The name of the message today
is Our Friend. Our Friend. Now through our lives, we have
many friends, don't we? I remember as being a little
tyke, had a whole bunch of friends. And then growing up, had some
more friends. Usually the friends that you
had when you were younger, They might not stay along, and you
might have new friends come along. You might still have a couple
old friends, just real good old friends. And then you get into
your high school and teenage years, and you have friends.
Some friends are good, and some friends aren't too good for you,
right? You can, you know, I remember some friends that weren't good
influence on me. And then I remember some friends
that were good influence on me. When you have a good friend,
it's a blessing, isn't it? It really is. It really is. And
I'm thankful that not only are we brethren as believers, but
we're also friends with one another. Isn't that wonderful? We're family,
but yet we're friends too. It's so important, isn't it? Turn with me, if you would, to
1 Samuel. We're gonna go to chapter 19
first. I'm amazed at how much God protects His elect. How much
He protects those who are His friends. Do you know the elect
are the friends of God? Isn't that amazing? God's our friend? Yeah. He's our friend. Not only is
He our Savior and our Redeemer, our Beloved, But he's our friend. You know, he's a friend like
no other. You ever have some friends that were fair weather
friends? You remember those fellows? Oh, yeah, if you had some new
gadget or something or something new, they wanted to be there,
but as soon as that got old, they just took off. Not a true
friend, just a fair weather friend. Christ is not a fair weather
friend, beloved. He's a friend that's sticking closer than a
brother. Stick it closer than a brother.
And I'll tell you what, we need friends, don't we? We need him. More than anyone else in this
world, we need Christ. And he protects his people. You
know, his people are called the sheep of his pasture. The sheep
of his pasture, that's what we are, we're sheep of his pasture. And the shepherd has an obligation
to the sheep, doesn't he? To protect them, to care for
them, to watch over them. He has a responsibility for that,
doesn't he? And it's amazing when you think that that's how
our heavenly shepherd looks upon us. And his eye is ever upon
us, too. And I had our dear brother Read
that portion in 1 Samuel for the setting of our text. We see
how much God cares for his people, how much he cares for his friends,
when Saul tries relentlessly to kill David. He pursues him,
doesn't he? He wants to destroy him. But
God watches over his people. He ever watches over his people.
He's ever there. And do you know that every time
that Saul would attempt to pursue David, God would stop him? Do you know he has thousands
upon thousands upon thousands of ways to stop our enemies? To stop the enemies of our souls?
To stop his enemies? I'll tell you why. And he's got a vast store of
power, doesn't he? Is anything too hard for the
Lord? Can anyone thwart his will? Can even a man say, well I don't
believe in him, does that cause him to shake? Scripture says
he laughs at their calamity, he mocks them. Our God is no one to be trifled
with. No one to be trifled with. He's
the holy God of the universe. He's the King of kings, and He's
the Lord of lords, and that's who our Savior is. That's who
our friend is, as believers. And never forget, that he is
able to deliver the godly out of temptation. If you look back on your life
and you see how many times he's delivered you, you'd be absolutely
amazed. Before you were saved, and even
after you were saved. It's absolutely stunning. And Saul had sent men to take
David at Niath. Do you know God followed the
plan? by the working of the Holy Spirit to stop them. Look at
this in 1 Samuel chapter 19. This is amazing. You know, they
even forgot why they came. They even forgot why they came. Look at Psalm 19 starting in
verse 19. And eventually Saul comes himself
And the Lord so confuses Saul that he lays all day and night
naked on the ground. We're going to see this. Look at this. And it was told
Saul, saying, behold, David is at Niath and Ramoth. And Saul
sent messengers to David when they saw the company of the prophets
prophesied and Samuel standing as appointed over them. The Spirit
of God was upon the messenger of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when it was told Saul, he
sent other messengers, so he sent some more. And they prophesied
likewise. Oh, God's amazing. And Saul sent
messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also. Oh my. God confused them, didn't
he? They were sent to gather David
up and bring him to Saul, and the Lord just stopped them in
their tracks. Now look at this. Now Saul's decided, you know. Then when he also to Ramoth and
came to a great well, that is in Sechu, and he asked
and said, where is Samuel and David? He expected them to be
there. He expected them to bring them,
bring Samuel and David to him. He said, behold, they are at
Naoth in Ramoth. They're still there. They can't
touch him. So here comes Saul now. Here
comes the king. And he went thither to Niath
and Ramoth, and the Spirit of God was upon him also. And he
went in and prophesied until he came to Niath and Ramoth.
