Ziphites call Saul                                                 verse 1 

             And the Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah  saying

                            Does not David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah 

                        which is before Jeshimon? 

David sent out spies regarding Saul’s troops      verse 2- 4 

Then Saul arose – and went down to the wilderness of Ziph

having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him

      to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph

And Saul pitched in the hill of Hachilah

which is before Jeshimon by the way

but David abode in the wilderness

                  and he saw that Saul came after him

into the wilderness

David therefore sent out spies

and understood that Saul was come in very deed 

Abishai volunteers to enter Saul’s camp             verse 5- 7 

And David arose – and came to the place where Saul had pitched

and David behold the place where Saul lay

and Abner the son of Ner – the captain of his host

and Saul lay in the trench

      and the people pitched round about him

Then answered David – and said to Ahimellech the Hittite

and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah –  brother of Joab

saying

Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp?

And Abishai said

            I will go down with you

So David and Abishai came to the people by night

            and – behold – Saul lay sleeping within the trench

                        and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster

                                    BUT Abner and the people lay round about him 

Abishai wanted to kill Saul                                 verse 8 

Then said Abishai to David

            God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day

                        now therefore let me smite him – I pray you

with the spear even to the earth at once

and I will not smite him the second time 

David says NO                                                     verse 9- 11 

And David said to Abishai

            Destroy him not

                        for who can stretch forth his hand against the

LORD’S anointed and be guiltless?

David

said furthermore

As the LORD lives – the LORD shall smite him

or his day shall come to die

                        or he shall descend into battle and perish

The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand

against the LORD’S anointed – BUT – I pray you

take you now the spear that is at his bolster

and the cruse of water – and let us go 

David takes spear and jug of water                     verse 12 

So David took the spear and the cruse of water

from Saul’s bolster and they gat them away

and no man saw it – nor knew it

neither awaked – for they were all asleep

BECAUSE a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them   

 David yells into camp                                          verse 13- 14 

Then David went over to the other side

and stood on the top of the hill afar off

      a great space being between them

and David cried to the people

and to Abner the son of Ner

      saying

                  Answer you not – Abner?

Then Abner answered and said

Who are you that cries to the king? 

David questions Saul’s protection                       verse 15- 16 

And David

said to Abner

Are not you a valiant man?

Who is like to you in Israel?

Wherefore then have you not kept your lord the king?

for there came one of the people in to destroy the

king your lord           

This thing is not good that you have done

            as the LORD lives – you are worthy to die

                        BECAUSE you have not kept your master

the LORD’S anointed

And now see where the king’s spear is

            and the cruse of water that was at his boister 

David questions Saul’s reasons for chasing him  verse 17- 20 

And Saul knew David’s voice

and said

            Is this your voice – my son David?

And David

said

            It is my voice – my lord – O king

And he

said

Wherefore does my lord thus pursue after his servant?

            for what have I done? – or what evil is in mine hand?

Now therefore – I pray you

let my lord the king hear the words of his servant

IF the LORD have stirred you up against me

            let HIM accept an offering

BUT IF they be the children of men

            cursed be they before the LORD

                        for they have driven me out this day from abiding

in the inheritance of the LORD

saying

                        Go serve other gods

Now therefore

let not my blood fall to the earth before the face of the LORD

                        for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea

                                    as when one does hunt a partridge in the mountains 

Saul confessed his sin                                                            verse 21 

              Then said Saul   I have sinned – return – my son David

      for I will no more do you harm

BECAUSE my soul was precious in your eyes this day

BEHOLD – I have played the fool

and have erred exceedingly? 

David offers Saul back his spear                         verse 22- 24 

And David

answered and said

BEHOLD the king’s spear

and let one of the young men come over and fetch it

The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness

for the LORD delivered you into my hand today

BUT I would not stretch forth mine hand against the

LORD’S anointed

And behold as your life was much set by this day in mine eyes

so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD

      and let HIM deliver me out of all tribulation 

Saul compliments David                                      verse 25 

Then Saul

said to David

Blessed be you – my son David

you shall both do great things – and also shall still prevail

So David went on his way – and Saul returned to his place 

COMMENTARY:              

             

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers 

: 9        And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless? (5352 “guiltless” [naqah] means blameless, to be bare, innocent, be free, to be empty, or to be clear)

DEVOTION:  There is a difference between those who hold a Biblical standard and those who do not. David feels that the death of Saul is in the LORD’S hands. He doesn’t want to move ahead of God. His servant thought that because the LORD had caused a deep sleep to fall upon the men in Saul’s camp that the LORD wanted Saul dead.   

