Well the Lord helping me this
morning the scripture that I'll bring to your attention is found
in 2 Samuel chapter 9 and from the second part of verse
11 to the end of the chapter 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 lame on both his feet. We read here, in this chapter,
the second book of Samuel, chapter 9, the history of King David
and of his kindness to Mephibosheth. The Lord had established David
in his kingdom and all his enemies were subdued under him. the Philistines,
the Moabites, Hadadezer, king of Rehob, and the Syrians. All
this we read of in the previous chapter, in chapter 8. And there
in that chapter we read these words, verse 14, and the Lord
preserved David whithersoever he went. And David reigned over
all Israel, and David executed judgment and justice unto all
his people. At the end of that chapter we
read of the officers which he appointed in his government,
in his government of the nation, these are his ministers of state
as it were. from verse 16 of that 8th chapter,
and Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host, and Jehoshaphat
the son of Ahilad was recorder, and Zadok the son of Ahitab,
and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests, and Saraiah
was the scribe, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both
the Kerithites and the Pelethites, and David's sons were chief rulers. So these were his ministers of
state in his government. And now having established, having
rather been established in his kingdom, and having been given
rest from all his enemies, and having appointed his officers
of state, David would now seek opportunity of doing good and
fulfilling a promise that he had made to his friend Jonathan. see his inquiry here in verse
1 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? Is there yet any that is left
of the house of Saul What a question! Saul's house was once so large
and numerous, but now it's brought almost to nothing by the judgment
of God. You see, Saul had sinned against
God. He had rebelled. And we read
of his disobedience in 1 Samuel 13, when he offered a burnt offering,
taking it upon himself to be made a priest. John Trapp says,
O vain man, what can it avail to sacrifice to God against God? And we read of how Saul was reproved by Samuel
there in Samuel 13 verse 13, And Samuel said to Saul, Thou
hast done foolishly Thou hast not kept the commandment of the
Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. For now would the Lord
have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever, but now
thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord hath sought him a man
after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be
captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which
the Lord commanded thee. And we read again, of Saul's
rebellion and disobedience in the matter of the Amalekites
in 1 Samuel 15. And again, Saul was reproved
by Samuel. Here in 1 Samuel 15 verse 22, And Samuel said, Had the Lord
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying
the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than
sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion
is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity
and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the
word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. His rebellion was as the sin
of witchcraft, a great sin. And yet we read of his great
wickedness in consulting the witch at Endor. That's in 1 Samuel 28. The witch
had summoned the spirit of Samuel from the dead. committing the
awful sin of necromancy but again we see how Saul was reproved
1 Samuel 28 verse 16 then Samuel said wherefore then dost thou
ask of me seeing the Lord is departed from thee and is become
thy enemy And the Lord hath done to him as he spake by me, for
the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given
it to thy neighbour, even to David. Because thou obeyedst
not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon
Amalek. Therefore hath the Lord done
this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver
Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow
thou and thy sons and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with
me the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand
of the Philistines what awful judgments were pronounced against
Saul and so it came to pass and so David now inquires here is
there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that house
which was once so numerous, that house which is now reduced to
almost nothing. Is there yet any that is left
of the house of Saul? And lest any thought that David
intended to do evil and to execute judgment or vengeance upon any
that yet remained of Saul's house, he adds, but I may show him kindness. And I may show him kindness.
And do we not see here, David, as a man after God's own heart.
Saul was David's implacable enemy, and yet he would now show kindness
to his house. Has not the Lord our God displayed
his marvelous loving kindness in the gospel of his grace to
those who were once his inveterate enemies? But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. The seed of Saul might only expect
the sword to fall upon them, or at best imprisonment, but
David only designs their good 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 mark those words, for Jonathan's
sake. It was for Jonathan's sake that
David would do this thing. Jonathan was the son of Saul
and he loved David. We read in 1 Samuel 18 that the
soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan
loved him as his own soul. and you know such is the love
that believers are to have one for another see what Paul writes
to the Colossians for I would that ye knew what great conflict
I have for you and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have
not seen my face in the flesh that their hearts might be comforted
being knit together in love such was the love that Jonathan had
for David Believer to believer. And we read further there in
1 Samuel 18, then Jonathan and David made a covenant because
he loved him as his own soul. Now what were the terms of that
covenant that Jonathan and David made? Well, we read of how Jonathan
caused David to swear again in 1 Samuel chapter 20. At verse 14, And thou shalt not
only while yet I live show me the kindness of the Lord, that
I die not, but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from
my house for ever. 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 it at the hand of David's enemies. And
Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him,
for he loved him as he loved his own soul. It was then for
Jonathan's sake, and for the sake of the covenant that he
had made with Jonathan, that David was determined to do good
to any that remained of the house of Saul. And Jonathan said, Is
there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may
show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Well, David was informed
by Ziba, who was the servant of the house of Saul, that Jonathan
hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. And then we read
in the subsequent verses of how David the king brought this man,
Mephibosheth, to Jerusalem, and to his own house, and to his
own table. And so, for a text this morning,
I really take the last sentence of verse 11. As for Mephibosheth,
said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's
sons. And also verse 13, the very last
verse of the chapter. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table, and was lame
on both his feet. Now here in this chapter and
in this historical event which is recorded in this chapter,
we see David as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, as indeed
we do in many other places throughout the Old Testament. And if we
see David as a type of Christ, do we not then see in Mephibosheth
a type of the elect sinner? And these are the two things
that I'll consider with you this morning from this passage, and
especially from the words of our text. Firstly, David as a
type of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Mephibosheth as a type of
the elect sinner, the object of divine grace. So firstly then, Let us consider David here as
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The very name David means beloved. And is that not one of the names
or epithets given to the Lord Jesus Christ? Paul in Ephesians
chapter 1 speaks of God the Father. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved."
