It's good to be here together.
Turn, if you would, to 2 Samuel, chapter 9. Tonight we'll be looking
at Mephibosheth. We will see a picture of God's
elect, and we'll see David as a type of Christ, and Mephibosheth
as a type of God's elect. Mephibosheth, an interesting
fellow. He was lame from a fall. We're lame from a fall. And we will see tonight, fetching
grace at work. Fetching grace. And David said, is there yet
any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness
for Jonathan's sake? Now David was now upon the throne. He was king. He's king. And he asked if there's any of
the house of Saul left that he may show kindness to him for
Jonathan's sake. And we'll look at the reasons
why he said that later on. Now, whenever a new king came
up, they would usually slaughter anyone who was left of the royal
family. They didn't want anyone usurping the throne. or anything like that. So right
away, there's something different going on here. Right away. And there was of the house of
Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called
him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he.
And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul
that I may show the kindness of God unto him? That I may show
the kindness of God unto him. And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. And the
king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king,
Behold, he is in the house of Makar, the son of Amiel in Lodabar. Then king David sent and fetched
him. Fetched him. He's lame. He can't come on his
own. fetched him out of the house
of Makar, the son of Amiel from Lodabar. Now when Mephibosheth,
the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David,
he fell on his face and did reverence." What happens to a sinner when he's brought to the realization
of who he is and what he is and who God is? What a picture, beloved. And
David said, Mephibosheth. Called him by name. And he answered,
behold, thy servant. And David said unto him, oh,
what comforting words. Now, he's before the king. He's
before the king. He's probably thinking, I'm going
to lose my head. Fear not. Fear not, for I will surely show
thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore
thee all the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread
at my table continually." Oh, he bowed himself and said, what
is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as
I am? What mercy. And this is the king
showing mercy to one who claims himself to be a dead dog. Worthless. Then the king said to Ziba, Saul's
servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all
that pertaineth to Saul. And to all his house, thou therefore
and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him.
Thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have
food to eat. But Mephibosheth, thy master's
son, shall eat bread always at my table." Now Ziba had fifteen
sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king,
according to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant,
so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the
king, again he says this, he shall eat at my table as one
of the king's sons. What a picture. As one of the king's sons. Oh, what a picture, beloved. Mephibosheth had a young son
whose name was Micah, and all that dwelt in the house of Ziba
were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem. For he did eat continually at
the king's table, and was lame on both his feet." Now, David
here before us is a type of Christ. A type of Christ. He remembered
a covenant that needed to be fulfilled. He's also a type of
the Father. Have mercy upon us, too. But
he remembered a covenant that needed to be fulfilled. Turn,
if you would, to 1 Samuel 20. And David said though in our
text here, and David said, is there yet any left in the house
of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now David
and Jonathan had made a covenant. The Father, and the Son, and
the Eternity, and the Holy Spirit have made a covenant. In 1 Samuel 20, starting in verse
12, And Jonathan said unto David,
O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my Father about tomorrow
any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be any good
toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and show it the
Lord do so much, The Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan.