Here we have the second time the LORD had delivered Saul into David’s hands. David again tells his man that it would be wrong to touch the LORD’S anointed. David says that the LORD will deal with him in HIS time.

David had a strong feeling about hurting someone God had anointed to serve HIM. He did tell Saul that the LORD had delivered him a second time into his hands. Saul repented again but really didn’t mean it. They separated and went their separate ways. David still didn’t trust Saul.

David wanted to be blameless in the eyes of the LORD. He wanted to be considered righteous. He wanted to be considered faithful. David is learning lessons while running from Saul that will help him in his future leadership role in Israel.

We find that it is very easy to say things bad about the LORD’S servants. We have many who sow discord among the brethren in our churches. Does God always overlook this type of treatment of HIS servants? NO!! God is the one that we need to let take care of those who say bad things about us.

Too often we try to defend ourselves or try to take vengeance on those who hurt us. It is always wrong to try to answer those who will not listen to us. Remember that there are many verses that inform us not to answer a fool.

David knew that Saul was not really listening to what he had to say. Let’s us remember to turn our detractors over to the LORD. HE is the great defender of the brethren!!!

CHALLENGE: Is it more important to us that we defend ourselves or wait for the LORD to handle the situation? Prayer is VERY important in these situations in our life. 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers 

: 11      The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray you, take you now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go. (2486 “forbid” [chaliylah] means far be it, God forbid it, let it not be, or Never!)

DEVOTION:  David had a high standard regarding what the LORD would allow and what HE wouldn’t allow him to do. He felt the LORD would not want him to kill Saul. He thought that the LORD would deal with it in HIS time.

It is hard for us to wait on the LORD at times. David did it on many occasions especially as it regarded Saul. The LORD had set him aside but HE had a reason for not wanting him dead right away.

God’s timing is always right. David knew this and acted in a way that was pleasing to the LORD. We have to do the same today. Too often we run ahead of God in our dealings with people.

We want to settle things RIGHT AWAY but that is not always the LORD’S plan. HE wants us to ask HIM when we are to deal with someone who is not acting in a way that is pleasing to HIM.

On many occasions throughout the Bible we find the LORD dealing with people immediately. On this occasion HE waited years before David became king. David was in training all those years. He accepted this fact and lived as he knew the LORD wanted him to and because of this the LORD blessed him.

Are we willing to wait on the LORD and seek HIS guidance when there are people who seem to be acting out of the will of God and we want to do something about it? It is hard to understand God’s timing in our life. It is our seeking HIS wisdom on a daily basis.

CHALLENGE: Are you asking for wisdom from the LORD today? Is HIS leading your first priority? Working in God’s timing is what David was trying to do. Are we?

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: 19      Now therefore, I pray you, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD had stirred you up against me, let HIM accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods. (1644 “driven” [garash] means cast out, to force to go away, expel, banish, remove, to drive out)

DEVOTION:  David knew that there were only two sources that could stir up any human being against one another. It was either the LORD or the children of men. We know that the one who is stirring up the children of men are three sources: the world, the flesh and the devil. Each of these are involved in trying to cause men to sin against their fellow man.

So David wanted Saul to realize that it was not the LORD who was stirring him up regarding him. He wanted Saul to realize that the LORD was protecting him because he was trying to honor the LORD.

He also wanted Saul to know that the LORD was going to curse the children of men who were causing trouble for HIS servants. Sometimes the LORD takes HIS time regarding his judgment of those who cause problem for believers but the LORD is going to be the judge.

Now David is being driven out of the Promised Land because of the persecution of Saul. If he goes into another nation he will be exposed to the worship of other gods that are false gods. He doesn’t want to worship false gods. He doesn’t want to be driven out of the Promised Land that was given to him by the LORD.

Sometimes we find that churches drive people away from the LORD by their actions. Sometimes fellow believers hurt other believers that cause them to move away from the LORD rather than closer to the LORD. This is not pleasing to the LORD.

