These are recorded for our instruction. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Let, then, the attack of the Philistines upon David right after his coronation warn us against finding security in any spiritual prosperity with which we may have been blessed. High altitudes are apt to make the head dizzy. No sooner had David made Zion his own city, and that to the glory of the Lord, than the Philistines came up against him.
Every spiritual advance needs to be accompanied by watchfulness and prayer.
Little did they realize that they were rushing onward to their destruction, for they knew not the might of David s scepter nor the power of Jehovah who had exalted him. The Philistines were unaware of the fact that the living God was for David, as He had not been for Saul. Let us now consider David s response unto the threatening presence of the Philistine hosts. In sharp antithesis from the self-confident Pharisees, David took a lowly place and evidenced his dependence upon God. Instead of accepting their challenge and immediately engaging them in battle, David turned to the Lord and inquired His will for him.