Accepted in the Beloved, that's in Christ Jesus. He is the Beloved. In the Song of Solomon, where
we read of the bride and the bridegroom, this spiritual love
song. It speaks of Christ and his church
and we read there the words of the bride
as the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved
among the suns. I sat down under his shadow with
great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought
me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Oh, he is the Beloved. He is
the Beloved of the Father. He is the Beloved of all God's
elect. Accepted in the Beloved. And
Jesus is the Son of David, of course. Made the seed of David
according to the flesh. I am the root and the offspring
of David he says in the Revelation and so the promised Messiah in
many instances in the Old Testament is called or referred to as David
for example in Ezekiel 34 verse 23 and I will set up one shepherd
over them and he shall feed them even my servant David he shall
feed them and he shall be their shepherd and I the Lord will
be their God and my servant David, a prince among them. I the Lord
have spoken it. Now this was written many years
after David's death. It's clearly a reference to him
who is the good shepherd, the shepherd and bishop of our souls. David was the king of Israel.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the king of saints. David obtained
the kingdom through much trial and conflict and opposition.
So the Lord Jesus Christ endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself. Indeed it was through death that
he obtained the crown. But we see Jesus who was made
a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned
with glory and honor. He who was crucified is now raised
from the dead and is set at God's own right hand in the heavenly
places far above all principality and power and might and dominion
and every name that is named not only in this world but also
in that which is to come. He is the faithful witness, the
first begotten of the dead. and the prince of the kings of
the earth. Indeed, he is king of kings and lord of lords. But you know, although the Lord
Jesus Christ is so highly exalted, yet he is exalted to be a prince
and a saviour. A prince and a saviour. And so
he has respect to poor and needy sinners, even as David had respect
to Bormathibosheth. though the Lord be high, yet
hath he respect unto the lowly." And you notice that it was David
who made inquiry after Mephibosheth not vice versa and so it is in
the matter of salvation it is the Lord Jesus who seeks and
saves that which was lost sinners in their natural unregenerate
condition will not seek after God Her psalmist says, The wicked,
through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God
is not in all his thoughts. Paul says, There is none that
seeketh after God. Job says, Therefore they say
unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of
thy ways. What is the Almighty that we
should serve him? And what profit should we have
if we pray unto him? That's the natural language of
sinful, fallen man. That's the natural language of
your heart and my heart, if we're honest. Sinners in their natural
fallen condition will not seek after Christ. Ah, but Christ will seek after
sinners. Christ seeks after sinners, for
the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. and see here how David addresses
Mephibosheth in verse 6 he addresses him by name and David said Mephibosheth and so the Lord Jesus Christ
calls every one of his people by name that is personally and
individually and he calleth his own sheep by name and he calls
them when he calls them down from their perch of pride, he
calls them by their name. Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down, for today I must abide at thy house. When he calls them
forth from the grave of sin, he calls them by their name. Lazarus, come forth, and he that
was dead came forth. when he reveals himself to them
as that one that is risen from the dead. He calls them by name. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith
unto him, Rabboni. Which is to say, Master. He calls
his own sheep by name. Sinner. thirsty one, hungry one
let him that is a thirst come these are the names he uses all
the invitations of the gospel in the holy scriptures are addressed
to case and condition and see the next words that David
speaks to Mephibosheth in verse 7 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. We note the 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. And so Christ says to his church
and people, fear not, little flock, for it is your father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom. David was able to bestow temporal
favors upon Mephibosheth and to provide for all his temporal
wants Ah, but our Lord Jesus Christ is able to supply all
the need of all his people, their spiritual and eternal need, as
well as their temporal need. And as David used means, Ziba
and his household, as you see from verses nine and 10, then
the king called 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 all the way at
my table. Well, so Christ has all means at his disposal to
do his people good. For God, we read, hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things
to the church. To the church. All things in this world are
employed by the risen and exalted Christ to serve the interests
of his church and people. For the kingdom is the Lord's,
and he is the governor among the nations. And so it is written
in Isaiah, and kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their
queens thy nursing mothers. Paul could say, and we know that
all things work together for good to them that love God, to
them who are the called according to his purpose. How so? Well,
because all things are put under the feet of Christ, and he is
the head over all things to the church. And so we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. All things in
this world, whether good or bad, are at Christ's disposal to use
for the benefit of his dear elect, his church, them who are the
called according to his purpose. We see that David brought Mephibosheth
to Jerusalem and to his own table and so the
Lord Jesus Christ gathers his people to himself and brings
them into his church which is New Jerusalem and the Jerusalem
which is above and he feeds his people at his own expense even
with his own body and blood I am the living bread which came down
from heaven If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.
