(1 Samuel) the Battle After the Battle — David Guzik

Last week, we considered one of the most famous stories in the Bible, the story of David and Goliath. It's so famous because it's so accessible to any age. The idea of a young man or a little boy taking on a great big giant and beating him through the power of the Lord is such an engaging story for anybody.

But there were definitely things that happened in David's life, in the life of Israel and in the life of King Saul after Goliath fell to the ground and shook the ground like an earthquake because he fell so hard.

David’s Conversation with Saul After Goliath

David cut off Goliath's head and led Israel in a triumphant battle, not just over Goliath, but over the whole Philistine army. And the Philistines were completely routed in battle. Well, after the battle, Saul, the king of Israel, invited David for a private interview to find out more about David, especially because David was going to be marrying his daughter and into the family.

So we find at the very last few verses of 1 Samuel chapter 17, beginning at verse 57, it says,. Then as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.

I love that little point. David carrying around with him the head of Goliath. You know, I imagine he carried it around for a couple of weeks just to show everybody what he had done. Verse 58,. And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man?

And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite. Now, I'm going to suggest something to you, and I admit I'm just at least a bit reading into the text. I want to suggest to you that this conversation that David had with King Saul lasted a considerably longer time than what we're told here in the text.

We're given just the briefest outline of the conversation. Whose son are you, young man? I'm the son of your servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite. I imagine that the conversation went on much longer, and Saul asked him, Well, tell me about the battle and what God was doing in your heart.

And David poured out before King Saul his heart, telling him how the Lord had prompted him and how he trusted in God and the great faith he had in God in the midst of the battle. Now, the reason why I'm suggesting this is contained in chapter 18, verse 1.

Take a look here. It says,. And it was so when he had finished speaking to Saul that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. You see, now there's a third party to this conversation.

King Saul and David are speaking one with another. And off to the side here is Saul's son, Jonathan. Now, Jonathan was the oldest son of King Saul and a very brave and bold man. We've met him before in the book of 1 Samuel.

Jonathan was a man who had a real trusting relationship in the Lord God. He was a man who went out and performed great exploits for the Lord. Remarkable man in the Bible. And as Jonathan watched and listened to this conversation between King Saul, his father, and David, this man who had just defeated Goliath, something happened in the heart of Jonathan.

Jonathan heard this conversation and he heard David's heart as it was revealed in this conversation and Jonathan said, There's something special about this man. I love this man. Now, I would suggest to you also that I believe that Jonathan and David knew each other before this.

David was a temp in Saul's royal court. He'd come in and play the lyre for a while and the harp, I should say, and entertain Saul and soothe his distressed spirit and then he'd go home to his father's flocks and he'd spend some time at the palace and some time at his father's flocks.

And David was around the palace. I imagine that in those days when David was around the palace, Jonathan met David. They had exchanged kind words and got to know one another, at least on a superficial level.

But when Jonathan heard David pour out his soul before the Lord and before King Saul, he said, There's something special. You see, Jonathan was a lot like David. They weren't the same age exactly. Jonathan was probably five or ten years older than David and they were both bold, though.

They were both men of action. They were both men of great trust in God. Most of all, they were both men who had a real relationship with God. Now, you might say, Well, no wonder their souls were knit together.

They had a lot of common things. Well, it's true. They had things in common. But they had some great differences also. You want to know the great differences between them? First of all, Jonathan was the son of a king and David was the son of a farmer.

And let me phrase that another way. Jonathan was the oldest son of a king, which made him what? The crown prince. Jonathan wasn't just a prince. He was the heir to the throne. And David was the youngest son of a farmer.

Yet they shared the same heart before God. Now, Jonathan being the crown prince, everyone in Israel expected that Jonathan would be the next king. Yet David had been chosen by God to be the next king.

And I'm going to assume something here. And again, I think as we go on in the next few verses, you'll see that I'm not reading into the text unjustly. I believe that as Jonathan heard David talk with King Saul, and he heard David pour out his heart, and he learned what kind of man this David was, that God told something to Jonathan.

I'm going to suggest to you that at that moment, God spoke to Jonathan's heart and told him, this is the one who's going to be the king of Israel. Not you, Jonathan. Everybody expects that you would be the one.