But if it please My Father to do thee evil, then will I show
it thee and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and
the Lord be with thee as He hath been with My Father." Now Jonathan
and David, they loved each other. They loved each other, beloved. Verse 14, "...And thou shalt
not only Well, yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord,
that I die not, but also thou shalt not cut off the kindness
from my house forever." Forever? Forever. No, not when the Lord hath cut
off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let
the Lord even require that the hand of David's enemies and Jonathan
cause David to swear again because he loved him, or he loved him
as he loved his own soul. Now God the Father, the Holy
Spirit, and the Son made a covenant in eternity past. And those people were given,
given to Christ. And this is typical, typical
of Christ who is elect. He came to earth to redeem those
who were given to Him by the Father in eternity. He came to
save His people from their sins, and He accomplished it. All because
of a covenant. All because of a covenant. 2
Samuel 23, verse 5 says this, He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant. God has made with David an everlasting
covenant, he says, ordered in all things. Turn up your wood
there, 2 Samuel 23, 5. These are some of David's last
words. Although my house be not so with
God, right? His house was a mess. Yet He hath made with me an everlasting
covenant. And God has made an everlasting
covenant through Christ with all His people. Look at this. Ordered in all things. God is a God of order. And here's
a nail for us to hang on and sure. Sure. This covenant is sure. Sure, purchased by the blood
of Christ, it's sure. Not many things in this world
are sure, but this covenant is sure. For this is all my salvation,
is not Christ all your salvation? Is he not all your hope? We don't
hope in anyone else, we who believe, do we? Only in Christ. He's all
my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Absalom wasn't one of the Lord's. His household was, as I said,
there was all kinds of things going on, but that covenant was
ordered and assured with David and with his people. And what
great comfort that would bring us, we who believe. Now David
purposed to fulfill a promise And David ruled over all Israel,
and he executed judgment and justice unto all his people. And he had the opportunity, being
upon the throne now, he had the opportunity and the means to
fulfill the promise, to fulfill the covenant. God has all the
means to fulfill the covenant. And it says, and David said,
is there yet any left of the house of Saul that I may show
him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Because of the covenant that
he made with Jonathan. David says this. And this is
typical of Christ to his left. Christ purposed at the right
time to fulfill his promise to his chosen people, right? He
came into this world when it was God's appointed time, didn't
he? Not a second later, and not a second earlier. He was on a mission. And He came for the benefit of
the sons of God when the fullness of time had come. Galatians 4.4.
When the fullness of time had come. To perform the mercy promised
to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant. And David desired to show the
kindness of God. to the recipient of the promise. Look at verse 3. And the king said, Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness
of God unto him? Do we not see the kindness of
God to sinners in Christ? Only in him, eh? And think of this, Saul had severely
mistreated David. Saul had offended David. Tried to kill him several times.
Several times. But David will show kindness
and not vengeance. Kindness and not vengeance to
Saul's house. Is this not typical of Christ
to his elect people? We get kindness and mercy, don't
we? David desired to show the kindness
of God to Phibeseth, and God shows the kindness of God in
Christ to his chosen people. Turn, if you would, to Titus
chapter 3. Titus chapter 3. And as I said, Mephibosheth was lame
from a fall, right? He had no way to come to David
on his own. No ability. Sounds a lot like
us by our birth. But Titus says this about the
kindness of God to His chosen people. Look at Titus 3, verses
4-7. And remember today we looked at plenteous
mercy and plenteous redemption that we have in Christ. Look at this. But after that,
the kindness and love of God, our Savior to our man, appeared.
the kindness and love of God, of God our Savior being Christ. And in that verse that we all
know too, not by works of righteousness which we have done, right? But
according to his mercy, he saved us by the wash of the regeneration
and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Look at this, which he shed on
us abundantly, abundantly, not just a little bit, abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior. That being justified by his grace,
not by any works, not by anything we've done, right? If we're justified before God,
it's by his grace, by his grace. You remember in our text too
it said that he'd be like one of the king's sons? That being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Heirs. Heirs. Undeserving sinners made
heirs. Is this not the kindness and
love of God in action manifested towards us? Think of this. In
Christ is manifested the kindness and love of God. Because we are so undeserving.
And yet he has mercy upon his people all because of a covenant
made in eternity. That's the only reason. And think of this. Think of this. I've been pondering this a little
bit this week. And we don't know who God's people are. We don't
have any clue, right? But we who are God's people are
born into this world as vessels of mercy and we don't even know
it. We have no clue. No clue. We're born dead in trespasses
and sins, right? But God knows his sheep. He knows
them. We are born alienated from God
and enemies in our minds But He knows every one of His sheep.
Every one of them. We have no clue. This is why
we proclaim the Gospel and it goes forth. And He does the saving. And then we marvel in the fact
that He saved us. Me? After the kindness and love of
God our Savior toward man appeared, If you're saved, it's only by
the mercy of God and Christ. And it's all because, it's all
because in eternity, God chose you in Christ to manifest His
kindness and love toward His people. Boy, that takes everything
away from the sinner, from any of us deserving anything. That being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs, made heirs. We don't become heirs
on our own either. Made heirs, beloved, according
to the hope of eternal life. And David retrieved the recipient
of the promise. He retrieved the one who was,
and it's a picture, it's a picture. Look at this in verse 5. He retrieved
the one who was the recipient of the promise. Look at verse
5. And this is fetching grace, beloved. The old timers used
to call it fetching grace. The Holy Spirit goes out and
He fetches His people. Then King David sent and fetched
Him out of the house of Macar, the son of Amal from Lodabar.