And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel
in like manner, and lay down naked all the day and all the
night. Wherefore, they say, is Saul also among the prophets? I love how our Lord, he's just
amazing, isn't he? Saul's there rolling around in
the dust naked all day and night. Oh my gosh. And David saw how
helpless Saul was and yet, you know David was like you and I
though. He saw Saul there helpless. And isn't it interesting here
to note that the failings of the Old Testament saints are
not hidden, that they're open for us? Just as we saw in the
New Testament this morning in Bible study, where Peter's failings
are right there before us, right? Isn't it amazing that God, I
love this, that God the Holy Spirit allows these things to
happen, right? And we know they're for our learning.
Scripture tells us they're for our learning, the things that
happened in the Old Testament, and we know even in the New Testament,
they're for our learning. But what do they show us? That
these great men were just men. They're just flesh like you and
I. Just flesh. Look what David does. He doesn't
stop and give praise to God. He takes off. God's already defeated Saul right
there. He's in the dust. Naked in the dirt. All day and
night. And what does David do? Well,
he takes off. Look at verse 1 of chapter 20.
And David fled from Nareth and Ramoth, and came and said before
Jonathan, what have I done? And what is mine iniquity? And
what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? Instead
of quietly waiting for the Lord to instruct him, he flees. He's just like us. Isn't he? He's just like every one of us.
He's just a sinner saved by grace. He turned his back on the prophet.
He was there with Samuel. He was there with Samuel the
prophet. And obviously the Lord was with him, wasn't he? And
he turns his back on Samuel and takes off, goes to Jonathan. He preferred to consult with
his friend, who was Jonathan, who was Saul's
son. Now a friend can sometimes do
us good, right? But who should our first confidence
be? The Lord. Should always be the Lord. We
should always go to him first, always. And seek him. See, this is why I say David's
just like us. We're all the same, aren't we? We may seek confidence in a friend,
and we should just take it to the Lord in prayer, right? I
don't fault David, because he's just like me. He's a great man. I'm pale in comparison to him. He was an incredible fellow. But he's just flesh like us. And he's afraid. Look, he says,
what have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before
thy father that he seeketh my life? Well, we know that he's
hated without a cause, isn't he? Because David served. David served Saul. Well, our Lord was hated without
a cause, wasn't he? He was hated without a cause. Micah says, turn with your word,
if you would, to Micah 7. Let's look at this scripture
here. I think it's important that we look at this. And in this passage, we're going
to see such a contrast between Jonathan and Saul. Saul hated David. Jonathan loved
him. He loved him. Not only was Jonathan
his friend, but he was his brother. And they had a love that exceeded
the love of a man and a woman. And there was no weirdness about
that. They just loved each other. Dearly. Dearly. Look what it says here
in Micah though. Micah chapter 7 verses 5 to 7.
Who should we trust all the time? We should always trust God, right?
Now, I know we men, our wives are our best friends, and you
ladies, your husband's your best friend. And we tend to talk amongst
one another about things, right? But always, even then, our Lord
should be the first one we go to. Right? Look what it says here,
though. Micah 7, verse 5. I think this
is so wise. Trust ye not in a friend. Put
ye not confidence in a guide. Keep the doors of thy mouth from
her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonored the father,
the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, a man's enemies are of his own house. Therefore will I look unto the
Lord. I'll look unto Jehovah. That's Jehovah there. I'm gonna
look unto Jehovah. I will wait for the God of my
salvation. We wait on Christ, don't we?