Everybody's expectation is on that. But you're going to be the next king of Israel. Or excuse me, that man, David, is going to be the next king of Israel. Now, how could I suggest such a thing? Why would I think that Jonathan had that kind of heart?

Had that kind of understanding? Because look at the next few verses. Verses 2, 3, and 4. Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. Jonathan looked at David and God spoke to his heart and He said, that man is going to be the next king of Israel.

Not you, Jonathan. And you know what Jonathan said in response? All right, Lord, I'll give up my right to the throne because you've chosen that man. Isn't that amazing love? Isn't that amazing surrender to the heart and to the will of God to give up that ambition?

Now, I suppose some people might think, well, Jonathan didn't want to be king. He didn't want to be king. Maybe he was just a playboy, a partier, and he didn't want the responsibility. He just wanted to go out and have fun.

We know Jonathan wasn't that kind of man. He was a man who loved God and had a real trust in God. They say, oh, well, maybe Jonathan was a man who was weak. And he said, I don't want the responsibility.

It's too much pressure being king. Let somebody else have the job. No, Jonathan was a man of bravery and courage. Jonathan would have made an excellent king. Jonathan would have been a much better king than his father Saul.

It wasn't that Jonathan was bad and David was good. God looked down from heaven and said, I want David to be the next king. And He told Jonathan that. And Jonathan said, Lord, I will joyfully surrender my ambition before you and recognize this man as heir to the throne.

Don't you think that since the day Saul became king, that Jonathan thought, what will it be like when I'm king? He thought about it. He planned for it. He lived his life in expectation of it. He had his heart set on that anticipation.

And now the Lord says to Jonathan, no, not you, but this other one, this unlikely man, David. So what does Jonathan do? He takes his royal princely robe off and he goes over and he sets it upon David.

He says, David, here's my armor. You're the crown prince. I'm going to recognize you. I'm going to lay down my princely status so that you can take what God has called you to. And that is remarkable, remarkable love.

Jonathan’s Covenant and Surrender of His Ambition

In addition, Jonathan, his heart turned this way towards David. He said, I want our hearts to be knit together. We have the same soul. When you read that, there was something probably going on inside.

He said, I wish I had a friendship like that. I wish I had a friendship that my heart could be knit to the heart of another, that our souls could be as one. Friends, don't you see that it was because both Jonathan and David were so submitted to the Lord, they were both completely surrendered to God.

They weren't in it for themselves. They weren't in it for the praise or the glory of man. They love the Lord. And it was because they both had these surrendered hearts before God that they could join together and have such a relationship where their hearts were knit together.

And so Jonathan says, I want to choose you as a friend, David. I've seen your heart in this conversation with Saul. And God has told me, you will be the next crown prince. Take my robe. Take my armor.

And let's have a covenant to bond our friendship together. This isn't just going to be a casual, well, we're friends, everybody's friends. No, I'm going to make a solemn covenant before the Lord that you'll be the next king.

And I'll always support you. And I'll always recognize that fact, David. What an amazing heart. Willing to set aside his ambition to honor the Lord's choice. Well, David, for his part, received that robe and received Jonathan's armor.

I suppose he could have said, oh, no, Jonathan, I won't have this. You take it back. But David received it. And I believe he received it with the right kind of attitude. Friends, I don't think that David said or thought in his mind, Oh, good, Jonathan.

We all see who's boss around here. Now, get out of my way because I'm going to replace your father as soon as I can. I'm anointed. I just defeated Goliath. Let's make some changes around here. Friends, do you realize that it would be some 15 to 20 years until David took the throne?

If Jonathan is to be admired because he could set aside his ambition and look at the Lord's choice. So David is to be admired because he could set aside his ambition and yield to the Lord's timing. Both of these men were men who had their hearts fixed on God, not ambition.

Matter of fact, I believe that if the places were switched, if David were the son of the king and Jonathan were the son of the farmer and the situation circumstances were reversed, David would have just as readily taken that royal robe off himself and put it on Jonathan because they both had the same heart.

What a remarkable thing. I think it's also interesting to see that Jonathan gave David his armor. Now, we saw last week in the battle between David and Goliath, Saul tried to give David his armor and David put it on and it didn't fit him and he rejected it.