If you are saved, it's because God, by his Holy Spirit, fetched
you and brought you to Christ. That's the only reason. Because
God, the Holy Spirit, drew you. Why? Because of a covenant that
was made in eternity. And we had no clue. And you know
that Mephibosheth wasn't even born, or, well no, some think
that he wasn't born when that covenant was made. If that's true, what a picture
for us too, right? This covenant was made for us
before we were even born. We had no clue. No clue at all. So King David sent and brought
him to himself. Christ likewise draws his elect
to himself by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. He's like,
we looked at it before, he's like the shepherd who goes out
and seeks out the sheep. Turn if you would to Luke 15.
He's like the shepherd who seeks out leaves the ninety and nine
and seeks out the one. But he's also like the woman
who searches for her lost coin. Luke 15, verses 8-10. She searches for it until she finds
it. So does Christ for His elect.
Look at Luke 15, verses 8-10. Either what woman, having ten
pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle
and sweep the house and seek diligently till she find it?
And when she had found it, she called with her friends and her
neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the
piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you that
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth." Oh, what a picture we have before us.
Fetching grace. David sought out Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth had no clue
until those people came and got him and brought him to David. David sought him out, all because
of a covenant. Now, Mephibosheth is a type of
the elect sinner. His name is defined utterance
of shame, and this is typical of God's elect. In our native
condition, we sinners are full of shame. Full of shame. having fallen in Adam, we are
spiritually dead with nothing to cover our shame before God.
Turn, if you would, to Genesis 2. At the very end, verse 25,
and then we'll go right into Genesis 3. Nothing to cover our shame before
God. Look at Genesis 2, verse 25,
and then we'll go to Genesis 3.10. And they were both naked,
the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent
was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, ye shall not eat? of every tree of the garden.
And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat of
it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent
said unto the woman, you shall not surely die, putting doubt in him. For God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also her husband with her, and
he did eat. And the eyes of them both were
open, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig
leaves together and made themselves aprons. That's nothing more than
works-based salvation, trying to cover themselves with fig
leaves. That's what people are doing, who are trusting in their
own righteousness, who are trusting in their own duty. They're doing
nothing but sewing fig leaves. They heard the voice of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto
Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard
thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and
I hid myself. They were in shame. Now Mephibosheth was incapable
of coming to the king. incapable of coming to the king. He was lame in both his feet. And his lameness was a result
of a fall, or of a fall. Well, beloved, we are lame because
of a fall. When Adam fell, we all fell in
him. And this is typical of God's elect. In our native condition,
Like all other sinners, we are incapable of coming to Christ
as a result of our fall, as a result of the fall in our federal head,
in Adam. Crippled spiritually. Crippled spiritually. Turn, if
you would, to John chapter 3, and then put your finger on John
chapter 6. Crippled spiritually. John 3, verse 20, and then John
6, verse 44 and 65. John 3, verse 20, For everyone
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deed should be reproved. No man can come to Me except
the Father which has sent Me." Draw him, verse 44. Look at verse
44 and think of this in light of Mephibosheth. He couldn't
come to David on his own, by his own power, could he? And look at this. No man can
come to Me except the Father which has sent Me. Draw him,
and I'll raise him up at the last day. And then look at 65. And he said, therefore said I
unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given
unto him of my father. Do you see the fallacy of religion
which says it's all about your decision? How can one make a decision supposedly
for Christ when they don't have the power to do it? Do you see the wonders of sovereign
grace? The wonders that he draws us, that he fetches them and
brings them? The Holy Spirit draws us and
fetches us and brings us before Christ. And we're given eyes
to see and ears to hear that we never had before. And it's
marvelous. Mephibosheth dwelt in a place
With a name meaning no pasture? Lodabar. No pasture? Did we not dwell in a place at
one time before the Lord saved us with no pasture? No pasture at all. But He makes us to lie down in
green pastures. The green pastures of His Word.