We wait on Him who is the refuge of our soul. We don't rush out
and try to fix things while we do at first. We always try to
rush out and fix things on our own. And then we fall flat in
our face and then we're just, then we're before the Lord, right? Just being honest. Just being
honest. Look at this. Therefore will
I look unto the Lord. There's life in a look, isn't
there? There's life in a look to the Savior. There's life in
the look to Christ. Therefore, I look unto the Lord.
I will wait for the God of my salvation. Elohim. Elohim, the strong and mighty
one. He's the God of my salvation. My God will what? Hear me. You
know, God always hears his children. He always hears his friends.
Always. It's amazing. So what a contrast
we have between Saul and Jonathan. Saul wants to kill David, and
so he runs to Saul, again away from the prophet of God, to his
dear best friend. Now I can see us doing that too,
in our flesh. Absolutely. Especially if our
friend is a believer in Christ. But we ought to go to the Lord
first. We ought to go to Him. Saul manifests the wickedness
of an evil spirit, breathing out nothing but hatred, malice,
and death against God's faithful servant. He hates them without a cause.
They hated Christ without a cause, didn't they? He breathed out
malice to our king. They didn't even know him and
they hated him. Why? Because he preached Christ, or
because he was the God-man. They hated Paul, right? They
absolutely hated Paul. Why? For the fact that he preached
Christ and him crucified. They wanted to destroy him. See, they can't get at the master,
so they get at the messenger, beloved. That's what happens. It's all, he's manifesting this
evil spirit. And he's gone now, he wants to
kill David. And Jonathan's son, his heart
is influenced by the Holy Spirit of God. I believe Jonathan was
a brother in Christ. His heart's influenced by the
Holy Spirit of God. He has kinder feelings of love
and brotherly affection toward David. He knew David was gonna
be king, and he wasn't jealous. He knew it was God's will that
David would be king. So marvel, what do we have before
us? God's distinguishing grace, don't
we? We have a man in his natural state, Saul, that just hates
David. We have a man who's born again,
the son of the man who hates David, who's born again. And
he loves, he loves David. Who made them to differ? God. Who made you and I to differ?
God. I got two brothers, don't know
Christ, don't want to have nothing to do with Him. Absolutely nothing. Don't even want to know what
I preach. And here I am now, a gospel preacher,
never thought I would be one. Who made us to differ? God. He's the only one. He's the only
one that made the difference. And if you're saved, he's the
only one that made a difference between you and your family members
and your friends who know Christ. He's the only one. So marvel
here at God's distinguishing grace right here before us. And
look at the friendship, we look at this friendship of Jonathan
and David and marvel, marvel at how wonderful this relationship
is. But let our souls take flight in knowing that relationship
pales in comparison, pales in comparison to the unequal friendship
of he whose love for us far exceeds the love that Jonathan and David
had amongst each other. God loves us, his people. We're
his friends. We're gonna see in the scripture
where he calls us, he calls us his friends. My. And his love, his love was toward
us even when we were dead in sin. Even when I was out there
doing things I knew I shouldn't be doing. His love was still set upon me.
Lord didn't save me until I was in my 30s. So I had a lot of time to try
to destroy myself before that. Praise God he kept me. My oh my, what a king, what a
savior he is. What mercy to know that his love
was set upon me even when I was shaking my fist at him. By my
actions and my deeds and my words. And yet his love was still set
upon me. That's why I have to proclaim
the great things He's done for me. Because I couldn't do any
of this for myself. I couldn't, when I was out there,
I couldn't save myself. I was dead. Love and sin, were you? Love
and sin. Now what do we, we hate sin now,
don't we? I hate sin more in myself than I do in anyone else.
