Seeking Father And The Sure Mercies Of David

Isaiah 55:6-11 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

The greatest power that a person can have is to be in step with the God of the Universe.

There is no tragedy that can defeat the person in step with God. There is no evil that can befall the God following Christian. The Prophet Moses sang when the armies of Egypt were crushed under the waters of the Red Sea:

Exodus 15:2 The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Who is like unto our God? Why does He love us so? I have often found these flies in my home – you know the kind – that will lite on you when you are resting, annoying you, driving you crazy. I find a fly swatter and – whack! – it is gone! So much for the fly! How often are we like flies to God our Creator? He gives us clear instruction, and we do not heed it. We buzz around God’s head willy nilly, rather than seek Him and lovingly trust Him. Why does God love us so? And yet, He does. God loves us, and calls us to His side. The Bible tells us:

Genesis 1:27 … God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

Humans are not animals. Animals are NOT created in the image of God, but men and women are. Humans are not angels. Angels are sometimes called “sons of God” in the Scripture, but only because God made them. Only men and women are in God’s image. Being in God’s image, we are designed to have an ongoing relationship with God. We were made for God. It is …

Psalm 100:3 … God Who made us, and not we ourselves …

We are incomplete without God. Our text tells us:

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Word Study We are to chase God, to “seek” Him. The word translated “SEEK” is the Hebrew דָּרַשׁ dârash, {pronounced daw-rash’}, which means “to follow, to pursue, to chase after, to greatly desire”. The word is sometimes used for intense prayer.

When Isaac married Rebekah, Rebekah was barren or childless. Isaac “entreated” (עָתַר ʻâthar, {pronounced aw-thar}) or “prayed for Rebekah”, and God doubly blessed her with twins. As the twins began to “struggle together within her” the Bible says Rebekah inquired {dârash, {pronounced daw-rash’} of the Lord. She ran to God in prayer, seeking His face. God answered Rebekah, telling her that the twins, Esau and Jacob would be the fathers of two nations. God said:

Genesis 25:23 … Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

Those who belong to God by faith should seek Him when we are on the mountaintop, but also seek Him in the valleys. We need to build a habit of seeking God. We must build a habit of pursuing His direction.

Isaiah 55:7-11 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

God will not draw near to anyone while they are following the path of unrighteousness. It is God Who establishes right and wrong. Not us, but God. God will not come near while we have hidden sin in our lives. When we repent, humbling ourselves before God, and heed His Word, He will come near.

David Often Sought The Lord,
Whereas Saul Did Not

When King Saul defied God’s Word, and the Lord told him “because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being King over Israel”, rather than repent and seek God’s forgiveness, he ignored God’s Word. When Saul realized that God was going to put David in his place, Saul began trying to kill David. The Priests at Nob gave the fugitive David and his men shew-bread (1 Samuel 21), hallowed bread from the tabernacle. When Saul heard of this, he ordered:

1 Samuel 22:17 … turn, and slay the priests of the Lord; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled {from me}, and did not shew it to me …

Saul had 85 priests killed. Saul ordered Nob, the city of the priests, smote with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and sucklings, and oxen, and asses, and sheep, with the edge of the sword (1 Samuel 22:19). Saul so rejected the Word of the Lord that he murdered hundreds of innocent people. God was far from Saul.

But God was near David. David sought the Lord. He ran from Saul, but sought God daily. When the Philistines attacked the city of Keilah, the Bible says:

1 Samuel 23:2 … David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.

David did not make assumptions. He sought out the Lord – and the Lord gave David victory over the Philistines. Saul heard that David had saved Keilah, and Saul said:

1 Samuel 23:7 … God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.

God was far from Saul, but Saul – in his sin – still thought God was with him. Oh, that Saul had repented! Saul gathered an army of men to take David captive, but David knew to “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near”. David prayed:

1 Samuel 23:10-11 … O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. 11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O LORD God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant. And the LORD said, He will come down.

David kept his eyes and ears on God, and Saul could not take him. The Bible says “Saul sought him every day, but God delivered David not into Saul’s hand” (1 Samuel 23:14).

David Heeded God, Not Man

Saul continued to chase David, seeking to kill him. David and his men went into the wilderness of Engedi. The Bible tells us that while pursuing David, Saul decided to take a rest in a cave in that wilderness. Saul didn’t know that David and his men were hiding in that same cave.

As soon as Saul slept, one of David’s men told him:

1 Samuel 24:4 … the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee.

This sounded like a good idea. God is in control of all things. The Bible says:

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Saul was chasing you, David. Samuel has previously anointed you to be the next king over Israel. Now here – God has allowed Saul to go to sleep right here, in this cave. You can do what you want – just go on and kill Saul.

