The following teaching was presented at the Friday Night Prayer and Praise Service held on November 20, 1981, by the Reverend John W. Howe, Rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. The title is, When the Bottom Drops Out, and the scripture references are 1 Samuel 17, verse 31, and Psalm 57. 

I was going to ask you a question tonight, in fact a series of questions. Supposing that you knew, I mean you knew that you're right, okay? And the government was wrong, was desperately wrong.

You were the brunt of the government's wrongness, okay? But it wasn't only at you. I mean the government was wrong and everybody was suffering.

and supposing that you had the ability to topple the government, what would you do? I'll ask you again another question. Supposing that you were being pursued, hounded, chased, sought after by some sort of a Gestapo-like policeman and he wanted to kill you, and you were innocent, and suddenly you had the ability, the opportunity, to kill him instead.

You were innocent, and he was coming to take your life, and you had the opportunity to smudge him out. What would you do? Both of those may seem a little bit removed from you, at least from some of you.

Supposing that your immediate boss was deeply threatened by the success that you were achieving, and it was apparent to him that you were about to get his job. And so he's doing everything he can to get you fired. And now all of a sudden, some evidence has come to light, you have the opportunity to thoroughly discredit him and get him fired instead.

Now what would you do? I read the Time Magazine essay this week. It's about David Stockman.

And it begins with the words, Nobody enjoys a young man's success. All three of those questions are various ways of describing another David, not David Stockman, but the one in the Bible. At a particular moment in his career, in 1 Samuel chapter 24, you can read about a rather remarkable incident.

1 Samuel, maybe not quite a third of the way through the Old Testament. 1 Samuel chapter 24. You remember how David, as still a relatively young man, had gone out when the whole army of Israel was quaking in its boots because of this giant, this Philistine giant named Goliath, and he was challenging them to send forth a champion.

Let me fight one-on-one. If I win, you're our slaves. If he wins, you'll be our slaves.

We'll be your slaves. A one-on-one challenge. And nobody from the whole army of Israel would accept the challenge.

And David, probably just a teenager, arrives on the scene. And he says, that big bully? He's nothing.

I handled bears, lions, with my bare hands when I was tending my father's sheep. I can handle him. And somehow Saul believes in this young man and lets him go off as the champion of Israel.

A wonderful story. little vignette there with Saul trying to put his own armor on this stripling of a youth. And of course, it's too big, it's too heavy.

David doesn't know what to do with it. So he says, I don't need that. I'll go out with my little slingshot and five stones.

It's a beautiful picture of the world trying to put its armor on us to fight God's battles. It'll never do. You better fight God's battles in his strength, not the world's armor.

And David goes out and wins the day, you know. And the Philistines are so disheartened by this that they run away scared. And Israel triumphs.

It chases them and wipes out the army. And as they're coming back home, everybody is singing and dancing and applauding. And there's a little chorus that the women in particular are singing.

They're saying, Saul, the king, has slain his thousands. And Saul feels pretty good about that because he didn't slay any of them, see? But there's a tag on.

And David has slain his ten thousands. Nobody enjoys the success of a young man. And this begins to eat away at Saul as he sees in David a rising star coming into his ascendancy and he begins to fear the very thing which in fact God has planned that David is going to inherit the throne.

Saul is going to be removed from the picture. Saul knows that because the prophet Samuel has already spoken to him about this and David is a threat to him and so rather than bowing to the will of God Saul begins to pursue David to destroy him it's remarkable to think that he's going to get away with it to think that God's purposes are going to be thwarted even if he does get away with it to think that if I can wipe David out somehow I'm going to retain the crown but that's what he does anyway and he raises an army and this champion of Israel who has saved Israel from slavery now becomes the target of an all-out attack from King Saul. And he pursues him as a fugitive from justice.

And David runs and goes into hiding. Just one vignette in a very long story. Kind of a funny vignette in its own way.

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi. Then Saul took 3,000 chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the wild goats' rocks. And he came to the sheepfolds, by the way, where there was a cave.

Now David is in the cave. David, sort of a Robin Hood and his merry men, they're in the cave. They're just resting in the cave.

And Saul comes into the cave, not knowing they're in there, to relieve himself. But David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. Okay, you've got to picture this deep, dark cave.

Saul comes in enough, far enough in to retain his modesty, not far enough in to see that he's got a whole audience here. Okay. And the men of David, they can hardly believe this.

Here is the king literally with his pants down. Okay. And they say, David, that's Saul.

That's Saul. It's right there. Here is the day in which the Lord said to you, Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand.

That's what God said to him. David, when he was a little boy, a little boy, is anointed by Samuel and by the Holy Spirit and is proclaimed king of Israel. How can I be king when there's a king on the throne?

Ah, but you are the king. And one day, I'll give your enemy into your hand. One day, everybody will know that you are the king.

Just be patient. This is the day. There he is, your enemy.