Is it so for you? Oh, my. But his love was set
upon his eternal God's eternal love was set upon us even then. And it's been set upon his people
since eternity. He's loved us when we were poor,
loathsome creatures. We were in such a deadness of
spiritual life, we were so dead in trespasses and sin, and yet
his love was set upon us. You know how we know that? Because
he said, thou art mine. You're mine. And because we're
his, he's given us the spirit which cries Abba Father now,
right? Paul tells us that in Galatians. And there's nothing
in us that would cause him to love us, absolutely nothing in
us. And yet his love is set upon
us. My, set upon us from eternity. So never forget, never forget
my Saul, never forget my brethren, that we were enemies in our minds
when Christ, when we were born into this world, and never forget
that we were enemies to Christ by wicked works. And yet 2,000
years ago, He died for us. He gave His life for us. Isn't that amazing? Someone was trying to kill your
family or friends, Would you give your life for them? Now
we'd give our life for our family and our friends, wouldn't we?
But would you give your life for an enemy? Oh, how God's love far exceeds
our love, beloved. Far exceeds our love. Turn, if
you would, to Proverbs chapter 17. Well, actually, no, I'll
just read these. I got a whole bunch of things
here in the Old Testament. If you want to write them down,
I've got multiple ones here, but if you want to write them
down. About friends. And the friendship between David
and Jonathan was very special. But all human friendships pale in comparison to the friendship
of God. In Proverbs 17, 17 it says this,
a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
A friend, a true friend, loves at all times. Christ has loved
us at all times, hasn't he? We were enemies in our minds,
but he loved us. Oh my. Proverbs 18, 24, a man
that hath friends must show himself friendly. You want to have friends,
you got to show yourself friendly, don't you? I've had a few friends in my
life where it was only me contacting them. They're no longer really
friends in my life anymore. Because eventually, it's not
reciprocal, right? But when you do meet together,
you just pick up right where you left off. It's amazing if
you see each other in the flesh. But we tend to want to be with
people who are friendly with us right now, right? My, Christ
is a friend. He's a friend that sticketh closer
than a brother, because that very verse says, a man that hath
friends shows himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. That's Christ. That's Christ. I've seen people,
they say they do things for friends, but when blood comes between
them, they always choose blood. They'll always choose blood.
Even if it's for the wrong cause. My. Christ is a friend that will
never do that. He'll never do that. He's a friend
that sticks to us no matter what. Sticks by us no matter what.
No matter what. He said, I'll never leave you.
Nor forsake you. Never. Never ever. In God's people, we can backslide,
can't we? We can get pretty far away from the Lord sometimes
in our sin. But He's ever with us. Drawing us back to Himself. Gently bringing us back. Peter,
do you love me? Peter denied Him three times.
Peter, do you love me? Peter, do you love me? Peter,
do you love me? He never rebuked him once. Isn't
that amazing? You ever had a friend like that?
I never had a friend like that. Oh my. Amazing. Song of Solomon, speaking of
our Savior, says, his mouth is most sweet and he is altogether
lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend, oh daughters
of Jerusalem. Isaiah says this in 41 8 but thou Israel are my
servant Jacob whom I have chosen the seed of Abraham my friend
See we who are the people of God are Abraham's spiritual seed
aren't we? He calls us my friend Luke chapter 12 verse 4 he says,
And I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill
the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But
I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear him, which after he
hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you,
fear him. Fear God. But notice he says,
And I say unto you, my friends. He's speaking to his disciples. Turn, if you would, to John 15.
We'll read this together. John 15. This is wonderful. John 15. We're the friends of
God, beloved. We who are His born-again, blood-washed
people, we are the friends of God. And this is a friend that sticks
closer than a brother. Did you ever consider yourself
a friend of God? That's what the Lord says we
are. I just marvel more and more.
