I have a question, and it's a question we need help
answering honestly, because we're prone to lie to ourselves a lot. Do you have a problem asking
for help? Do you ever, you know, It'd be
a lot easier if I asked somebody to come help me to do this, but
I can handle it. That's basically what it comes
down to. We don't like asking for help. We, well, an example,
I think most everybody in here has had children or been around
young children, and See this little child who has started
learning how to tie their shoelace, and they're sitting there on
the floor and they're working hard at it. They're struggling. But it is time to go. You have to leave right now. It's time. And you say, here,
let me do that for you. And the immediate reaction is,
no, me do it. That's us in a nutshell. Me do
it. In our pride, in our arrogance,
we say with Israel of old, all that the Lord hath said, we will
do and be obedient. As if to say, God, I see what
you've said there, and it's not a problem. I've got this. We cannot do. Adam, our father,
had one command, one law, and he couldn't keep it. And yet
we'll say, I've got it. I'll satisfy the whole thing. Considering that child, those
of us who know how to tie shoes know that if that child would
just stop struggling, stop trying to work it out for themselves,
it'll be done for you. We'll take care of it. Your shoelace
will be tied. but that's not satisfactory to
that child. I want the glory. I did it, not
you. We, whom the Lord has had mercy
upon, who know something of his grace and his mercy, We look
at this world around us, at the multitude of our friends and
our family who are going about trying to obtain their own salvation. And we want to just cry out to
them, if you'll just stop, just stop. Christ has satisfied the
law. He's done it all. All you need
to do is look to Him, to trust Him, to fall down and beg for
His mercy, and it'll be done for you. Go to Him. He'll receive you. His mercy is freely given to
all those who are in need. Which leads to another question. Do you have a need? Do you need,
do I need the Lord's mercy? Do you answer? I'm not quite
sure. What do you mean by the Lord's
mercy? Mercy is reserved for those who
stand guilty before God. who have nothing, no good, no
redeemable quality about them, that God can look upon them and
say, I see a speck. One day you did, for one instant,
a good thought. We have none, nothing. Do you stand in need of the Lord's
mercy? Open with me to 2 Samuel 9. 2 Samuel 9. Lord willing, from this passage
of scripture, we're going to see the Lord's mercy to guilty
sinners revealed in six points. the covenant of grace, our natural condition, the call
of grace, the effect of the call, the revealed covenant, and the
end of the story. Let's read this chapter together.
2 Samuel 9. 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? 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? And Ziba said
unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lying 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 Maker, the son of Amiel in Lodabar. Then King David sent and fetched
him out of the house of Maker, the son of Ammiel 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.
And David said, Mephibosheth? And he answered, Behold thy servant. And David said unto him, 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. And he bowed
himself and said, what is thy servant, that thou shouldest
look upon such a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to
Ziba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy
master's son all that pertain to Saul and to all his house.
Thou therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land
for him, and 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 15 sons
and 20 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, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. And
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 laying on both his feet." First, let's look at the covenant.
Verse one. 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? What is it that prompted King
David to make this inquiry? He remembered his covenant with
his friend, Jonathan. Hold your place here and turn
back to 1 Samuel chapter 20. In 1 Samuel 20, David and Jonathan
are meeting for one of the last times that they'll see one another
alive. Jonathan knows that David has
been appointed king over Israel after Saul. But at this point,
he's not convinced that Saul seeks David's life. But these two men meet together
and they make a covenant, a promise to one another. First Samuel
20, verse 14. Jonathan says to David, and thou
shalt not only, while I yet live, show me the kindness of the Lord,
that I die not, but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness
from my house forever. No, not when the Lord hath cut
off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth.