It didn't fit David physically because Saul was such a big man, but it also didn't fit David spiritually because Saul's armor, if you want to say represented Saul, it was trusting in the flesh. It was all about technology and human tools and human manipulations.

It was all about that. David said, I don't want any part of that. I'm going to trust in God and God alone. But now when Jonathan says here, take my armor, what does David say? David says, I'll take it.

It fits. I bet it fit him physically, but it also fit him spiritually because Jonathan was a man who loved and honored God. They both had the same soul. Do you realize that there was no debating of the issue?

Who's going to be the next king between David and Jonathan? They didn't go back and forth and kid around about it. Well, you know, maybe I'll be king. Maybe I'll be king. I don't know. It was settled.

It was done. It was settled because if it were not settled in the hearts of David and Jonathan, they could have never had this kind of close love and friendship. They loved each other more than the throne of Israel because they loved the Lord more than the throne.

God’s Covenant Love and Spiritual Armor

We've got a lot more to say about this relationship as we go on this one. But I want to stop and just consider something which may be the most important thing I say to you this morning. I want you to look at this illustration or this dynamic between Jonathan and David as an illustration of the Lord's love for you.

Put the Lord in the place of Jonathan and you in the place of David. The Lord comes to you and he says, I love you and I want to have a committed love relationship with you sealed by a covenant. God doesn't want a casual relationship with you, a sort of in and out here in their relationship.

God wants his relationship with you to be sealed with a covenant of love. And God says to you today, just as much as verse three says, it says in Jonathan, David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul.

God loves you and he wants a covenant of love with you. Then again, God does not want you to hide your commitment or your covenant of love with him. David walking around the palace with Jonathan's robe and Jonathan's armor, people would say, wait a minute, isn't that Jonathan's robe?

Yes, it is. David would say, we have a covenant of love. We have a commitment to one to another. And then again, we see also that in this dynamic, Jesus Christ wants to give you gifts and he wants you to receive them from him.

Jonathan gave David gifts and David received them. The Lord has riches, beautiful gifts to empower your life, to love him and to serve him. And he wants you to receive those gifts. We see that Jesus wants to clothe you with the robes of royalty.

Friends, can't you see the illustration here? Just as much as Jonathan said, I am a prince, but I'll take off my royal robe so that I can put it around the one that I love. So Jesus took off the majestic royal robe of heaven that he had and came down to this earth so that you could be clothed with it.

That's how much he loves you. And then finally, real love will give armor to fight with. Just as much as Jonathan gave David armor, so the Lord God gives us armor to protect ourselves and to fight with.

And the Lord God says here, take my armor. I want you to have it. I want you to fight with it. Well, it's fantastic, isn't it? Look at verse five. So David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely.

David’s Faithful Service and Growing Popularity

And Saul sent him over the men of war and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants. David was fully submitted to Saul and sought to serve Saul wisely in every way.

By the way, do you understand that David knew that the way to be blessed was to work hard to be a blessing to his boss? There was none of this. Well, I'm going to be the next king of Israel. I'll start undercutting Saul so that I can get in there a little bit quicker.

No, David served Saul as well as he could. He would not undercut his position or authority because he knew that the way to be blessed was to work hard to be a blessing to his boss. And Saul made him a general in the army of Israel.

And everybody loved David. The people loved David. The servants of Saul loved David. And please, friends, this was not because David was a yes man, people pleaser, sycophant kind of man. David didn't seek this popularity at all, and certainly he didn't depend on any of those carnal tools to achieve it.

David became popular because he was a man after God's own heart and people could see the love of God, the wisdom of God and the peace of God in him. And you look at the end of verse five and everything's fantastic.

Goliath's dead, the Philistines are routed, David's dragging around a head with him. Everybody's applauding. David's loved by the people. He's loved by Saul's staff. And Saul's standing back and saying, you know, everybody thinks I'm a very wise leader for appointing such a competent man as David.

Yes, this is a great credit to me and to my administration. And you go to the end of verse five and everything's great. If you mark in your Bible, draw a little line after 1 Samuel, chapter 18, verse five.

