How are the Mighty Fallen

… ...lamented this lamentation for the soul of Robert Jonathan, his son, and he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow, behold it is written in the book of Jacob, beauty of his wealth is slain upon thy high places, how are the mighty fallen, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Eshcolon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph, the mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain on you, nor fields of offerings, for there the shield of the mighty he had vilely cast away, the shield of Saul in his doing had not been anointed with oil, from the blood of his slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, the sword of Saul turned not empty, Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided, they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions, the daughters of Israel weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with other delights, who put an ornament of gold upon your apparel, how are the mighty fallen, in the midst of the battle, in the midst of the battle, oh Jonathan, and I was slain in my high places, I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan, very pleasant, as though being under me, I loved to live, it was wonderful, fasting, a love of women, how are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war hushed, I have no intentions of standing on this platform tonight, but the previous speaker has presented to us a challenge from the word of God, and I am perfectly convinced myself, and has rightly divided the word of truth, and I turn to this passage, just to occupy you a little with it, in the light of what has been said, by the previous speaker, I don't know what you would call it, whether you would call it a full script, or a little bit added, if you like, to use simple words, to the whole of the book, the previous book, the first book of some God, it is divided in three, and it is divided by these words, a question, and there is an answer to that question, how are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war hushed, there is an answer, scripture itself gives the answer, the first book of Samuel gives the answer, to the question, it is divided in three, the first part deals with the people, the second part deals with the monarch, and the third part deals with the one whom David calls my brother, my brother, we know the history, and the sad end, depicted in the previous book, of what happened on the mountains of Gilboa, the children, the nation, followed the wrong man, they followed the wrong man, not only did they follow him, they chose him, the children, and he ended in a debacle, on the mountains of Gilboa, they profited no doubt, under the hand of Saul, there were those who profited, and there were those who lost, under his hand, and so there was much to weep about, about the man who had clothed them in scarlet, and with other delights, weep over Saul, much to weep about, when he had gone, you might say in some respect, there was little to follow in him morally, but they wanted a man, they were set upon a man, and God gave them a man in his anger, and he took him away with wrath, that's the beginning, and that's the end of the monarch, as scripture outlines it briefly, in the minor prophets, God gave them a king, in his anger, he was the king, Jehovah was the monarch, but they wished to delight the nations, to have a monarch, and God gave them, what they wanted, you know, that's what sometimes happens, if we are set upon things, God gave them the desire for hurt, and there's another side to it, isn't there, he sent leanness into the souls, so they were quite happy to follow Saul, and it ended, on the mountains of Gilboa, half of them had fallen, because they chose and followed the wrong man, in the first place, he was of the wrong tribe, in the second place, he was of the wrong character, in the third place, he was in the wrong place, and he was impaled, headless, on the wall of that shop, God gave them a king in his anger, he took him away with wrath, and then Saul, Saul himself, he says at the end, just as the sands were running out, I have pled the fool, I have pled the fool, God told him, by the prophet, that he had been rejected, and another must keep his place, but he wouldn't listen to the prophet, he would go on, with a bitter end, with a bitter end, these are the words that he said, I have pled the fool, half of them had fallen, in the midst of the battle, God had told him, who his man was to be, in spite of the words of Jehovah, in spite of the government of Jehovah, in spite of the chastening of Jehovah, he was set on his course to the very end, the bitter end, it was bitter wasn't it, so he says, he oversaw, who called you in scarlet with other delights, he says, tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Eshcolon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised thrive, how David had a regard for a divine testimony, and yet, it must end in spectacle, on Gilboa, and on the wall of Bethlehem, the spear and the bow are vilely cast away, the sword of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil, and I want you to mark this, he was anointed, he was, David never forgot, the anointed man of God, but he was anointed with a vial, and you never find this word again, until the queens of retribution run their course, in the book of Revelation, he was anointed as the rod of Jehovah, for his people, David was anointed with a heart, David was anointed with a heart, Saul was anointed with oil, he was, but it was with a view to the government of God, David stands out, the man who was anointed, with a horn, for the blessing of his people, and for the magnifying of the grace of God, by condescending gentlemen, has made me glad, we come now to John Paul, one can hardly speak, such a touching scene, as David, crushed with sorrow, considers the man who was near his heart, it rises up, and it bubbles over, O Jonathan, I am distressed for thee, my God and Jonathan, very pleasant hast thou been unto me, I never speak about it again, but what about Jehovah, if the people went wrong, if the monarch went wrong, where did Jonathan go wrong, aye, Jonathan would relinquish his right to the throne, he would be prepared to follow the Lord's anointing, he would go to the field, aye, but he wouldn't go to the church, he wouldn't go to the wilderness, he wouldn't go to the desert, he perished, on the mountains of Hebron, and it's a challenge to us, as we look at the ruins, we might ask the question, how have the mighty fallen, the thing that we have been through, this movement, which changed the course of Christianity, and sustained what was right in teaching, and preaching, in the beginning of the last century, when you look abroad now, we might well say, how have the mighty fallen, in the midst of the battle, when David taught them the use of the bow, the use of the bow, do you know, the things we believe, the things we teach, the things we preach, are we prepared to stand for them, are we prepared to stand for the things we claim to hold dear, are we prepared to stand for the things we claim to hold dear, are we prepared to stand for the things we claim to hold dear, it's a challenge to us, isn't it, we must contend, and fight, for what we believe, and this, and this alone, is the guarantee for freedom, this has been said, this is true, and David taught them, the use of the bow, David would go, to the field, and perch, on the mountains of Bilboa, he said, when he comes, to that inner circle, of brotherly love, he said, thy love to me, was wonderful, passing, the highest, kind of love, on our planet, passing the rock of it, power of the mighty fall, of the weapons, of the perish, the people asked, and got the wrong man, Jonathan, was prepared, to follow so far, with the right man, and the ties of nature, held him to the wrong man, and it's a tragedy, in the life of David, as he was clothed in shepherds, as he was clothed in shepherds, and as he sat in ashes, that Jonathan, was part of the family, on the mountains, of Bilboa, let us see through it there, and this is a world to me, as much as it is a world to you, let us see, through it all, Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, and the home of the brave, O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, …