The more he teaches me, the more I marvel at how much he loves
us. I'm telling you why. It's wonderful. This just gets
better and better, doesn't it? It really does. It just gets
better and better. Look at this. John 15 verses
12 to 17, this is my commandment that you love one another as
I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than
this, and the man laid down his life for his friends. Who did
Christ lay down his life for? His friends. And look at what
he says, and look, ye are my friends. What? Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever
I command you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Paul said, right? Henceforth, I call you not servants
for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but I have called
you friends. For all things that I have heard
of my father, I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen
me, but I've chosen you. and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. These things I commanded you,
that you love one another." Look at that. So we're his friends,
and then he tells us, you haven't chosen me, I've chosen you, and
I've ordained. I've ordained the steps that
you're going to walk in. That's why the scripture says in Proverbs,
the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. You know, he ordains
our steps. Isn't that amazing? It's absolutely incredible. And
it was the Lord's eternal love that sent him from heaven to
come to this earth to save us from our sins. It's his eternal
love. We're his friends. We couldn't save ourselves, could
we? He comes to save us from all our sins. He's our surety. He came to pay all our debts,
all our debts, all our sin debt, gone, paid for by the precious
blood of Christ. And he supplies all our wants,
doesn't he? Scripture says, and when I say
wants, I'm not talking physical wants because, you know, I'm
talking spiritual wants. Scripture says that in Christ
we have all spiritual blessings. Do you know all our spiritual
wants are supplied in Christ? We need to be justified before
God, don't we? In Christ. We need to be sanctified before
God. In Christ. We need righteousness. In Christ.
We need redemption. We need our souls to be purchased.
Christ purchases our souls with his precious, precious blood.
Isn't that wonderful? We've been adopted by God. We're
His sons. Now we cry, Abba, Father. It's
wonderful, isn't it? We didn't before. Now we do. By the grace of God, now we do.
Oh, it's so wonderful. He's so good to us. He's so merciful
to us. It's absolutely wonderful. So
marvel at this great love. Marvel also at the fact That
is, the more we learn, the more the Holy Spirit reveals the truth
to us about Christ, the more dearer He becomes to us. He's a dear Savior, isn't He?
He's a dear friend, isn't He? My, oh my, He's a dear friend,
beloved. What matchless love, what unparalleled
friendship we have in Christ. And all we can say is blessed
be the name of the Lord. And may the fact of his precious
daily watch, he watches over us daily, every second, beloved. Whether we're here or in Ecuador
or over at Papua New Guinea where Lance is, he watches over every
single one of his saints. Well, someone said, how can he
do that? Because he's God. He's all powerful. See, his ways
are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts.
And he loves us so much that he watches over us daily. We're under his tender care.
And one day we're going to see him by his mercy and his grace.
One day we're going to see him face to face. What great love God has for his
people. So David here now, he has thoughts
of doom, doesn't he? He says, why is your dad trying
to kill me? Saul's not his friend, is he? Why is your dad trying to kill
me? Why is he trying to do this? My. He's looking to his earthly friend
instead of looking to his heavenly friend. And we all do it. We all do it. If we're honest, we all do it. That's why this is for our learning,
see? That's why this is for our learning, because we all do this. God was not in his thoughts right
now, and we see God wasn't even mentioned at all in what he says
to Jonathan. We're told in Proverbs 3, verses
5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on
your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him
and he shall direct thy paths. See, he's the light unto our
paths, beloved. He's the light unto our paths. And we're told that to remind
us, because how soon we forget. How soon we forget. The reason
he tells us not to lean on our own understanding is because
sometimes we do. The reason he tells us to acknowledge him in
all our ways is because sometimes we don't. The flesh, the flesh, the flesh. The spirit's willing, but the
flesh is weak. We can all testify to that, all
of us. Turn, if you would, to Genesis,
chapter 12. Now, David wasn't the only one like this, and we're
not the only one like this. And praise God that we have a
friend in Christ Jesus who sticks closer than a brother. But you
know, even Abraham was carried away a few times, too. Now God
called Abraham out of Ur. He's an idol worshiper. I was
an idol worshiper at one time. In the Catholic Church, I was
a total idol worshiper. Called me out of that by His
grace and by His mercy. Abraham, he is a full-on idol
worshiper. Called him out of there. God had led him and directed
him. Look at this in Genesis chapter
1 to 3. And remember, these are for our
learning. And remember, this shows us that
Abraham is just a man like you and I. A man trusting in God
and resting in God, but sometimes we lean on our own understanding.
And sometimes we do not acknowledge him to direct our paths. Look at this. Verse one, now
the Lord had said unto Abraham, get thee out of the country and
from thy kindred and from thy father's house into a land that
I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great
nation. And I will bless thee and make thy name great. And
thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless
thee and curse him that curses thee. And in thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed. Now notice this promise here.