Because that was the high point from here on out, it goes down. It never gets this good again. This is as good as it gets between David and Saul. They're one big happy family. Until the events of verse six.

David’s Praise and the Test of Success

Now, it had happened as they were coming home when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments.

So the women sang as they danced and said, Saul is slain as thousands and David, his ten thousands. Well, if David was popular at the end of verse five, friends, he had just begun to be popular because the people of Israel started singing a song.

And the song went like this, Saul is slain as thousands and David, his ten thousands. David was a very popular man now. His cover is on all the magazines in Israel. Front page of the newspaper, above the fold, leading the news stories.

Other prominent politicians want to associate themselves with David because he's so popular. And more than all that, he's the star of the number one hit song that's topping all the charts in Israel. Everybody's singing a song.

It's got a catchy tune. Everybody loves it. Saul is slain as thousands and David is ten thousands. And friends, let me tell you, when women sing and dance in your honor, you're popular. When it happens in all the cities of Israel, you're popular.

Now, how did David react to this popularity? He received it well. Because look at first Samuel, chapter 18, verse 14, with me and David behaved wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him. That's what it says of David's life of this period.

He behaved wisely in all his ways and the Lord was with him in this environment of praise and popularity. David behaved wisely in all his ways. That means that when he was praised, when he was popular, he didn't let it go to his head.

That's not wise. And David behaved himself wisely. Now, there's no doubt that David was happy to hear these affirming words. I'm sure that when he heard that song, he didn't think, oh, this is terrible.

I wish they wouldn't say such things about me. He said, no, this is great. But friends, he didn't let it dominate his thinking. I can assure you of something. When King Saul laid his head on the pillow at night, all he could hear was that song running through his head.

David is, Saul is 20 ,000, David is 10 ,000. The tune, the song, the lyrics running through his head constantly. Friends, if Saul could not get that song out of his mind, it did not dominate the mind of David.

David heard it, he was happy and then he let it go. He did not let it dominate his thinking or change his opinion of himself. He kept the heart and the mind of a shepherd, even in a season of great success.

And might I say that this was not an easy test. This was a test, one that the devil wanted to use to bring David down and one that the Lord wanted to use to build David up. And it was a severe test. You understand that all those years when David was out tending the sheep, he never received that kind of affirmation from the sheep.

There's David, he just kills a lion and he comes back and he's scared and the adrenaline is pumping through his body and he's shaking and he's sweaty and he's just performed this incredible act of bravery.

And he stands before the sheep and he says, well, sheep, what do you think? And they say, bye. Another time, there's a lamb, it's wandered off and David has to chase all over the place and find it and bring it back and carry it on his shoulders.

It's hard work. And he's frustrated. He's angry. He comes back and he brings all the sheep together. Says, what do you think about that, guys? Don't you think I love you? And the sheep just say, bye. I guarantee you something, those sheep never once sang or danced in David's honor.

But out in the shepherd's fields, David had his heart set. You see, David had his heart set in the right place so that he could handle adversity well and also handle success well. Many men who can handle adversity can't handle success.

But David wasn't that kind of man. Now, why? Well, one great reason is because David could be so content and so happy when he was out in the sheepfold. You know, when David was out with the sheep and the sheep were just saying bye, not praising him or affirming him, when his brother was cutting him down, when his father was cutting him down, David didn't walk around among the sheep and kick rocks and say, you stupid sheep, you never praised me at all.

Nobody likes me. Nobody appreciates me. Why, someday I'll be something. Someday I'll be famous. You just wait. Someday they'll be singing a hit song about me all over Israel. David never said that. Instead, he just entrusted his heart to the Lord and he set his heart in the right place.

And he said, I'm doing it for the Lord. I love the Lord and my reward is from him. Because his heart was right in the shepherd's field, then David behaved wisely in all of his ways when the praise and the popularity came.

Let me draw another point out from this. We also see David's heart by comparing his reaction when the praise came to how he acted when he was criticized. Remember in the previous chapter, when David first came to the army of Israel, when they were facing Goliath, and his brother Eliab said, what are you doing, you punk kid out here?

I know why you've come out here. Your heart's full of evil and you're just goofing off and I know the evil intention of your heart. And all the soldiers of Israel laughed and they made fun of David and it was a very awkward situation.