And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give
for the life of the world, he said. And again, Whoso eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood dwelleth in me. and I in him as the living father
had sent me and I live by the father so he that eateth me even
he shall live by me and so the bride says again that
song of Solomon he brought me to the banqueting house and his
banner over me was love what a banquet and what love Now it's interesting to note
that all these blessings were bestowed upon Mephibosheth because
of a covenant made with Jonathan, as we said before. A covenant
made even before Mephibosheth was born. For I will surely show
thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. Again, we read
of that covenant there in 1 Samuel 20, and thou shalt not only while
yet I 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. And David remembers that covenant
that he had sworn with Jonathan. And so all the blessings of an
eternal salvation we trace to their source, the covenant of
grace, that covenant that was made before we were born. In fact, it was made even before
the world was made. That covenant that was made between
the three co-equal and co-eternal persons of the Godhead, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all the Lord's people are blessed
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
because of that covenant according as he hath chosen us in him before
the foundation of the world it's very well expressed I think in
our articles of faith in the third article And we believe that in fulfilling
this gracious design, He, that is the Father, did make a covenant
of grace and peace with the Son and with the Holy Ghost on behalf
of those persons thus chosen, and that in this covenant the
Son was appointed as Saviour, and all spiritual blessings provided
for the elect, and also their persons, with all the grace and
glory designed for them, were put into the hands of the Son
as their covenant head, and made His care and charge. It was in
the covenant made with Jonathan that Mephibosheth was made the
care and charge of David. And it is in the covenant of
grace that the elect are made the care and charge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And you know, those who are made
the care and charge of the Lord Jesus Christ can never be lost. This brings us to our second
point. Mephibosheth, as a type of the elect sinner, the object
of divine grace. Now the first thing that we notice
concerning Mephibosheth is that he's lame. It's mentioned twice
in this chapter, in verse 3, and Zeiba said unto the king
Jonathan have yet a son which is laying on his feet and in
verse 13 so Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem for he did eat continually
at the king's table and was laying on both his feet and so the sinner
is unable to run the way of God's commandments or to walk in his
ways he is unable to fulfill the law of God And he is unable,
even of his own self and of his own volition, to come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. No man can come to me, except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, Jesus said. You see,
Mephibosheth was lame on both his feet. And so sinners are
both unable to fulfill the law of God, and they are unable to
savingly repent and believe the Gospel. We are spiritually disabled,
not able to do that which is good or that which is right in
the sight of God. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. And what was the cause of Mephibosheth's
disability? Was it not a fall? And Jonathan, Saul's son, had
a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the
tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel and his nurse
took him up and fled and it came to pass as she made haste to
flee that he fell and became lame and his name was Mephibosheth. And so it is with sinners. We
are fallen in Adam. We trace our disability or rather
our sinful inability Back to Genesis chapter 3 and to the
apostasy of Adam. And see the consequence of the
fall. Mephibosheth dwelt in a place called Lodabah. Behold, he is
in the house of Mekiah the son of Amiel in Lodabah. Now, that
name, the name of that place, Lodabah, means no pasture. No pasture! And so man, as a
consequence of a fall, is brought into the place of no pasture,
the place of spiritual barrenness, unfruitfulness, emptiness, deadness. The Catechism asks, into what
estate did the fall bring mankind? And the answer, the fall brought
mankind into an estate of sin and misery. Ah, but God has not left all
mankind to perish in that estate of sin and misery. just as Mephibosheth
was not left to languish in Lodabah, but was fetched out of it. As
we read in verse 5, then King David sent and fetched him out
of the house of Machia, the son of Amiel, from Lodabah. Well,
so the Lord fetches every one of his dear elect out of that
estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of
salvation by a Redeemer. Again, as the Catechism says.
