Wednesday Evening, Advent 2 December 8, 2021
1 Samuel 24:1-20
1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
Romans 4:1-8
1 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Matthew 9:27-33
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.” 28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.” 31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
32 As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him. 33 And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”
In the Name of Jesus.
“Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
That’s how the two blind men cried out for Jesus. [Matthew 9:27]
The Savior will be of the lineage of David. The one to show mercy, David’s greater Son.
In teaching of the salvation of the sinner, Paul quotes David. Romans 4:7:
David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
In quoting David, Paul makes it clear that the righteous man is the man not who has succeeded in keeping the Law, but who is forgiven of all his sin.
That is, the righteous man is the man who is righteous not by works of the flesh, but by faith.
That’s always the way it is for us, as we live in our sinful flesh, yet at the same time live our life of faith. It is always, on the one hand, the temptation to depend on the works of our flesh, and, on the other hand, to live by faith alone: Works of the flesh versus the life of faith.
We see this in David’s own life. David had already received the promise from the Lord that he would be king and that from his lineage the Savior would come, yet David was not king yet.
While David was waiting to be given the throne, the current king, Saul, was chasing David down to kill him.
Then, David had the chance to kill Saul. First, King Saul went out with 3,000 soldiers to hunt down David and kill him. Then, while David and his small band were hiding in the back of a cave, Saul unknowingly came into the cave unguarded in order to relieve himself.
This was David’s big chance! He could easily sneak up behind Saul and kill him. In one quick swing of the sword, the threat to David’s life would be over. With that swing of the sword, Saul would no longer be on the throne. David could take his seat upon the throne which, after all, is what the Lord had promised him.
David’s men told him to do it—take this opportunity, kill Saul, take the throne. Wouldn’t that be God’s will, since the Lord had promised the throne to David anyway?
What would any of us do?
David had a clear discernment to make. Kill Saul and take the throne by works of his own flesh? Or, don’t kill Saul, for the Lord had not given him to do that, don’t take the throne, and wait for the Lord—faith.
David said to his men,
“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”
[1 Samuel 24:6]
David leaves it to the Lord. This is the way of faith.
The way of the flesh is for the sinner to do the work himself, to live by what you can accomplish, to depend on your own works, not on the mercy of God.
The way of faith is to come before God empty, to come with no worthiness of your own, and to wait on the gifts of the Lord.
So Paul, in quoting Psalm verses written by David, says,
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
Paul says nothing of being blessed due to your obedience, nor because of your choices, decisions, dedication, or anything else of you—but the one who is blessed is blessed because the Lord has covered his sin. He is blessed because the Lord does not count his sin, bur, rather, accounts to the sinner the righteousness of the blood of the cross.
It is Advent, and we await the Christ-child. The One born of Mary comes with the title Son of David. His throne is eternal, for his throne is the cross, and the cross gave the blood to atone for the sins of all generations, no sinner left out.
We may speak from our own mouths the words said by the two blind men:
“Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
This is faith praying. Faith lives not by works, not by what we can accomplish with our own strength or will, but only and completely by mercy.
The prayer for mercy does not ever go unanswered.
In the Name of Jesus.