And we feast. We feast. We feast on the green pastures
of His Word. No pasture. All Christ's sheep,
apart from Him, confess that they live in a place with no
pasture, in a dry land, in a weary land. And they confess that is,
that in me, that is in my flesh dwelleth no good. Nothing good
dwells in me. Rock of ages cleft for me. How do we come before God? With
nothing in our hands. With nothing in our hands. Nothing. Look at verse 6, Mephibosheth
humbled himself in the presence of the king, right? The king
fetched him. Now, think of this. Think of
this, too. Now, these kings, they had mighty men, right? Mighty
men. So, picture him being brought
down, say, at the center aisle, right? And here's these mighty
men with their swords probably, even their hands on their swords.
Mighty men of valor, generals, captains. And he's probably thinking, I'm
dead. I'm being bought before the king. I'm done. And he trembled as they bring
him forth, right? And they had to, remember, he
couldn't walk. They must have had to carry him in, right? And
so he's going by all these mighty men, and then he sees the king. And he's bought right into his
presence. And now when Mephibosheth, the
son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming to David, he fell
on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth.
And he answered, Behold thy servant. And then look at verse 8 again.
And he bowed himself and said, What is thy servant that thou
shouldest look upon a dead dog such as I? Mephibosheth sees
himself as nothing before the king. Is that not what happens to we
who believe? Oh. But David, the king, think of
this, sees in him the covenant he's made with Jonathan. If Eberseth doesn't see that, he just thinks, He fell on his face and did reverence.
What happens to God's people when they're being drawn to Christ?
When the Holy Spirit fetches them? Do we not come before the
king with reverence and just bow down before him and see ourselves
as nothing in his eyes? David sees in him the covenant
he made with Jonathan. Oh, the mercy of God in Christ. The mercy of God in Christ. And
David said unto him, Fear not. What does God say to
the sinner who comes before Him in Christ? Fear not. Why? Because Christ paid it all. He
paid it all. Oh, fear not. For I will surely
show thee kindness for Jonathan's sake. God the Father says, I'll
show you kindness because of Christ. And I will restore thee all the
land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at My table
continually." Oh, what mercy! What mercy the
believer and sinner who flees to Christ receives. Mercy undeserved. Fear not. Fear not. Christ has paid it
all. There is therefore now no condemnation,
right? That's hard for us to fathom
sometimes, isn't it? Because we know what we are.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. What's the... You have condemnation, right?
In our natural state. And then you have complete forgiveness
in Christ. Complete forgiveness. Fear not,
beloved. Fear not, sheep of God. And why? Only because of what
Christ has done. And we have the same, when we
come before the King, we have the same reverence that way,
that Mephibosheth had. We're bought to an end of ourselves.
And we can only look to our great king. And David said unto him,
fear not. And think of this, you know,
like I said, they used to slay all, any heir, anybody left in
the royal family, they would wipe them out back in those days. Fear not. What comfort for God's
people, eh? What comfort for God's people
in Christ. What a refuge we have in Christ. Outside of Christ,
none has a refuge. But oh, in Christ. Look at verse
11. Then said Zibon to the king,
according to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servants,
so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the
king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. Now
I remember, I think it was Bruce Crabtree I was talking to one
time, and he said, Mephibosheth is sitting at the king's table,
right? His lameness is not seen. His legs are covered by the table.
He's sitting as one as an heir at the table of God. And look at verse 10, right? I mean, verse 9, Then the king
called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given
unto thee, my master's son, all that pertaineth to Saul and to
all his house. He was given everything that
was lost. Restored. And he shall eat continually
in the Lord's presence. Or in the king's presence. We
shall eat continually in the Lord's presence. Oh, when the Lord saves us, we dine
at His banqueting table. We dine at His banqueting table.
Not just once, but continually in the hearing of the gospel
preached, and we rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, because He's
our hope. We don't have hope anywhere else. Hope and trust,
right? Hope and trust only in Christ.
Only in Him. Fetch in grace. Oh, that if you're lost and you're
one of the Lord's sheep, that He'd fetch you. Oh, that He'd send the Holy Spirit
to fetch you and draw you to Christ. It's all He's done for
we who believe. It's not anything we did. It's all for His glory and His
honor and His praise. And we shall eat at the Lord's
table continually.