Wipe him out. And David arose and stealthily cut off the skirt of Saul's robe. Took off his robe, laid it down, and David cut a little piece off of it.

Afterward, David's heart smote him because he had cut off Saul's skirt. And he said to his men, the Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my Lord, the Lord's anointed, to put forth my hand against him, seeing that he is the Lord's anointed. He didn't kill him.

He just took a little piece off of his skirt. And that was enough of an infringement on the authority of Saul, who is misusing his authority, that David's heart smites him. Then I would put forth my hand that far to cut off his skirt, let alone cut off his head.

So David persuaded his men with these words, and he did not permit them to attack Saul. Saul rose, left the cave, and went upon his way. 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 did obeisance. And David said to Saul, Why do you listen to the words of men who say, Behold, David seeks your hurt? Lo, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave.

And some bad me kill you, but I spared you. I said, I will not put forth my hand against my Lord, for he is the Lord's anointed. See my father.

See the skirt of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. You can read on the story.

It's a beautiful story. Saul repents at this point. Then he changes his heart again and goes after him again.

And in fact, there's a sequel to the story where the whole scene is repeated a couple of chapters later. David has the opportunity. I want you to get the dynamics of this.

The government is dead wrong. It is dead wrong. And David is the brunt of its wrongness.

A whole army has been raised to wipe him out. And he is the Lord's anointed. He's declared king of Israel by the only prophet that is worthy of the name.

And he knows the government is going not only against me personally, but against the people. Against God. And he has the opportunity to wipe out the government.

To topple the government. He has a Gestapo policeman seeking his life. And he's innocent.

He is absolutely innocent at this point. And he has the opportunity to kill him. His boss knows he's about to be displaced.

He's trying to get David fired. And he has the opportunity to get him fired. And David's attitude is he is God's anointed.

I also am. But he is God's anointed. And I will not exercise that prerogative if God wants him removed, God can remove him.

Now, I don't know what that says to you. I think that if you or I were in that position, we could very well make a case for taking the thing into our own hands. But David didn't. And he's called a man after God's own heart.

David had the opportunity. In every sense of justice that I know anything about, he would have been justified. But his attitude was, my life is in the hands of God.

And if he wants me to be king, he can take Saul out of the way all by himself. Now that's the story. And I wanted to cross-reference that with you to a psalm that came out of this very episode.

and see how David worshipped in the middle of this experience. Look over at Psalm 57. It says, To the choir master, according to Do Not Destroy, Somebody wrote on the blackboard, save, right?

A mictam of David. That means a covering. A covering.

Here's David's covering. Here's David's protection. Here's David's security.

And it tells us when this came, when he fled from Saul in the cave. Can you picture yourself in that situation? What is it you've been wrestling with today?

I guarantee you it wasn't as bad as having the king of Israel and an army of 3,000 coming after you. I guarantee you, whatever it was, it wasn't that bad. All right?

Be merciful to me, O God. Be merciful to me. For in Thee my soul takes refuge.

Not in my sword. not in my opportunity not in surprise in thee in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge till the storms of destruction pass by what does David do? he cries to God most high to God who fulfills his purpose for me how many of you know that you cannot fulfill God's purpose but he can fulfill his purpose for you.

Not too many hands went up. You cannot fulfill God's purpose. He can fulfill it in you.

To God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I know he will. He's promised.

He's a good God. Sure doesn't look like it, but I know because I know. he will put to shame those who trample upon me God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness here's how it feels to David here's how it feels in the midst of his circumstances I lie in the midst of lions that greedily devour the sons of men.

Their teeth are spears and arrows. Their tongues sharp swords. That's how it feels.

And what does he do? He praises God. Do you recognize the words?

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be over all the earth. It's easy to praise God when you feel yourself in the midst of the angels.

But when you feel yourself in the midst of the lions, what does David do? Be exalted, O God, above the heavens. Let thy glory be over all the earth.

They set a net for my steps. My soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way.

but they have fallen into it themselves. I love that phrase. Again, you look at the circumstances, it sure doesn't look like it.

It does not look like they've fallen into a pit. It looks like they've got a mighty army and they're coming after me. How come they've fallen into a pit?

Because the only safe place to be is in the center of God's will. And David, in that cave, is in the center of God's will. And they, with all their armament, with all their soldiers, with all their cannons, with all their B-1 bombers have fallen into a pit.

No way they can win. My heart is steadfast, O God. My heart is steadfast.

Here I am surrounded by lions and I will sing and make melody. Awake, my soul. He addresses himself.

His spirit, his will, takes charge over his emotions and his soul. He addresses himself. He commands himself, Soul, wake up and sing.

Awake, O harp and lyre, I will awake the dawn. I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord, among the peoples. I will sing praises to Thee among the nations.

For Thy steadfast love is great to the heavens. Thy faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Let Thy glory be over all the earth. Amen. Saturday.