God had just promised Abraham, I'll make of thee a great nation.
I will bless thee. I will make thy name great, and
thou shalt be a blessing." That's a promise from God, right? It's
a promise from God. Now look down at verses 11 and
13. We see here old Abraham, he's just a sinner like you and
I. He's just a sinner like us. He'd been told by the Lord that
the Lord's going to do this wonderful feat. And I ask you, would the
Lord allow him to be killed before he did that? No. No, not at all, right? He just
promised them, I'm going to make a great nation out of you, Abraham. Look, oh, Abraham, he's just
like you and I. Look at this. Look at verses
11 to 13. And it came to pass when he was
come near unto Egypt, he took it unto his wife Sarah, his wife. Behold now, I know that thou
art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore, it shall come to pass. He's thinking, he's got this
whole thing wrapped up in his mind. See, anxiety will do this
to you. Right? That shows you he's got
anxiety. He's got an anxiety issue right
now. And how do we know that? Because look, he's made this
whole thing in his mind that's going to happen. He said, Sarah,
they're going to look on you. They're going to say, oh, she's
so beautiful. Right? And then he says, they're going
to kill me. When Egyptians shall see thee,
that they shall say, this is his wife, and they will kill
me. but they will save thee alive. God had just promised him, I'm
going to make a great nation out of you. He's not gone in
a little wee bit. He's like, they're going to kill
me, sir. You've got to lie. You've got to tell them you're
my sister. Say, I pray thee, thou art my
sister, and it will be well with me for thy sake, and my soul
shall live because of thee. No, his soul shall live because
of God. See, he's just like you and I, beloved. These men, they
get fearful just like you and I. David's fearful. Abraham's
fearful here. He's got, again, he's fabricated
this whole thing up in his mind. What's going to happen? He's
not even in Egypt yet. He's like, oh my. I bet you he
was losing sleep. He fabricated this whole thing
in his mind. It didn't come to pass that way, did it? As a matter
of fact, the king said, why did you lie to me? I wouldn't have
killed you. Well, we know he wouldn't have,
because God had told him, I'm going to bless you. Screw you.
All the nations of the world will be blessed. Well, that's
speaking of Christ, isn't it? My, oh my. Right after God tells Abraham
that he'll make a great nation of him, he says, all those Egyptians
are going to kill me. They're going to kill me. What
does this show us? It shows us that no man is anything
without God's grace. That's what it shows us. I'm
nothing without God's grace. None of us are. We're nothing
without God's grace. We really are. Nothing at all. And God warns
us. He gives us examples here in
the scriptures before us. He says in the book of Hebrews,
take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief and departing from the living God. So these are
examples for us, for our learning, aren't they? And I look at that
and say, well, I'm not the only one who struggles with that stuff
then. Did God not have mercy continuously
on Abraham? He's his friend, wasn't he? And
you know, David and Jonathan, they had made a covenant together. They had made a covenant together. And Jonathan said, have mercy,
when you become king, have mercy upon my family. And because they were such friends,
David had mercy on Mephibosheth, didn't he? He had mercy on them. But Jonathan and David made a
covenant before Mephibosheth was even born. Who made a covenant before we
were even born to have mercy upon you and I as believers?
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They
covenanted in eternity, didn't they? To have mercy upon the
people. Now, it's a people that no man
can number. And what mercy God has upon us.
Look at this in 1 Samuel 20 verses 14 to 17. Here's this covenant
between David and Jonathan in that section that Brother Travis
read. They made a solemn covenant to each other. The plan was agreed
upon by Jonathan whereby he would keep David informed of his father's
plans, but he also asked David to have mercy. They made a covenant
together that David would have mercy upon his kin. 1 Samuel 20 verses 14 to 17,
and thou shalt not only well yet I live, show me the kindness
of the Lord that I die not. but also that thou shall not
cut off thy kindness from my house forever. Look at that.
