Jan 17, 2024
(1Sm.18:6-9,19:1-7; Ps.56:2-3,5,9-14; Mk.3:7-12)
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
And Jesus His millions. He slays an untold number of “unclean spirits [who] would catch sight of Him, fling themselves down at His feet, and shout, ‘You are the Son of God.’” “A great crowd followed Him from Galilee, and an equally great multitude” from all the surrounding regions. So great were their numbers He needed a boat to escape the press upon Him. For He “cured many,” and many more desired to be touched by Him.
The women sing of David’s greatness upon his return from slaying the Philistine. Their rightful attribution of praise for David, through whom “the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel” and so for its king (who had himself sought someone to stand against the giant Goliath), does nothing but provoke resentment and jealousy from King Saul. His anger even leads to his plotting to kill the man who has saved his kingdom; and though he sets aside his plan “of shedding innocent blood by killing David without cause” for the moment, the plot never leaves his heart and shall repeatedly surface with greater intensity. Thus Saul proves his inability to serve as king of the Lord’s people. Thus his pride shall be his demise.
And rightfully does Saul claim of David that “all that remains for him is the kingship,” for in fact he has already been anointed king in place of Saul by Samuel the prophet. And though as with the kingship of Jesus, who silences the demons from revealing “who He was,” David’s crown shall remain hidden for a time, inevitably – again, as with the Lord’s reign – those who “press their attack against” the Lord’s anointed shall be turned back and the true king shall “walk before God in the light of the living.” It is inevitable for it is God’s will, and neither the jealousy of Saul nor the plotting of the Pharisees – the jealous kings who would be overthrown by Jesus – can turn aside what God has ordained.
The Lord is with David. Though his “adversaries trample upon [him] all the day,” he sings in praise of God in his psalm: “You have rescued me from death.” And so we see how our psalms sing of Jesus Himself and why He is called Son of David. For the greatest victory the Lord God shall achieve will be the resurrection of His Son from the dead, and the redemption of the many souls who shall follow Him.
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O LORD, we press upon you with our afflictions,
and by your Son’s intercession we are saved.
YHWH, how many evil spirits have you slain? How many enemies have you turned back for those who trust in your NAME? Though many fight against us, we are saved when we call out to you – forever we shall be safe from the malice of the wicked.
Your Son has come to our shores and cured us of our afflictions. By His grace He has freed us from all sin and evil. His power is greater than that of the devil though the devil sit on the throne of a king. For the spirit is greater than the flesh, and trusting in your Spirit, O LORD, we are released from the weakness of the flesh upon which the devil preys and made victorious in your NAME.
Thousands may we too slay if we keep our vows to you and in you find our strength. Then on the Day of your Son’s return, the angels shall sing of the glory which is ours in you and in Him, O LORD, as we enter your reign.