When the devil comes, he never advertises his coming. He never says, “Hi, I’m the devil, and I want to mess up your walk with God”. No, the devil comes as a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). The devil dresses up in suits and ties when he goes to Church, or dresses up in armor when he goes to war with us. Jesus said of the devil:

John 8:44 … He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

When someone tells you something is a good idea, you had better check it against what God’s Word has said. David’s men are telling him “Go ahead and kill the King”. But God’s Word says:

1 Chronicles 16:22 … Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no harm (see also Psalm 105:15).

Saul has already killed 85 anointed priests and their families. Will David follow the same path? No, for David knew the Word of God. David went so far as to “cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe” (1 Samuel 24:5), but this was as far as he went. David told his men:

1 Samuel 24:6 The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.

God made Saul the King of Israel, and it would have to be God Who took Saul out. Saul would continue to pursue David. The Bible says that Saul pursued David with 3000 chosen men into the wilderness of Ziph. The Bible says that that very night:

1 Samuel 26:3 … David abode in the wilderness, and he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness … 7 So David and {the mighty warrior} Abishai {went down to the camp} by night: and, BEHOLD, Saul lay sleeping within the {circle of the camp}, and his spear stuck in the ground at his {head}

Once more, David is in a perfect position to kill his enemy. Saul is asleep. The Bible says “a DEEP SLEEP FROM THE LORD was FALLEN UPON THEM” (1 Samuel 26:12). David’s companion, Abishai says:

1 Samuel 26:8 … God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

David, you say the word, and Saul will be dead meat! Oh, what a temptation! But what did David reply?

1 Samuel 26:9-11 … Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless? 10 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. 11 The Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord’s anointed:

David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:4; Acts 13:22). David sought to please God more than himself or others. David was not perfect. There were many times he failed in his relationship with God. But David loved the Lord, and followed the Prophet in “Seek{ing} the Lord while He may be found, call{ing} upon Him while he is near”.

To get away from Saul, David moved into Philistine territory with his men, and ended up in the city of Ziklag:

1 Samuel 27:6 Then {the King of Gath} Achish gave {David} Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the Kings of Judah unto this day …

But David’s troubles were not over. One day while David and his men were away, the Amalekites

1 Samuel 30:1-2 … {attacked} Ziklag, and burned it with fire 2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: {the Amalekites} slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way …

What happened when David found Ziklag burned – their wives, sons, and daughters all taken captive? The Bible says:

1 Samuel 30:4 Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

It is all right to weep, to express pain and anguish. I have often heard people say “You shouldn’t question God”. I don’t believe that. I do believe that God is much higher, much greater than we are. The Almighty tells us:

When we are hurt, we weep. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself wept. (John 11:35). David wept – with his mighty men – because it hurt him to see all that he loved destroyed. Yet David loved God. David said in another place:

Psalm 56:8-11 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? 9 When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. 10 In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. 11 In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

There is no shame in weeping. There is no shame in asking God “Why”. Asking “why” does not make us bad Christians. Asking “why” makes us good Children. Asking “why” makes me a good son of God. Compared to God, I will always be lesser, a child.
Parents expect questions.

Illustrate The Bible says in 1 Samuel 30:6, “David was GREATLY DISTRESSED”, the Hebrew מְאֹד mᵊ’ōḏ יָצַר yāṣar, which could be translated “was besieged”. When an ancient city was “besieged”, it was surrounded by the enemy, and deprived both food and water until it surrendered. David felt like a city besieged. On top of this, we are told:

1 Samuel 30:6 … the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters:

This is a common thing that happens when trials come our way – we seek someone to blame. David was handy, and these people followed David to Ziklag, so obviously it was David’s fault. This adds to David’s agony.

What will David do? Again, looking at God’s Word:

Isaiah 55:9-11 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

We do not understand why things happen as they do – but God is in control. God said the rain and the snow have a purpose – to bring forth fruit in the land. If all we ever had was sunny days, we would never grow. Let me say that again:

If all we ever had was sunny days, we would never grow!

Just as the rain and the snow – though miserable when you are in the midst of it – has a purpose, all that comes to the believer has a purpose. God said “So it is with My Word. What I have said will stand. What I decree will be. Trust My Word. Follow My Word. Live to please Me. So David has a choice. David can respond in the flesh and nothing good will come of it, or David can do what he did:

1 Samuel 30:6 … David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

When your city is in ruins, and your life is besieged, look unto God! David sought the Lord while He might be found.

1 Samuel 30:8 … David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And {the Lord} answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

David sought out the Word of God. God told David:

Pursue
Overtake
Recover

As David and his men pursued the Amalekites, he came across an Egyptian slave that had been left behind because he was sick. That young Egyptian led David and his men to their camp. The Bible says:

1 Samuel 30:16-19 {the Amalekites} were spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking, and dancing, because of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them, save four hundred young men, which rode upon camels, and fled. 18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives. 19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

In Conclusion

The greatest strength we have is not in ourselves, but in adhering to God and His Word. The solution to our problems is not found in a political party nor in grand technology. The solution to what ails us is to return to the Lord Who made us. God said:

Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

As God did with David, He will do with you. God is no respecter of persons. Peter told us:

Acts 10:34-35 Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

How do we get into the “Sure Mercies of David”? We do as David did. We believe on God our Creator. We have faith in Him, and do what He says, no matter what others might think. Our text for tonight started out with these words:

Isaiah 55:1-2 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

God freely gives salvation and blessing to those who put their trust in Him. If you are thirsty, come. Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Cherish His Word. Commit to following what He says. Not what the world says, nor what others may say, but what Jesus says. What is in the Word. God’s Word is sure. Trust Him, and you shall live victoriously now, and eternally forever. Amen and Amen. May God the Holy Spirit and His precious Word cause a profound change in all our hearts!