The LORD wants all believers to be encouragers of their fellow believers. HE wants the church to be encouragers of fellow believers to worship HIM in spirit and in truth.

Saul was not an encourager of David which displeased the LORD. Are we being like Saul in our relationships to fellow believers?

CHALLENGE:  We can either be encouragers or discouragers. Who are you and I encouraging today????

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers

: 23      The LORD render to every man his righteousness and his faithfulness: for the LORD delivered you into my hands to day, but I would not stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed. (530 “faithfulness” [’emuwnah] means firmness, steadfastness, stability, fidelity, security, honesty, or trustworthiness)

DEVOTION:  David was trying to honor the LORD by not killing HIS anointed king. Even with all that Saul was doing and had done to David he still didn’t want to kill him. He wanted to just live a life that was pleasing to the LORD. He wanted Saul off his back. He needed to get away from Saul and live his life until the LORD allowed him to be king in the future.

The statement is made that the LORD will render or reward each person according to their actions in the areas of service that they perform for the LORD. Each person has a different gift from the LORD and that gift needs to be used to honor and glorify the LORD. David was trying to glorify the LORD in all of his actions.

Saul knew that the LORD would bless him for his actions because he was acting better than he was in this situation. Even someone who is not right with the LORD knows how the LORD works in our world. The unsaved understand more about how God works sometimes than believers.

Those who are not followers of Christ know what the LORD really expects of HIS servants. HE wants us to be steadfast in our faith. HE knows we will not be sinless but HE knows that we can be consistent over our lifetime in our service to HIM.

David did sin on occasions but the LORD stated that he was a man whose heart was with HIM. Our hearts need to be with the LORD on a consistent basis. HE looks at our whole life not just our down times in our relationship. We sometimes concentrate on only the down times when we are not acting as we should. HE sees the whole picture.

CHALLENGE: Consistent righteousness and trustworthiness is going to be rewarded by the LORD.

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: 24      And behold, as your life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of the LORD, and let HIM deliver me out of all tribulation. (6869 “tribulation” [tsarah] means enmity, anxiety, distress, adversity, trouble, affliction, or calamity)

DEVOTION:  David is asking the LORD to value his life as he has valued the life of Saul. Saul was trying to kill David but David didn’t want to hurt the LORD’S anointed king. He didn’t want to be the one who killed a fellow Israelite that the LORD had put in a position of leadership.

It is hard to understand how Saul changed over time with the LORD picking him while he was humble but the position of king went to his head and he didn’t want anyone to take the kingship from his family. He thought if he killed David his family would inherit the throne of Israel for many years. He thought he could change history even after David had been anointed the future king by Samuel.

He could not change history. The LORD is in control in our world. Whoever HE allows to be a leader will only be a leader for the time period the LORD allows. HE has already chosen the future leader of the world. HIS Son is going to return and take that role. We are to continue to follow HIS leadership even today as HE is reigning in heaven and making intercession for us regarding our future.

HE can rescue not only David from all the trials that HE allows in his life but HE can rescue us from all the trials HE allows in our life. Remember that trials are sent our way for our spiritual maturity. HE knows that we don’t grow unless we are challenged to grow.

CHALLENGE:  What troubles or trials are you going through today? HE knows about them and can send deliverance as we are obedient to HIM.

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY 

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone) 

SOUL 

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God) 

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

God – Elohim (Creator)                                           verse 8

God has delivered                                                     verse 8

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)   verse 9- 12,                                                                                          16, 19, 20, 23, 24

LORD’S anointed                                                     verse 9, 11, 16,                                                                                               23

Inheritance of the LORD                                        verse 19

Face of the LORD                                                     verse 20

Eyes of the LORD                                                     verse 24 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)     

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation) 

Ahimelech the Hittite                                                verse 6 

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

Kill                                                                              verse 8, 10

Guiltless                                                                      verse 9

Evil                                                                             verse 18

Other gods                                                                 verse 19

Sinned                                                                        verse 21

Played the fool                                                           verse 21

Erred exceedingly                                                     verse 21 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

Servant                                                                       verse 18, 19

Inheritance                                                                 verse 19

Righteousness                                                            verse 23

Faithfulness                                                               verse 23

Deliver out of all tribulation                                verse 24

Blessed                                                                        verse 25 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

Ziphites                                                                       verse 1

Saul                                                                             verse 1- 25

