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The
Seventh Sunday after Trinity.
The
Collect.
ORD of all power and might, who art the author and giver
of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us
true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in
the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ow the
Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered
together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between
Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men
of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set
the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the
Philistines stood on a mountain on
the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain
on the other side: and there was a valley between them. 4 And
there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of
Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he
had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a
coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of
brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his
legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And
the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six
hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And
he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye
come out to set your battle in array? am not I a
Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come
down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill
me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him,
then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the
Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we
may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard
those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. (1 Samuel 17:1-11)
What does the term ‘giant’ mean?
Uncommonly large….strong and formidable…terrifying….great in power (such as a
nation, person, football team, etc)
Giants may also be great and challenging problems in
your life. We may have giant debts we owe, giant exams to pass,
giant challenges in getting into the college of our choice, etc.
Giants are always bigger than we are whether a real
giant person, or a giant problem.
Extraordinary courage is required to take on a giant.
Sometimes that courage is beyond us as well as the means to battle a giant, but
faith is not simply the equalizer, but also the advantage.
In the early days of the Creation of the world, there
were giants – human beings conceived outside the bounds of normal human
capacity.
Let’s examine the following texts:
here were
giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God
came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them,
the same became mighty men which were of old, men of
renown. (Genesis 6:4)
These may have no longer been angels of God, but
fallen angels which had rebelled against God, took part with Satan in war
against the sovereignty of God, and been cast down by Michael, the Archangel,
to the earth - as we read in Revelation
nd there
was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the
dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were
cast out with him. (Rev 12:7)
Giants of finance, banking, and investment often
become so – not through Godly living and obedience to God, but through
unnatural zeal and greed.
Such
was the giant, Goliath. A strong and huge man of war. One of his arms were
heavier than the entire body of the youth, David.
The giant, Goliath, mocked the men of Israel twice
each day by presenting himself between the lines and challenging the Israelites
to send their best man for battle – winner take all.
nd there
went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath,
whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 And he
had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a
coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of
brass. 6 And he had greaves of brass upon his
legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And
the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six
hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. 8 And
he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye
come out to set your battle in array? am not I a
Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come
down to me. 9 If he be able to fight with me, and to kill
me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him,
then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the
Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we
may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard
those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
Nations and armies also face their giants. The manner
in which an individual, or nation, or army, responds to the giants they face
makes all the difference in the outcome – victory or defeat.
Having the faith to know that the battle is not our
but God’s is the element that will assure victory against any giant.
Let me give you an example of an Imperial giant being
overthrown by a far lesser power. The lesser power appealed only to God for
salvation as it could not be gotten from their meager armies.
In June, 1812, the combined allied armies of the
French Emperor, Napoleon Bounaparte, undertook his famous invasion of the Holy
Russian Empire. Crossing the Nieman River which divided Prussia from Russia’s western
front, he deployed an army of 600,000 troops with the right flank anchored on
the Dnieper River and the left on the Baltic Sea – an 800 mile front
The Russians had no army to speak of. The Russian
heartland lay, like a helpless virgin, before the massed armies of Napoleon.
The Russian Emperor Nicholas and the Russian humble
peasantry of Russia had no hope of victory against such and army led by the
military genius who had never been defeated in battle. Knowing of no other
source of help than from the Throne of Grace, they prayed to God and sang their
anthem – Save us O God. The same is in our hymnals
as “God the Omnipotent”
This Russian hymn was later included in the score of
the great Russian composer, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece – The
Overture of 1812 – the
consecration hymn written specifically for the opening of St. Catherine’s Cathedral.
Only God could do battle with Napoleon on behalf of
the Russian people.
Is there no power for the people of God when the dark
angels of the enemy scream and curse over the battle lines?
Tchaikovsky interlaces the faint tones of the Russian
hymn at the beginning of his piece with that of la Marsellais or French
National anthem and concludes, when Napoleon is frozen out at Moscow,
with live cannon fire and church bells – reinforcing the fact that the Battle
belongs to the Lord –
With him is an
arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to
fight our battles. (2
Chron 32:8)
Now the people of Israel face such an enemy in the
person of Goliath.
Further along in the chapter text we read: 32 And
David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go
and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David,
Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art
but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
Now the account of David’s courage in God demonstrated in his
actions (as our own courage in God should be demonstrated in our own
actions):
David refused the armor and sword offered by King
Saul. Our natural, God-given weapons will always be sufficient unto us.
nd he took
his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and
put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in
his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. Why five
stones? Look at 2 Samuel 21:20 – Goliath had four sons! Would it be
reasonable to take precautions in case the sons attempted to avenge their
father?) 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near
unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. 42 And
when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a
youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.(The pride of the enemy always
disdains what he perceives as weakness in the enemy) 43 And
the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me
with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And
the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the
fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. (the elevated boasts of
an ungodly man) 45 Then said David to the Philistine,
Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come
to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD
deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from
thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto
the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth
may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this
assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the
battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.
`This
account comports with the second line of Martin Luther’s hymn – A
Mighty Fortress us our God.
Did we in our own
strength confide,
our striving would
be losing,
were not the right
man on our side,
the man of God's own
choosing.
Dost ask who that
may be?
Christ Jesus, it is
he;
Lord Sabaoth, his
name,
from age to age the
same,
and he must win the
battle.
Please note how a true Christian hymn reflects
Scripture and Truth in every line and reinforces faith unlike the light and
whimsical modern gospel song.
nd it came
to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that
David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.(this is
courage personified! Run to face your giants head-on as David does here) 49 And
David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and
smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead;
and he fell upon his face to the earth (the trajectory of the stone
was guided by the Hand of God) 50 So David prevailed
over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine,
and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
All the inventions of modern warfare are useless against
the Hand of God. If we, as a nation, will turn our hearts from iPods, and TV
sex, and inordinate focus on sports and romance, drugs and alcohol, and fix
them upon God, He will heal our land as well as our souls and spirits. David
had only the armor of God, but it was sufficient.
It is sufficient for you as well!