Do you know God will not cut off the kindness, his kindness and his graciousness
to those he gave to Christ in eternity? Isn't that amazing? Look at this. Not when the Lord hath cut off
the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth."
So he knew, he knew that David was going to be king. And he's
not jealous of him. He's not, because he knows, he knows that
if David becomes king, it's by God's will. He's a man of God's choosing,
isn't he? Look at this. So Jonathan made
a covenant with David. 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. So
what a friendship they had together. Now turn, if you would, to 2
Samuel chapter 9. We see the results of that covenant.
Now that covenant was made before Mephibosheth was even born. Again, there was a covenant made
in eternity for you and I as believers, before we were ever
born. Oh, it's amazing. Look at this.
Look at this. What a beautiful picture here.
Look at this. 2 Samuel. Chapter 9, starting
in verse 1. And David said, is there any,
is there yet any of the house, left of the house of Saul, that
I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake? Because that covenant I
made with him. I want to show kindness to his,
any, any of his kin. Because that covenant I made
with Jonathan. Now, when a new king came in, they'd usually
slaughter the royal house. Anyone. They wouldn't be, there'd
be no one left. But also, or sorry, and there
was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. So here's
one of Saul's servants still alive. 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 any? 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 a son which is lame on his feet. Now we're lame from a, see, Mephibosheth
was lame from a fall. You know what we're lame from,
spiritually? We're lame from a fall, beloved. We fell in Adam,
didn't we? We're lame. We can't save ourselves. Dead in trespasses and sins.
Look at this. This is just such a beautiful
picture. And the king said unto him, where is he? Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king,
behold, he is in the house of Makar, the son of Ammion and
Lodabar. Then King David sent and fetched
him. Now, where were we? Where were we when the Holy Spirit fetched
us? We were in Lodomar. We were in,
that means a house of no bread. There we were. We were in the
desert. And God the Father said, go fetch
him. We call it fetching grace. The
old-timers used to call, the old preachers called, fetching
grace. Go fetch. Holy Spirit comes and draws us
to Christ, right? He brings us to Christ, doesn't
He? Oh, He brings us to Christ. Look at this. So, David says,
go fetch Him. Fetching grace. What a picture
of fetching grace. Go fetch Him. Fetch Him out of that house.
Now, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,
was coming to David, he fell on his face. What do we do? What
do we do when the Lord brings us to Christ, when the Holy Spirit
brings us to Christ? We just fall on our faces, don't
we? Oh, Lord, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. Oh, look at
this. He fell on his face, beloved,
and did reverence. He reverenced the king. Do we
not do that now? Do we not now give reverence
to the king when we never gave reverence to him before? And
David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant. And David said unto him, Oh,
two little words, so precious, fear not. What does God tell us in Christ?
Fear not. Fear not. Don't be afraid. My wrath is being appeased in
my Son for you. Fear not. Don't be afraid. You're under the blood. That's
what he tells his people, eh? For I will surely show thee kindness
for Jonathan my father's sake. Who does God the Father show
kindness to us because of? The Lord Jesus Christ. The only
reason He has mercy upon us is because of Christ. That's the
only reason. For His Son's sake. Because He
made a covenant with Him way back in eternity. Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it?
Absolutely wonderful. And we'll restore thee all the
land thou saw thy father, and thou shalt eat the bread at my
table continually. He's eating bread at the king's
table. And look at, is this not our
response? And he bowed his head, bowed
himself, and he said, what is thy servant that thou shouldst
look upon such a dead dog as I? Oh, I'm such a dead dog, Lord,
and yet you're having mercy on me. Praise your mighty name. I don't deserve this mercy. I
don't deserve this grace. I'm just a dead dog. Fear not. Fear not. Nephebus, he feels
so unworthy. He's like, he knows, he knows
about what they used to do to royal families. He said, I'm
just a dead dog, and yet you're having mercy on me? Then look
at this. Then said the king unto Ziba, Saul's servant. He said
unto him, he called him. He said, I have given unto my
master's son all that pertain to Saul and all his house. Thou
therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land
for him, and shall bring in the fruits that thy master's son
may have. And Saul was his master. so that
they have food to eat. But Mephibosheth thy master's
son, ah, he's going to eat at my table. Look at this. Thy master's son, oh, Mephibosheth
thy master's son shall eat bread always at my table. Always. Always. Oh my. 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. Whatever you say. Whatever you
say, King David, that's what we're going to do. As for Mephibosheth,
said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's
what? Sons. Sons, we're sons of God now,
aren't we? We're adopted. Isn't that amazing? And you know
what? I'll tell you something else,
too. Look what it says, too. 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. Someone once said, when he's
sitting there, right, And the table is shown. And he's sitting
there eating. You can't tell he's lame. You can't tell he's lame. He's at the king's table, beloved.
