of the conditions of a duel that the
Israelite champion should go forth, alone, and besides that, there was
no one in all the camp who was likely to wish to accompany him upon
such an errand. So, now that he was all alone, the case was the more
truly parallel! As for that Philistine, he felt that in him he had an
antagonist of the old sort. It was brute force before. It was brute
force now.

It might take the shape of a lion or a bear or a Philistine, but David
considered that it was only so much flesh and bone and muscle–so much
brag or roar, tooth or spear. He considered the Philistine to be only a
wild animal of another shape because he was not in Covenant with God,
and dared to put himself in opposition to the Most High! My Brothers
and Sisters, a man who has God for a friend is higher than an angel,
but a man who is God's enemy is no better than a beast! Reckon him so
and your fears of him will vanish! Goliath was mighty, but so was the
lion. He was cunning, but so was the bear. The case was only a
repetition of the former combat.

And as God was not with the lion, nor with the bear, so David felt that
God was not with Goliath and could not be, for he was the enemy of
God's Israel. And as God had been with him when fighting the wild
beasts, so he felt that God was with him now. It looked to him as if he
had already twice gone through a rehearsal of all this when he was in
the wilderness, alone, and therefore he could the more easily go
through it now. Perhaps there flashed in his mind the case of Samson,
who learned to slay the Philistines by rending a lion when he was alone
in the vineyard. So David felt, "I have killed my lion like Samson and
now, like Samson, I go to fight this Philistine, or a thousand like he,
if need be, in the name of the Lord of Hosts."

The whole argument is this–in the one case, by such tactics we have
been successful, trusting in God–and, therefore, in a similar case we
have only to do the same and we shall realize the same victory!
Brothers and Sisters, here is a fault with most of us, that when we
look back upon past deliverances we do not draw this parallel, but on
the contrary, the temptation haunts us to think that our present trial
is clearly a new case! For instance, David might have said, "When I
slew that lion I was younger than I am now and I had more courage and
vivacity, but those shrewd brushes have strained me somewhat and I had
better be more prudent."

Just as you and I say, sometimes, "Ah, what I did was done when I was a
young man, I cannot do the same now. That trouble which I bore so
patiently, by God's Grace, was in other times. But this affliction has
come upon me when I am less able to endure it, for I have not the
elasticity of spirit which once I had, nor the vigor I formerly
possessed." When we want to escape from some arduous work, we do it by
trying to show that we are not under the same obligations as in former
days. We know in our conscience that if we did great things when we
were young we ought to do greater things

now that we are older, wiser, more experienced and more trained in
war–but we try to argue our conscience into silence.

If the Lord helped us to bear with patience, or to labor with zeal
after all the experience we have had, that patience and zeal should now
be easier to us than before. Alas, we do not argue so, but to our shame
we excuse ourselves and live ingloriously. I know a man who, today,
says, "Yes. What we did in years gone by, we did in our heroic age, but
we are not so enthusiastic now." And why not? We are so apt to magnify
our former selves and think of our early deeds as of something to be
wondered at but not to be attempted now! We are fools for they were
little enough in all conscience and ought to be outdone!

Oh, dear Brothers and Sisters, this resting on our oars will not do! We
are drifting down with the tide. David did not say, "I slew a lion and
a bear so I have had my turn at such bouts. Let somebody else go and
fight that Philistine!" Yet we have heard people say, "When I was a
young man I taught in the Sunday school. I used to go out preaching in
the villages and so on." Oh, Brother, and why not do it now? I think
you ought to be doing more instead of less! As God gives you more
knowledge, more experience and more Grace, surely your labors for Him
ought to be more abundant than they used to be, but, alas, you do not
look on it as a parallel case, and so make excuses for yourself.

Too often in our spiritual work we fix our mind upon the differences
rather than upon the similarities. For instance, David might have said,
"I would not mind another lion. I can manage lions. I would not be
afraid of half-a-dozen more bears, I am used to bears. But this
Philistine is a new sort of monster." No, David saw it was the same
thing, after all, a little different in shape but the same brute
force–and so he went at it with courage. But we say, "Alas, there is a
great difference! Our present trials have an unusual bitterness in
them." "I," cries the widow, "I lost my husband and God helped and my
son has been a stay to me. But now he, too, is gone, and I have no
other son, and no one to fall back upon."

She points out the difference, though the trouble is virtually the
same! Would it not be far better if she pleaded the same promise and
believed in the Lord as she did before? One man will say, "Ah, yes, I
did, on such an occasion, run all risks for God. But, you see, there is
a difference here." I know there is, my dear Brother, there is a little
difference and if you fix your eyes on that, you will drill yourself
into unbelief! But difference or no difference, where duty calls or if
you should be called to bear such an affliction as never befell mortal
man, before, yet remember God's arm is not shortened that He cannot
deliver His servants! You have but to commit yourself to Him and out of
the sevenfold adversity you shall come forth a sevenfold conqueror!

