1 Samuel 17

Five Smooth Stones

He chose him five smooth stones out of the brook. 1 Samuel 17:40.

I don't need to tell any of you the story of how David fought and conquered the giant Goliath. I expect you could tell it to me a great deal better than I could tell it to you. It is one of the most splendid stories in the Bible that tale of how the young shepherd boy from the hills, strong in his confidence in God, overcame the big bully before whom all the mighty warriors of Israel trembled.

I want to speak today about David's weapons the five smooth stones he chose from the brook. You remember how Saul clothed the boy in his own armor, and how awkward David felt in it. He was unaccustomed to it, and when he found it hampered him he wisely put it off and armed himself with the weapons he could use.

The Philistines had camped on the side of a mountain and the Israelites on a mountain opposite. Between the two armies lay a valley, and at the bottom of the valley a deep gorge containing the bed of a stream. In crossing the gorge to fight Goliath, David picked up five smooth stones and put them in his shepherd's bag ready for his sling.

Now we have all giants to conquer, and some of them are very big, and very terrifying, and we are sometimes terribly afraid they will get the better of us. “Oh,” you say, “that is all nonsense. There are no fierce giants stalking about the land now, seeking whom they may slay.” Yes, there are still giants; they are every bit as terrible as Goliath; and there is still a call for Davids to slay them. Would you like to know their names? Here are a few: Selfishness, Envy, Pride, Temper, Laziness, Untruthfulness. Would you like to know where they dwell? In the hearts of boys and girls, and men and women.

And how are we going to conquer those giants? With five smooth stones. The first smooth stone is Humility. And how is humility going to help us to conquer our giants? Because it teaches us to know our own weakness, and leads us to rely on God's strength. There is a verse in the Book of Proverbs which says that “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” It is the boy who boasts whom we expect to fail.

There is a Russian story of an owl who tried to show the way to a blind donkey. Now the owl, you know, can see very well in the dark, because its eyes are made for that purpose, but when morning dawns it gets dazzled with the strong light, and hides itself in caves, or barns, or hollow trees.

Well, this particular owl got on all right as long as it was dark. It perched on the donkey's back and directed it safely. But when the sun rose it could no longer see properly and, instead of confessing its helplessness, it pretended still to know the way. It told the donkey to turn to the left when it should have turned to the right, and they fell together over a steep precipice.

We cannot conquer our giants by our own power alone. If we try to do so, we shall sooner or later come to grief like the self-sufficient owl. David knew his weakness as well as his strength. He said to Goliath, “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.”

So the first smooth stone is Humility the recognition of our own limitations, and the first stone leads to the second the smooth stone of Faith reliance on God's help. It was David's faith that made him strong to conquer. He had entire confidence in God. He trusted Him as a little child trusts his father. He knew that God had delivered him from the lion and the bear, and he was certain that He would give him the victory when he was fighting the enemy of God's people. We are fighting God's enemies when we are fighting our sins, and if we trust in Him, we are sure to conquer.

And the second smooth stone the stone of Faith leads to the third the smooth stone of Courage. Faith is the root of courage. It was David's faith that gave him courage to fight Goliath when the strong warriors fled before him. It was faith that steadied his arm when he took aim. The heroes of the world have been men of faith. And if we are to conquer our enemies we shall require courage, the courage that comes from faith. Sometimes our giants will seem so appalling that we shall be tempted to think we cannot slay them. But we must never lose heart. Let us remember how easily Goliath was overcome when faced by a man of courage.

But there is another smooth stone we must use if we want to conquer the smooth stone of Prayer. It is Prayer that keeps the stones of Faith and Courage smooth and polished. We are not told that David offered up a prayer before he went to meet Goliath, but I am quite sure he spoke to God in the silence of his heart. Out on the lonely hillside, when he was watching the sheep, David had often communed with God, and he would not have had such splendid faith and courage unless he had lived very near to God in prayer. For prayer is one of God's ways of bringing us near to Him; and Satan cannot get hold of us when we are close to God.

So when we feel as if our giants were to get the better of us the very best thing to do is just to send up a little cry to God to help us. He will surely come to our aid.

And the last smooth stone is Endeavour. We must do our part. We must not sit still and expect God to do everything for us while we do nothing. That would be making our prayers a mockery.

Do you remember Wellington's advice to his soldiers? “Say your prayers, and keep your powder dry.” They were right to pray, but their prayers would not be of much use if they neglected the means of victory, if they allowed their powder to get so wet that it would be useless. And a young Commodore in the French navy once gave similar advice to the sailors under him. A terrible storm was raging; the ship was in great peril; the sailors had lost heart, and were relaxing their efforts at the pump. But the Commodore cheered them, and encouraged them to go on. “All your prayers are good,” he said, “but Saint Pump! Hell save you!”

David did not conquer the giant without fighting him, and his skill with the sling helped him. And we cannot expect to conquer our giants unless we fight them, unless we use along with the four smooth stones of Humility, and Faith, and Courage, and Prayer, the fifth stone of Endeavour.