Saul’s Envy and Suspicion of David

David, did that destroy David? Did he say, well, I give up, I'm leaving this. No, I'm sure David wasn't happy at the criticism. But he said, I'll keep doing what the Lord wants me to do. It didn't deter him.

I'd suggest to you that most people are corrupted by praise and popularity to the same degree that they're crushed by scorn and criticism. If you get all deflated when you're criticized, then you're likely to get all puffed up when you're praised.

But because of what God had built in David's life in the shepherd's field, David could live his life more for the Lord than for people. Now, it wasn't that David didn't care what people thought. Friends, that's a bad attitude, too.

I don't care what anybody thinks. I'm just serving the Lord. It doesn't matter what you say, what you think. I don't care about that. Friends, that's not a godly attitude. God wants us to care about the opinions of other people, but in the right place, set after the opinion of the Lord.

And that's where David's heart was set. He could put the opinion of God and the opinion of men in the right perspective. There's a lot to admire about David in this passage. That's how he reacted. What about Saul?

Look at verse eight. Then Saul was very angry and the saying displeased him, and he said, they've ascribed to David ten thousand and they've ascribed, but to me, they've ascribed but thousands. Now, what more can he have but the kingdom?

So Saul eyed David from that day forward. Now, as we've been making our way through this book of 1 Samuel, you've kind of been getting to know this fellow Saul, haven't you? Does his reaction here surprise you?

No. You can't almost stand back and say, that's Saul. You know, he doesn't have a right relationship with God. He doesn't have a close relationship with the Lord. And so you know what? The only thing Saul has to affirm his heart is the praise of men.

That's the only thing that can make him feel good. He's not receiving the praise that comes in your heart from a right relationship with God. He's not living in that affirmation. So the only thing that can make him feel accepted is the praise of men.

So when David was more praised than he was, it really bothered Saul. You understand that it's always a bad sign in a leader when they resent or feel threatened by the success of one of their subordinates.

It's a certain sign of weakness in that leader. So how does Saul react? Typically, he overreacts. Look at what he says at the end of verse eight. Now, what more can he have than the kingdom? Oh, first the singing the song.

I guess David's going to have the kingdom now. That's a typical kind of overreaction seen in the proud and the insecure. Saul could have thought differently at this point. Saul could have thought like this.

David's done well. This is his day. They're singing about him today. I'll keep serving the Lord and they'll sing about me another day. Praise the Lord. Saul could have thought that. But no, he overreacted.

He said, now, what more can he have but the kingdom? But might I say, too, there's another dynamic at work in Saul. It's the dynamic of a guilty conscience. You see, Saul remembered something. He remembered that the prophet Samuel had told him this.

The Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel. Saul knew that. And he knew that his sin had disqualified him from being king and he was hanging on to the throne in the energy of his flesh. An honorable man would have stepped down.

An honorable man would have said, Lord doesn't want me to be king anymore. I won't be king. But if Saul was an honorable man, he wouldn't be in this mess. No, instead, Saul constantly worried, when will God cast me off the throne?

Who will he raise up to replace me? Everybody he saw. Is that the next king? Is that the next king? So when David rose up in popularity, he goes, that must be him. That's the next king. And Saul reacted that way.

And might I say, what an overreaction. Good heavens. The crowds were praising Saul, don't you know? Yeah, I mean, the first half of the song was Saul has slain a thousand. What's wrong with that? Isn't it enough to slay thousands?

No, for Saul, it wasn't enough as long as somebody else was slaying his ten thousands. Friends, don't you see how it would go? This song was being sung all throughout Israel and Saul would come up to a city and here come the singing and the dancing ladies.

And they're coming out and say, hey, this is great. Oh, they're the king. They love me. They're greeting me. And they're singing and dancing. Hey, what's the words of that song? And so Saul hears the words of the song.

Saul has slain a thousand. So I like this song. Pretty good. Yeah, yeah. Keep singing. And then they sing the next line. And David has ten thousand. So there's what? That's not right. I like the first part.

I slay thousands. That's the mighty man I am. David is ten thousands. No, no, no, no. But he can be praised higher than I. I'm the king. That was Saul's heart. He goes to the next city. Singing, dancing ladies come out again.