            3,000 soldiers

            Pitched in the hill of Hachilah

            LORD’S anointed

David                                                                          verse 1- 25

            Hiding in hill of Hachilah

            Wilderness

            Said he would not kill the LORD’S anointed

Wilderness of Ziph                                                    verse 2

Israel                                                                           verse 2, 15

Abner the son of Ner                                                verse 5

            Captain of hosts of Israel

Abishai- son of Zeruiah                                            verse 6- 11

            Brother of Joab

            Went down with David to enemy camp

            Told David he would kill Saul

            Took Saul’s spear and bolster

Deep sleep from the LORD                                     verse 12

Abner the son of Ner                                                verse 14 

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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DONATIONS:

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QUOTES regarding passage

David’s first two questions in v.15 seem to be scornful, although it is also possible that they were uttered with incredulous pity. His third question rebukes Abner for dereliction of duty, a failing in which he also implicates Abner’s men (v.16): Not to protect the king, “the Lord’s anointed,” is inexcusable—indeed, is worthy of death (for the phrase “deserve to die” [lit., “are sons of death”], see comment on “must die” in 20:31; cf. similarly “those condemned to die/death” in Pss 79:11; 102:20; for the circumstances leading to Abner’s death, cf. 2 Sam 3:22–27). The “someone” (lit., “one of [David’s] soldiers”) who came to “destroy” (v.15) the king was of course Abishai (v.9), whom David had already kept from doing so.

Whereas Jethro’s stern rebuke of his son-in-law Moses had been nonetheless helpful (Exod 18:17), David’s echo of it is a condemnation of Abner (“What you [sing.] have done is not good,” v.16). Gunn calls attention to the irony that follows: “As Yahweh lives you deserve to die” (The Fate of King Saul, p. 156 n. 14).  (Youngblood, R. F. (1992). 1, 2 Samuel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel (Vol. 3, p. 770). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)

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Abner responded to David’s first question by inquiring about the identity of this one who would dare to disturb the king’s sleep. David refused to reveal his name; instead, he plied Abner with a pair of contemptuous questions. First, he questioned Abner’s manhood: “You’re a man, aren’t you?” (v. 15; italics added). Next, he raised questions about Abner’s competency as Israel’s most powerful soldier: “Why didn’t you guard your lord the king” when “someone came to destroy” him? Having reminded the soldier Abner that such negligent conduct “is not good” (v. 16), David spoke as a judge at a court martial and declared Saul’s entire elite force to be “sons of death” (NIV, “deserve to die”) for their failure to “guard … the Lord’s anointed.” To verify this grave charge, David urged Abner to confirm the absence of “the king’s spear and the water jug that were near his head.” (Bergen, R. D. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel (Vol. 7, p. 257). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

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After crossing the ravine opposite Saul, David shouted to Abner, who supposedly guarded Saul, and tauntingly chided him for his carelessness in allowing the king’s spear and water jug to be taken (26:13–16). Saul then awoke and once more heard David’s plea that he be left alone. If God were leading Saul in the pursuit, then David would repent (v. 19). If, however, men were responsible, they should be cursed by God because they had intervened in God’s purposes by driving David from both his home (inheritance, v. 19) and his public worship of God (Go, serve other gods, v. 19).

So evident to Saul was God’s protection of his young rival that he could only confess his own wickedness (v. 21) and recognize fully and finally that David was destined to be the shepherd of Israel (v. 25). So far as can be determined Saul became resigned to his fate and never again tried to interfere with the will of God for the kingdom and its next anointed leader (cf. 27:4). (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 1 Samuel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 453). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)

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When they reach a hill a safe distance away, David calls out loudly to Saul’s cousin Abner, the army commander (26:13–25). He scolds Abner for failing to guard the king and points out the security breach that has occurred. Awakened by the commotion, Saul reacts to David’s voice exactly as he had in 24:16: “Is that your voice, David my son?” David responds with another assertion of innocence and wonders why Saul continues to chase him. He feels like a partridge relentlessly pursued by a hunter. If God has incited Saul against him, David is willing to make things right with the Lord and bring him an offering. If other men have urged Saul to pursue David, he calls on God to judge them. David feels alienated from other Israelites and he realizes he is on the verge of being forced out of the land. If that should happen, he would be far from the sanctuary and might have to worship other gods. (Wolf, H. M. (1995). 1-2 Samuel. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 210). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.)