We are very apt, too, to look back upon the past and say, "I know that
there are some grand things the Lord did for me and my venture for His
sake turned out well, but I do not know what I should have done if a
happy circumstance had not occurred to help me just in the nick of
time." We dare to attribute our deliverance to some very "happy
accident"! It is very base of us to do so, for it was the Lord who
helped us from first to last–the happy occurrence was a mere second
cause! And cannot God give us another "happy accident," if necessary,
in this present trouble? "Alas," our unbelief says, "there was a
circumstance in that case which really did alter it, and I cannot
expect anything like that to occur now." Oh, how wrong this is of us!
How we lose the force of that blessed reasoning from parallels which
might have supplied us with courage! God grant we may break loose from
this net!

Possibly our coward heart suggests "Perhaps, after all, this deed of
courage may not be quite my calling and I had better not attempt it."
David might have said, "I am a shepherd and I can fight with lions, but
I was never trained to war, and therefore I had better let this
Philistine alone." He might, also, have discovered that he was better
adapted for protecting sheep than for becoming the champion of a
nation. We must guard against the use of this plausible pretext, for
pretext it is. Brethren, if we have achieved success by the power of
God, let us not dote upon some supposed adaptation, but stand prepared
to be used of the Lord in any other way which He may choose!

Adaptation is unknown till the event proves it–and our Lord is a far
better judge of that than we are! If you see before you a work by means
of which you can glorify God and bless the Church, do not hesitate, but
enter upon it in reliance upon your God! Do not stand stuttering and
stammering and talking about qualifications and so on, but what your
hand finds to do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus who has bought
you with His blood! Prove your qualifications by bringing Goliath's
head back with you and no further questions will be asked by anyone–or
by yourself!

So, too, sometimes we frame an excuse out of the opinions of others. We
are apt to feel that we really must consider what other people say. Our
good brother Eliab may be a little crusty in temper, but still, he is a
man of a good deal of prudence and experience. And he tells us to be
quiet and let these things alone and, perhaps, we had better do so. And
there is Saul. Well, he is a man of great acquaintance with such
matters! He judges that we had better decline the task and, therefore,
upon the whole we had better exhibit that prudence which is the better
part of valor and not rush upon certain danger and probable
destruction.

This seeking advice and following cowardly counsel is all too common!
We know that some strenuous effort is needed and it is in our power,
but we desire ease and, therefore, we employ other men to weave excuses
for us. It would be more honest to say outright that we do not want to
do any more. Were we more full of love to Jesus, this unworthy device
would be scorned by us and in sacred manliness of mind we would scorn
the counsel which tends to cowardice. Others cannot bear our
responsibility–we must, each one, give an account of himself to
God–why, then, yield to the judgement of men?

Oh, Brothers and Sisters, fling this folly to the winds! Obey the
dictates of the Holy Spirit and close your ears to the advice of
unbelief! Men or women consecrated to God, if the Lord impels you to do
anything for Him, do not ask me, do not ask my fellow Church officers,
but go and do it! If God has helped you in the past, draw a parallel
and argue from it that He will help you in the present. Go, and the
Lord go with you! Do not fall prey to that wicked unbelief which would
rob you of your strength!

III. The last thing is RESULTS. The results were, first, that David
felt he would, as he did before, rely upon God alone. Come to the same
resolution, Brothers and Sisters! God, alone is the source of power! He
alone can render real aid! Let us then rest in Him, even if no other
help appears. Is not the Lord, alone, enough? That arm which you cannot
see will never be palsied. Its sinews will never crack, but all the
arms of mortals upon which you so much love to lean must, one day, turn
to dust in the tomb. And while they live, they are but weakness itself.
Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah there is everlasting
strength. David had found wisdom's self when he said, "My soul waits
only upon God, for my expectation is from Him."

David resolved, again, to run all risks once more, as he had done
before. As he had ventured himself against the lion, so would he put
his life in His hands and engage the Philistine. Come wounds and
maiming! Come piercing spear or cutting sword! Come death, itself! Amid
the taunts and exultations of his giant foe, he would still dare
everything for Israel's sake and for God's sake! Soldiers of the Cross,
if you feel that you can do this, be not slow to put it into practice!
Throw yourselves wholly into the Lord's service! Consecrate yourselves
and your substance to the grand end of glorifying Christ, fighting
against error and plucking souls from destruction!