Notice here that Jonathan wasn't short-sighted in his covenant. He didn't ask only for himself,
but he included his offspring, his children to come. Verse 15, thou shalt not cut
off thy kindness from my house forever. Concerning Mephibosheth, when
was this covenant made? Well, the Thompson Study Bible,
on each chapter in that Bible, those who study these things,
I presume, indicate at the start of the
chapter the year in which they think it occurred. And based
on those dates, based on the markings for 1 Samuel 20 and
for 2 Samuel 9, Well, or wherever Mephibosheth was born. There's
at least a year before Mephibosheth's birth between this covenant being
made and him being born. More than likely, Jonathan didn't
even know he was going to have a child yet when he entered into
this covenant with David. And yet he pleads for his children. Mephibosheth had no part in making
this covenant. Didn't even know he was going
to be around. But in about 20 years, this event recorded here
would be the reason David sought him out to show him the kindness
of the Lord. For us ruined sinners, before
God laid the foundation of the world, before life was breathed
into Adam our father, God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Spirit entered into a covenant, a covenant concerning a rebellious,
sinful people whom God has chosen. God the Son said, I'll redeem
them. And if I redeem them, thou, God
the Father, shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. What could possibly motivate
the eternal, self-sufficient God to consider wretched worms
like this one? and to purpose to show them kindness. Look up at verse 17. And Jonathan caused David to
swear again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved
his own soul. What was God's motivation? Our
Lord said in John 3, the father loveth the Son and hath given
all things into his hand. The love of the Father to the
Son bound the covenant of grace before Adam was ever formed. Just as Mephibosheth had no influence,
he also had no responsibility in fulfilling the covenant. We sinful souls bear no responsibility
to the covenant between God the Father and God the Son. It's
not our covenant. Mephibosheth was covered by the
covenant because he was Jonathan's son. Turn back to 2 Samuel 9. The covenant and the love David
had for Jonathan resulted in David seeking Mephibosheth out. And listen to what he says. Is
there yet any left of the house of Saul? Enter into what the king is asking
here. In 2 Samuel 3, it says, now there
was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. Chapter nine, it's been about
16 years since Saul and Jonathan died. And David inquires to show
kindness to those who were his enemy. Those who rebelled against
God's appointment of him as king. Those traitors against him who
had lifted up their hand in malice to him. He seeks to show kindness
to rebels for Jonathan's sake. And one is found in the verse
three. And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath yet a son, which is laying on his feet. And the king said, where is he?
And Ziba said unto the king, behold, he is in the house of
Maker, the son of Amiel in Lodabar. Here we see our natural condition. Mephibosheth has lived his life
affected by the fall. This fall resulted from the death
of his fathers. When news came that Jonathan
and Saul had died, in the hurry to get Mephibosheth to safety,
he fell and became lame. Can we see our condition in this? When our father rebelled against
God, he failed, and his fall didn't result in just becoming
lame. He died. He died. His soul, which had had communion
with God, died, and he was no longer accepted in the presence
of life. We are all the children of a
rebellious man and there has been long war between the house
of Adam and the house of Christ." Mephibosheth, at the time we're
reading about, is probably about 20 years old. He has married
and he has a son of his own. Due to the long war that waged
between David and Saul's houses and the fact that David was the
victor, I very seriously doubt that Mephibosheth went about
publicizing the fact that he was Saul's grandson. For in the recesses of his mind,
I suspect he kind of feared that one day the king may find out
there's a son of Saul yet alive, a son of a traitor. a son who
thinks himself to have rights to the throne. If word reached the king that
that son were alive, he would be just and well within his rights
to send and have him killed for the rebellious actions of his
family. That's on one hand. On the other
hand, particularly when he was younger, I'm sure that Mephibosheth
had a lot of pride concerning his heritage. He's the grandson
of the first king of Israel, born heir to the throne. But
look at his condition now, laying on both of his feet, living in
the house of meker, meker means sold. We've seen how we are more
than lame outside of Christ for our own nature. We're dead in
trespasses and sins. But sold? Do I live in the house
of maker? Have I been sold? As Esau sold
his birthright for some pottage, each of us born of Adam's line
or born a debtor to the law. We've broken God's commandment
and sold ourselves into bondage with no means of making the payment
that is owed. Now, for all appearances, Mephibosheth
here has a pretty good life going on. He, like the rest of us,
was going about his merry way. And if he thought of David, he
would just kind of push it aside. No, I'll stay out of his way. He'll stay out of my way. As
long as I don't raise a fuss, David will never notice me and
I'll just lie under the radar. Everything will be fine. Isn't the same true of us? When we are living in our sin
and rebellion, We do all that we can to appease the God of
our imagination. For our conscience continually
bears witness against us. You've not done enough. You've
not done enough. You've not done enough. So we
make promises to ourselves and to our little God of our imagination,
and we'll say things like, I know I didn't do it all well today,
But tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm not going to lose my temper tomorrow. And we go to bed, and we have a good night's sleep,
and that alarm clock goes off. And immediately, I am angry. at this inanimate object that
can do nothing to me, I am angry. That promise I made yesterday,
it's gone. Already broken it. That's okay. Yes, I'm guilty
of that. That's okay. That can be fixed. And we go on and on like that.