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1 Sam. 26:15, 16. David in return taunted Abner with having watched the king carelessly, and made himself chargeable with his death. “For one of the people came to destroy thy lord the king.” As a proof of this, he then showed him the spear and pitcher that he had taken away with him. רְאֵה is to be repeated in thought before אֶת־צַפַּחַת: “look where the king’s spear is; and (look) at the pitcher at his head,” sc., where it is. These reproaches that were cast at Abner were intended to show to Saul, who might at any rate possibly hear, and in fact did hear, that David was the most faithful defender of his life, more faithful than his closest and most zealous servants. (Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 534). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.)

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Mockery (1 Sam. 26:13–16). David and his nephew made their way to the hill opposite Saul’s camp where they were safe and from which they could be heard, and David called back to the soldiers in the camp and especially to Abner, the king’s bodyguard. He was careful not to humiliate Saul in the presence of his men, although Saul couldn’t easily escape the embarrassment of the situation. David didn’t identify himself to Abner but only referred to himself as “one of the people” (v. 15). The absence of the spear and water jug was evidence enough that someone indeed had been close to the king and could have killed him. Abner was guilty and could have been disciplined for not doing his duty. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2001). Be successful (p. 142). Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications.)

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Ver. 16. This thing is not good that thou hast done, &c.] Yea, it was very bad, a great fault, and very blameworthy, if he had neglected to set a watch over the king, whose business it was as a general; the words are expressed in a figure called meiosis, in which less is said then was intended: as the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the Lord’s anointed; if a watch was set, and these had fallen asleep, and neglected their duty, or had deserted their post; which to do was a capital crime, and deserving of death; wherefore he does not say this of Abner, but of the watch: and now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster; which he then held up as proofs and evidences of the truth of what he said, that one had been in the camp and had carried off these, and who could as easily have destroyed the king as to have taken these away; and as became hither with an intent to destroy him, would have done it, had he not been prevented by David; all which likewise plainly proved the negligence of Abner, in not setting a watch about his master, or the negligence of the watch that was set. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 2, p. 546). London: Mathews and Leigh.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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The major premise in David’s closing words is that “Yahweh returns to a man his righteousness and faithfulness” (v. 23; NIV, “the Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness”), a statement that foreshadows Paul’s assertion in Gal 6:7. Because David acted righteously and faithfully by sparing “the Lord’s anointed” when “the Lord delivered” him into David’s hands, David could humbly expect and pray that the Lord would “value [his] life and deliver [him] from all trouble” (v. 24; cf. Ps 54:7). (Bergen, R. D. (1996). 1, 2 Samuel (Vol. 7, p. 259). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)

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He solemnly appeals to Jehovah’s righteous judgment to determine his and Saul’s respective ‘righteousness and faithfulness.’ He is silent as to what that judgment may have in reserve for Saul, but for himself he is calmly conscious that, in the matter of sparing Saul’s life, he has done right, and expects that God will deliver him ‘out of all tribulation.’ That is not self-righteous boasting, although it does not exactly smack of the Christian spirit; but it is faith clinging to the confidence that God is ‘not unrighteous to forget’ his servant’s obedience, and that the innocent will not always be the oppressor’s victim. (MacLaren, A. (2009). Expositions of Holy Scripture: Deuteronomy-1 Samuel (p. 371). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

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Matthew 2

Mary and Joseph flee with Jesus to escape Herod’s murderous attack.

INSIGHT

When Herod asks the scholars where the Messiah is to be born, they answer without hesitating: “Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet.”

The odds against anyone other than Jesus being the Messiah are staggering. There are 60 major prophecies that are fulfilled in the life of Christ.