David's next step was to put himself into the same condition as on
former occasions, by divesting himself of everything that hampered him.
He had fought the lion with nature's weapons and so would he meet the
Philistine. Off went that glittering royal helmet which, no doubt, made
his head ache with its weight! Off went the cumbersome armor in which
he found it very hard to move! In such a metallic prison he did not
feel like David a bit and, therefore, he put all aside and wore only
his shepherd's frock! As for that magnificent sword which he had just
strapped by his side, he felt that it would be more ornament than
use–and so he laid it aside with the rest of the trappings. He put on
his pouch and took nothing with him but his sling and stones.

This was the old style and he did well to keep to it, for the Lord
saves not with sword and spear! We are all too apt to get into a fine
harness and tie ourselves up with rules and methods. The art of getting
rid of all baggage is a noble one, but few have learned it. Look at our
Churches! Look at the Church at large–is there not enough red tape
about to strangle a nation? Have we not committees enough to sink a
ship with their weight? As for patrons, presidents, vice-presidents and
secretaries, had not Christianity been Divine it could not have lived
under the load of these personages who sit on her bosom! The
roundabouts are worrying straightforward action out of the world. We
are organized into strait waistcoats! The vessel of the Church has such
an awful lot of top-hamper that I wonder how she can be navigated at
all! And if a tempest were to come on she would have to cut herself
free from nearly all of it.

When shall we get at the work? If there should ever come a day when
Brothers will go forth preaching the Gospel, simply resting in faith
upon the Lord alone, I, for one, expect to see grand results! But at
present, Saul's armor is everywhere! When we get rid of formality in
preaching, we shall see great results! But the Churches are locked up
in irons

which they call armor. Why, dear me, if we are to have a special
service, one Brother must have it conducted in the Moody method and
another can only have Sankey hymns! Who, then, are we that we must
follow others? Do not talk to us about innovations and all that–away
with your rubbish!

Let us serve God with all our hearts and preach Jesus Christ to sinners
with our whole souls–the mode is of no consequence! To preach down
priestcraft and error, and do it in the simplest possible manner–by
preaching up Christ–is the way of wisdom! We must preach, not after
the manner of doctors of divinity, but after the manner of those
unlearned and ignorant men in the olden time who had been with Jesus
and learned of Him! Brothers, some of you have too much armor on! Take
it off! Be simple, be natural, be artless, be plain-spoken, be trustful
in the living God and you will succeed! Less of the artificer's brass
and more of Heaven-anointed manhood is needed! More sanctified
naturalness and less of studied artificialness! O Lord, send us this,
for Christ's sake. Amen.

The ultimate result was that the young champion came back with
Goliath's head in his hand! And equally sure triumphs await every one
of you if you rely on the Lord and act in simple earnestness. If for
Christ, my Sister, you will go forward in His work, resting upon Him,
you shall see souls converted by your instrumentality. If, my Brother,
you will but venture everything for Christ's glory and depend, alone,
on Him, what men call fanaticism shall be considered by God to be only
sacred consecration and He will send you the reward which He always
gives to a full, thorough, simple, unselfish faith in Himself.

If the result of my preaching this sermon should be to stir up half a
dozen workers to some venturesome zeal for God, I shall greatly
rejoice. I remember when I commenced this work in London, God being
with me, I said if He would only give me half a dozen good men and
women, a work would be done, but that if I had half a dozen thousand
sleepy people nothing would be accomplished. At this time I am always
afraid of our falling into a lethargic condition. This Church numbers
nearly 5,000 members, but if you are only 5,000 cowards, the battle
will bring no glory to God! If we have one David among us, that one
hero will do wonders! But think what an army would be if all the
soldiers were Davids–it would be an ill case with the Philistines,
then!

Oh that we were all Davids! That the weakest among us were as David and
David, himself, were better than he is, and became like an angel of the
Lord! God's Holy Spirit is equal to the doing of this and why should He
not do it? Let us call to Him for help and that help will come! I must
just say this word to some here present who lament that there is
nothing in this sermon for them. Unconverted persons, you cannot draw
any argument from your past experience, for you have none of a right
kind. But you may draw comfort, and I pray you do, from another view of
this story.

Jesus Christ, the true David, has plucked some of us like lambs from
between the jaws of the devil. Many of us were carried captive by sin.
Transgression had so encompassed us about that we were unable to
escape. But our great Lord delivered us! Sinner, why can He not deliver
you? If you cannot fight the lion of the pit, HE can! Do you ask me,
What are you to do? Well, call for His help as loudly as you can. If
you are like a lamb, bleat to Him, and the bleating of the lamb will
attract the shepherd's ear. Cry mightily unto the Lord for salvation
and trust, alone, in the Lord Jesus! He will save you! If you were
between the jaws of Hell, yet, if you believed in Him, He would surely
pluck you out of destruction. God grant you may find it so, for
Christ's sake. Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–1 Samuel 17:23-51. HYMNS FROM
"OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–73, 674, 681.