We fell in on him. We're lame from a fall, aren't
we? One day we're gonna be sitting at the king's table, beloved.
He's promised that, hasn't he? We're gonna be with him forever.
Sitting at the king's table. Oh my, fear not. Fear not. Don't be afraid, Mephibosheth.
I'm just a dead dog. Don't be afraid. How can you
have mercy on me? Don't be afraid. Now when the
king commanded something, it came to pass. You broke the king's
word, you'd probably lose your head. And King David himself said,
this is going to happen. He's going to be at my table.
You're going to gather food for his family and everything, but
he's going to be sitting at my table as my son. My. So this covenant between
David and Jonathan, again, was made before Mephibosheth was
even born. It pictures again the everlasting covenant made
before we were ever born in eternity between the Father, Son, and
the Holy Spirit. To have mercy upon a people, a people of his
choosing. Remember as we've been looking
at in John 17, we were the fathers before we were given to Christ.
He chose us in Christ and he gave us to Christ. Will he not
care for us? Will he not watch over us? My
oh my, what a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins, all our
sins, all our sins He bore. All of them. So we're not guilty before God
anymore, even though we're sinners. We're free, beloved. Stand fast
in that liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free. Don't be
entangled again with the yoke of bondage. What a beautiful
picture we have here of David's friendship to Jonathan and the
remembrance of Jonathan's son. What great kindness, what great
kindness is shown to Mephibosheth, right? All because of a covenant
that David had made with Jonathan before Mephibosheth was even
born. David wasn't content with just
taking him into his favor. He gives Mephibosheth a princely
position. He's like my son. He's going
to sit at the table. He gives him a princely position. And he also gave to him all that
Saul had. All that Saul owned, he gave
it to him. Oh, beloved God, our great God,
he's given us a seat at his table. He's given us an inheritance
that shall never fade away, never fade away. And marvel that we who are the
people of God in Christ, we're objects of his great love and
his great kindness, we're his friends. Marvel at that this
week. Think upon that, meditate upon
that precious truth. And may we be reminded to look
back to our ruined circumstance, the ruined circumstance of our
family, to where Christ has brought us now. And it's all Him. It's all because of His mercy.
It's all because of His grace. And it's all because of the covenant
He made with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in eternity.
He has mercy on us for Christ's sake. That's why. It's wonderful. I ask you, did not the great
friend of our soul seek us out? Did he not first seek us out?
We weren't seeking him, were we? He sought us out. Let us recall what our Lord's
done for us. He fetched us out of the house
of Egyptian bondage, too. Do you know that? Egypt in the
scriptures is a picture of the world. He fetched us out of Egyptian
bondage, beloved. We were in a prison house of
sin, weren't we? He fetched us out of it. He opened the door. The chains fell off. He set us
free. He brought us out of the house
of poverty and ruin, didn't he? And now we're sat at his table, heirs with him. joint heirs with
Christ. So I ask you, has he not shown
us his great kindness? Has he not shown us his great
mercy? Has he not shown us his great
love in the redemption of our souls? In saving us from all
our sins? Oh, he's bought us to sit at
his table and the banner over us is love. God's love. And even now, even now he says
to us, fear not. Fear not. I will surely show
you kindness. Fear not. or, using his words, written
in Isaiah 43, 1, fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have
called thee by thy name, thou art mine.