Josh McDowell writes in Evidence That Demands a Verdict that, by using the science of probability in reference to all 60 major prophecies, the chances that any man might have fulfilled all 60 is humanly impossible. Reason demands that we accept Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. (Quiet Walk)

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Safe and Still

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 91:1

WHY OUR LORD PRAYS FOR THESE PEOPLE

I pray for them.  John 17:9
Why does our Lord pray for these people at all? He is facing His own death, the greatest and most terrible moment in His life is at hand, and yet He pauses to pray for them. Why does He do it? The answer is all here. He does it first and foremost because of His great concern for the glory of God. While He is on earth, the glory of God is, in a sense, in His hands. He has come to glorify His Father, and that is the one thing He wants to do above everything else. And now as He is going to leave these people, over and above His own concern about dying is His concern about the glory of God; it is the one thing that matters.
Second, He prays for them because of who and what they are. They are the people to whom He has manifested the name of God, the people who have been given to Him, the people to whom He has given the Word, people who believe certain things. That is the definition of a Christian, and they, and they alone, are the people for whom He prayed.
Then He prays for them because of their task, because of their calling. He is going away, and He is leaving them in the world to do something; they have work to do, exactly as He had been given work to do. You see the logic of it all? God sent Him, He sends them, and He prays for them especially in the light of their calling and their task—the work of evangelizing. There are other people who are going to believe on Him through their word, and so they must be enabled to do this work.
He also prays for them because of their circumstances, the circumstances in which they were placed in the world. He says that they are going to have trouble in the world (verse 14).
A Thought to Ponder
Over and above Christ’s own concern about dying is His concern about the glory of God.  (From Safe in the World, pp. 11-12, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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                                   The Unperfect Substance
“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)
This is an amazing verse, testifying as it does to the omniscient fore-planning of our Creator for each human being. Each person has been separately planned by God before he or she was ever conceived; His eyes oversaw our “unperfect [not imperfect, but unfinished] substance”—that is, literally, our embryo—throughout its entire development. Not only all its “members” but also all its “days” (the literal implication of “in continuance”) had been “written” in God’s book long ago.
While modern evolutionists argue that a “fetus” is not yet a real person and so may be casually aborted if the mother so chooses, both the Bible and science show that a growing child in the womb is a true human being. Instruments called fetoscopes have been able to trace every stage of embryonic development, showing that each is distinctively human, never passing through any non-human evolutionary stages such as the evolutionists’ theory of “recapitulation” would imply.
Not much is known about how a baby receives its soul, but the baby is surely an eternal human being from the moment of conception, with all its future days already well known in the mind of God, “when as yet there was none of them,” as our text points out.
But that is not all. All those who are saved (or, like the innocents who die before birth, “safe” in Christ) and whose names, therefore, are “written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) are also predestined “to be conformed to the image of his Son” in the ages to come (Romans 8:29).

                (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed a bill into law that repeals not only the state’s 1969 abortion ban but also conscience protections for hospitals and healthcare workers.

The bill, S.B. 10, had passed the state House, 40-30, and the Senate, 25-17, before being signed into law by the Democratic governor, who supports abortion rights.

Although the 1969 law is not being enforced, Grisham and others wanted it repealed in case the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

“A woman has the right to make decisions about her own body,” Grisham said. “Anyone who seeks to violate bodily integrity, or to criminalize womanhood, is in the business of dehumanization. New Mexico is not in that business – not anymore.”

The 1969 law outlawed abortion but included exceptions for rape, incest and to save the mother’s life or to stop a “grave impairment” to the woman. It also permitted an abortion if the unborn baby would have had a “grave physical or mental defect.”

The bill’s opponents criticized not only the removal of protections for the unborn but also the removal of protections for hospitals and healthcare workers who oppose abortion.

Grisham’s signature repealed an entire paragraph from law – Section 30-5-2 – that said hospitals are not required to “admit any patient for the purposes of performing an abortion.” The protections also said a healthcare worker who “objects to the justified medical termination on moral or religious grounds shall not be required to participate in medical procedures which will result in the termination of pregnancy.”

Elisa Martinez, executive director of the New Mexico Alliance for Life, criticized the bill after it passed the House.

“It’s a sad day for New Mexico as a handful of radical legislators had to deceive the public about the true nature of the nation’s most expansive abortion bill in order to get it hastily passed,” Martinez said.

Opponents predicted that healthcare workers would leave the state.

“It leaves no choice to our doctors,” said Republican state Sen. Crystal Diamond.

Steve Pearce, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, also criticized the new law.

“The new law is an immoral, dangerous one – a law that allows late-term abortion and offers no protections for girls, women or health professionals,’ Pearce said. “It permits the murder of the unborn, endangers the health and lives of women and eliminates any conscience provision to allow a doctor to opt out if he or she opposes the procedure on moral, ethical or religious grounds.”  (Christian Headlines)

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