But one day, there's a reckoning, not with the God of our imagination,
but the holy, just, true God. And that's either going to be
in Christ or out of Christ. And if you're outside of Christ
in that day of reckoning, guilty, eternal separation. One day, Mephibosheth, going
about his daily activities, and unbeknownst to him, the call
of grace was commanded. Verse five, then King David sent
and fetched him out of the house of Maker, the son of Amiel from
Lodabar. Very often when I'm reading,
you know, just, Reading the story, right? Reading the scripture,
going straight through it. We went from, the king sent and
fetched him out of the house of Maker. We'll read that and we just,
okay, he sent and got him. Went next door, grabbed him out
of his house, brought him over. Happened like that. We neglect
to take time into consideration. There was a great distance to
travel between Jerusalem and Lodabar. It was about 60 miles,
and that's in a straight line. There was mountainous terrain
that had to be traversed between those two cities. There was a
lot to go through. So we'll figure it took a few
days journey to get there. And the journey there would have
occurred faster than the journey back. The journey there, you've
got fit men making that journey to go. On the journey back, you've
got a man that is lame, that cannot do for himself. So there's
a little more time involved getting back. We have no reason to believe
that Mephibosheth knew anything about the covenant between Jonathan
and David. He was about five when his dad
and grandfather were killed, if I remember correctly. And David had this conversation
probably in front of the man that he told, go fetch Mephibosheth. But the man that he told would
have been someone close to David, probably high-ranking officer,
who would have told a lackey who told a lackey who told another
lackey who was finally at the bottom of the food chain and
had to actually make the journey. That man that was finally the
one that made the journey, he probably has no idea why he's
being sent. He was told, go fetch. and return. Whether or not that man knew
the king's intentions towards Mephibosheth, we don't know for
sure. But one thing we do know, those
that were sent for Mephibosheth arrived suddenly at the house
of Makar. And they said, Mephibosheth,
the king commands you come. This wasn't a gentle invitation.
It wasn't a, if you would like, take your time, get your house
in order, put your affairs away, eat a snack, we'll wait on you. It was Mephibosheth, come, we're
leaving. Mephibosheth's heart had to drop. His courage failed him. All at
once, his doom, that was always nagging at the back of his mind,
was upon him. I am found out. My rebellion,
my heritage has been brought to light. I am undone. the days that he traveled with
these soldiers. What did he do? Was he so distressed
during that journey that he could hardly eat, could hardly speak? Did he make inquiries? What kind
of man is David? What kind of king is he? What
kind of ruler? The one thing I'm pretty certain
of As he had for all his life given
little thought to David, his mind was now consumed with the
thought of King David. For those whom God the Father
chose, who God the Son shed his blood for, God the Spirit will
call. As we, being ignorant of God's
grace to us and lost in our sin, go about our daily lives, one
day, the Lord crosses our path with a preacher of righteousness. One day, the Holy Ghost comes
and calls us. Everyone's experience from that
point is different. Some, like the thief of the cross,
hear the call and immediately receive relief, receive assurance. Some go many days being fully aware of their guilt
and their condemnation and waiting many days before they hear a
word of assurance. but all that the Spirit calls
shall come to the knowledge of the grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. At last, Mephibosheth arrives
in the court of the king, verse six. Now when Mephibosheth, the
son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell
on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth,
and he answered, behold, thy servant. Here we see the effect
of the Spirit's call of grace upon a sinner. The man who had
spent no time considering the king has been made to see his
true guilt and his condition before him. And when he sees
the king, the true king as he is, not as he imagined him to
be, but as he is, all that he can say is, behold, your servant. You are the true king, and I
deserve, and you are clear to administer the judgment. I deserve
the just reward for who I am. Mephibosheth displays here the
result of the call of grace. He repents. Previously, he lived
believing he could outwit, fool, hide his rebellious nature. But
now he knows it's all out in the open. He knows who is the
true king and he bows in submission. It's almost as though he looked
to David and said, against thee, The only have I sinned and done
this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when
thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. Every sinner saved
by God's grace will become as Mephibosheth. And when we see
God as he is, God, the sovereign God, We will fall down before
him and cry, not my will, O God, but thine be done. And we'll
plead the only thing that we can, God be merciful to me, a
sinner. Verse seven, we'll see the covenant
revealed. And David said unto him, fear
not. What? joyful news that had to
be to Mephibosheth's ears. 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. Perhaps a week or more has passed
since David gave command to fetch Mephibosheth. And now the king
is in his court and the soldiers have returned with Mephibosheth
carrying him in. And David, can you picture him
sitting on his throne? perhaps a long haul, like in
here. Doors are closed and maybe he's reading something.