Saul says, I think I've heard this song before. And he hears it. Stop, stop. You know, they sing through it a few times to stop. He goes to the next city, singing, dancing ladies come out. He don't even let them sing the song.

Stop. Go back right now. I'm tired of this song. Every time he turned on the radio, there it was. He couldn't get away from it. I tell you, Saul should have been grateful. The song was better to Saul than he ever deserved.

How about this first song? Saul hid like a chicken from Goliath for 40 days until David came along and whooped him. They could have been singing that, right? They were giving Saul credit that he didn't even deserve.

But that wasn't enough because David was being praised more than Saul. So the result of it, verse nine, Saul eyed David from that day forward. Now, Saul's mind is filled with suspicion towards David. He will begin to hear most everything David says with suspicious ears.

He will look at most all David's actions with suspicious eyes. His thoughts about David will be twisted by suspicion. One old commentator, John Trapp, says he gave way to that devilish vice of envy, which henceforth was as a fire in his heart, as a worm continually gnawing upon his insides.

He looked upon him with an evil eye, prying into all his actions and making the worst of everything. Now, it was bad enough that David had anybody like that in his life. But it's far, far worse when the person who has that attitude against David is in a position of power and authority over him.

I mean, it might be one thing if your neighbor has that kind of attitude towards you. How about if your boss has that attitude about you? And what would you say? You'd say, David, this is going to be tough.

God’s Purpose in Difficult Trials

This is going to be a very hard trial in your life, David. Can I tell you something? God is going to use it. He will. God was not on vacation when all of this was going on in Saul's mind. Now, can I show you something?

It was fully in God's power to change things. God could have changed Saul's mind, right? You might say, well, no, I don't believe that. I don't believe God has the power to change our minds. We have to change our minds.

Change our own minds. Well, very well. I'm not going to argue the point with you. Can we agree that if God wanted to, he could have struck Saul dead at that moment and eliminated the problem? Of course he could have.

But God didn't. Why? Because God wanted it this way. You say, God, you wanted it this way. Don't you know how hard it's going to be for David? Why do you want it that way? God allowed it to accomplish a special work to achieve his eternal purpose in David.

He allowed it so that David would be made a man of God and so that David, when he sat on the throne, would not be like Saul. But David would remain a man after God's own heart. We would want to say to David, look out, David, there's danger ahead, but trust in God, David, because he's still in control.

Now, those are easy words to say, but when you see, as this relationship between Saul and David progresses, God is going to be impressing that lesson more deeply than ever upon David's life and using it in his life to teach him, to train him.

Friends, I don't know where the circumstances of your life are this morning. Maybe you're facing some difficult trial. Maybe one's out on the horizon. Can I assure you, God is not on vacation. Neither is he a sadist who has just allowed this into your life to punish you.

God has a redeeming, eternal purpose to work in and through what you're going through right now. And if you'll have the heart of a David so surrendered to God, you'll see that purpose accomplished and not just accomplished, accomplished gloriously.

Prayer for Surrender, Covenant, and Redemption

That's a tall order. We'd better come before the Lord and pray for that to be done. Father, we do want to trust you in the way that David trusted you. We want to honor you the way that Jonathan honored you and Lord, it would be very easy for every one of us, myself included, Lord, to just put ourselves in the place of David or the place of Jonathan and say, oh, Lord, that's us.

But Father, help us to see, help me to see how we are also like Saul. And what work you need to do in our lives, in my life to purify us, to purify me. And Lord Jesus, I pray especially this morning for anyone here who has not made that covenant with Jesus Christ.

You love them, Jesus. You died on the cross to pay the penalty that their sins demanded. You took that penalty on yourself so that they would not have to bear it. That's how much you love them, Lord. And now you're calling to them.

You're speaking to their heart. You're inviting them, Lord, to come into covenant with you. Lord, I pray for any heart here this morning that has not made that kind of covenant with Jesus Christ, that you would impress upon them now in the secret place of their heart to reach out and make that covenant.

Jesus, we want to live in the covenant of committed love with you. Thank you for loving us that much. Thank you, Lord, that you can be as Jonathan and we can be as David. We wear your royal robe with humility and joy.

In Jesus name, Amen.