The great work of salvation is effected by the predestinating
and electing love of the Father, according as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according
to the good pleasure of His will. It is effected by the predestinating
and electing love of the Father. It is effected by the redemptive
work of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, in whom we have
redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
And it is effected or accomplished by the gracious work of the Holy
Spirit within us, in regeneration or the new birth. being born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word
of God which liveth and abideth forever. And how did David fetch Mephibosheth
from Lodabah? Well, we're not really told.
We are simply told that he sent and fetched him out of the house
of Mekhi, the son of Amiel, from Lodabah. But surely it's not
unreasonable to suppose that he sent and fetched him by means
of his servants. Well, so the son of David sends
his servants to call his Mephibosheth, his sheep from a place of no
pasture, to sup with him continually at the king's table. This is
the commission which is given to the ministers of the gospel.
So the preachers of God's holy word go out quickly into the
streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor
and the maimed and the haught and the blind. The gospel is
for sinners. The gospel is for sinners. And
see how Mephibosheth comes to David in verse 6. 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 behold thy servant and in verse
8 we read, and he bowed himself
and said, What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon
such a dead dog as I am? What is thy servant that thou
shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? He comes with all humility of
mind. He is very conscious of his wretchedness
before the King. He's conscious that he is nothing,
that he has nothing, that he is as a dead dog before the king. Oh, see how grace humbles the
sinner. Think of Jacob. I am not worthy of the least
of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed
unto thy servant. And what was Job brought to? Then Job answered the Lord and
said, Behold, I am vile. What shall I answer thee? I will
lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will
not answer. Yea, twice, but I will proceed
no further. He can answer nothing before God, except to acknowledge
that he is vile. Daniel, for my comeliness, was
turned in me into corruption. All that appeared good Suddenly,
it turned in me to corruption. Martin Luther once said, because
there were those who were saying how wonderful he was, he said,
what is Martin Luther but a bag of maggots? What is Martin Luther
but a bag of maggots? Peter, he fell down at Jesus'
knees saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, oh Lord.
Paul reckoned himself the chief of sinners and less than the
least of all saints. And so it is with Mephibosheth
here, what is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such
a dead dog as I am? That's what grace brings us to.
We express it in some of our hymns, don't we? But what can
poor lost sinners say, when once they get a view and hear the
Blessed Spirit say, all this was done for you? Why me? Why me, O blessed God? Why such a wretch as me, who
must forever lie in hell, were not salvation free? Those who
come boasting of their own merit, trusting in their own worth and
works, they have not truly come to Christ. For Christ is the
Savior of sinners. Those who come conscious of their
sin, confessing their inability to keep the law of God, acknowledging
their lameness in spiritual things, knowing and feeling that they
cannot of themselves save themselves, that they cannot give themselves
faith or repentance, these are the ones who are called. For Christ is the Savior of sinners. He instructs us, doesn't he,
in his word. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed,
the lame, the blind. Why? Because that is what he
himself does in a spiritual sense. For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Finally, by way of conclusion,
the last thing that we read of concerning Mephibosheth, and
David's dealings with him is in chapter 21 we read there of
a famine a famine of three years duration
and David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered it is for
Saul and for his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites
David then consults with the Gibeonites as to what they would
require by way of recompense. And they insist on the execution
of seven of Saul's sons. Then we read in verse seven of
that chapter. But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan,
the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between
them, between David and Jonathan, the son of David. the Gibeonites
had a just claim on the life of Mephibosheth but because of
a covenant made before he was even born he was spared and so
it is with every one of the elect of God the law of God has a just
claim on the life of our souls the soul that sinneth it shall
die It has a just claim on the life
of our souls, not only because of our own sin, but also because
of the sin of our first father, Adam. Ah, but because of the eternal
covenant made with Christ, our lives are spared. And so it is
that beggars are brought to enjoy all the privileges of sonship
and the sovereign protection of their heavenly king, the king
of saints, King Jesus. Christ is the keeper of his saints. He guards them by his power,
subdues their numerous complaints in every gloomy hour. How sure
his great salvation shines! How full the vast reward! How
firm the promise ere remains! How faithful is the Lord! He is a faithful covenant-keeping
God. He will not let any of those
who have come to Christ out of a felt sense of their need, he
will never let any of them perish. Thou art his, thou art his forever
because thou art the purchase of his blood, the blood of the
covenant. Well, may the Lord bless his
word to each one of us. May each one of us know by gracious
experience what it is to sit at the king's table as one of
the king's sons. and to continually eat at the
king's table, feeding upon his word and upon his finished work. As for Mephibosheth, said the
king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. So
Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at
the king's table and was laying on both his feet. Amen.