Doors are open and he looks up and he sees the guards and notices
they're carrying someone and they bring him in and he looks
upon that man. It's been about 20 years since
David last saw Jonathan alive. When they made that covenant,
they were about 20 years old. David looks up and looks on that
man that is being carried, and you know what he sees? Every
feature of Jonathan's son cries out, I am Jonathan. I'm your friend who you loved. Is there any wonder David said
to him, fear not? And it's not recorded in scripture,
but I'm fairly certain David let
Mephibosheth know all about the covenant that he and Jonathan
had entered into and why it was that Mephibosheth had received
such grace in the eyes of the king. When the work of the Spirit is
done in the redeemed sinner, after that sinner is convinced
of sin, who we are, what we are by nature, of righteousness,
who God is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and of judgment. Not that all the world is guilty
and everyone around me is guilty, but that I am the sinner. Me personally, as though where
there were no other, I have rebelled against God. It was my wicked
hand that nailed him to that cross. After the spirit has caused the
sinner to know, I'm guilty and I deserve the just condemnation
of God. And being brought by the Holy
Ghost to that point, The sinner is brought before the true king.
And when the king's eyes fall upon him, he sees only his perfect,
holy, just son in whom he is well pleased. And he says unto
that sinner, fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for
the Lord Jesus Christ's sake. The end of the story, verse 13. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table and was lame
on both his feet. Every sinner saved by God's grace
has the same end. We will dwell in the king's city. We will be provided all our nourishment
at the king's table. Not only will our needs be provided, but things we don't even know
to want for yet will be provided for the king's table. Mephibosheth
sat down at the king's table. Not at Maker's table, not at
his table, the king's table. Amply, exceedingly well provided,
the king's table. There was food on there. Mephibosheth
didn't even know he had a want for until he tasted it. What a day that'll be. As Mephibosheth was in David's
presence for the first time and David saw all the features that
reminded him of his friend that he loved. There was one thing
that David couldn't leave unnoticed. Mephibosheth was laying on both
of his feet. It marred the image of Jonathan. What could be done? David said, I know. I'll cover
those lame feet. Mephibosheth shall eat bread
at my table continually. Man, even the best of us, from
the judgment of other men, we are nothing like the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ is life, we are dead. Christ is good, we drink iniquity
like water. Christ is light, we love darkness
rather than light. Mephibosheth had one infirmity
that David hid under a table. We, from head to toe, are wounds
and bruises and putrefying sores before the Lord our God. what
is to be done. God the Son, according to the
covenant with God the Father, came to where we are, made himself in our likeness,
walked his creation, fulfilling his law perfectly, thus obtaining
a righteousness that he didn't need, but we did. and he did so in our stead. Then he who knew no sin was made
sin for us and those given to him by the Father for those that
he came to save. And on the cross, he suffered
the just condemnation and wrath of God for these sinners that
deserved it. He lived the perfect, holy, righteous
life that I cannot. Then, because He willingly took
my sin and my shame and made it His own, He died my death. He was buried in the tomb that
was rightfully reserved for me. And He arose after having borne
the sin away and fully paid the price due death. so that it had
no claim upon him. Having arisen, he robed us completely
in his own garment of righteousness. He thoroughly washed us from
our sins in his own blood and covered us from head to toe so
that when God sees one of his ransom people, he sees only his
beloved son. And our end is the same as Mephibosheth's. We shall be with him who loved
us. We shall dwell in his city. We shall behold him whom we love
and we shall be like him. Oh, what a glorious day that
will be. Do you, do I need mercy? Are we yet trying to satisfy
our own conscience before God? Are we constantly making bargains
with ourselves and the God of our imagination? If I do this
thing tomorrow, it was count as something good and offset
what I did today. It's what I did for years and
years. And the whole time. It just occurred to me. The whole
time I was doing it, I was denying I was doing it because I'd been
taught that's not the way. And yet I did it constantly. We build upon ourselves commands
and burdens that we can't bear. Oh, may the Lord stop us. Listen. Lord, open our ears. Listen to
our Savior. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come to Christ. Beg him to have mercy upon you. And in coming, may God keep us
coming. May God be pleased to keep us
from moving one jot beyond. God, be merciful to me, a sinner,
for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.