Well a couple of weeks ago we
looked at 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9. To answer the question,
what is the gospel? And let me remind you what that
text says. It says that God has saved us and called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his
purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. And the things that flow from
that are life and immortality. He has abolished death and brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel. This is a
glorious thought. This is a glorious thing to anybody
who knows anything of their true state before God who is holy.
Anyone who knows what they are by nature and before the throne
of God and before the justice of God and what we must be when
it comes that we die for it's appointed to all to die once
and then the judgment To know what it is to fall into the hands
of the living God, it's a terrible, fearful thing. For our God is
a consuming fire, His justice is absolutely strict. But to
find that this God, who is so strict in justice, is also the
saviour of sinners, is a glorious thing. And then I set about showing
you an example last week from John chapter 8, the woman taken
in adultery, that the law condemned undoubtedly, and yet Jesus said
to that woman, neither do I condemn you. Neither do I condemn you.
The Son of God said to that woman, he didn't condemn her. You know,
such a one, he didn't condemn her. What a glorious thought
that is, what a glorious assurance that is, that one who was so
deserving of the judgment and condemnation of God in the gospel
of his grace, he says I don't condemn you. Why? Because he's
removed the need for condemnation. This is it. It's not he sweeps
it under the carpet. He has removed the need for condemnation. The scripture is full of examples
of the people of God Those chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world, a multitude that no man can number, it's full
of examples of how God brings them from the darkness of their
sins and impending judgment to a state of salvation and liberty
in the gospel of grace. That's the purpose of Scripture.
It's not to give us a recipe book for how we ought to live
our lives, it's to reveal God's purposes of grace in saving sinners. And I want to look this week
at another example of one who was saved, because all of the
stories of the Old Testament, and they're not stories, they're
history, all of the history of the Old Testament, of God's dealings
with the various peoples of the Middle East, is all intended
to show us how God saves people. And here is one, Mephibosheth,
Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, the first king
of Israel. And Jonathan loved David, and
David loved Jonathan, and they made a covenant together. And
for the sake of Jonathan, David showed kindness to this man,
this crippled man, Mephibosheth. He was crippled in his feet,
disabled in his feet. He was far away from the king's
palace at Jerusalem. His name means reproach or disgrace,
but he showed kindness for the sake of another. He's shown kindness
for the sake of another. And as David is to Mephibosheth,
so is our Lord Jesus Christ to all of his believing people.
The dealings of David with Mephibosheth, despite the fact they were all
sinners, yet it's pictorial, it's a picture of how Christ
deals with his people. What happened was David comes
to the height of his power. All of his enemies are conquered. The household of Saul, the first
king, because Saul was man's king. Saul was the king that
the people of Israel wanted. Give us a king, they said to
Samuel the prophet. And God said to them, your king
will exploit you, your king will persecute you, your king will
take your lands away and charge you taxes and all the things
that we know that states do to their people. He said he was
their king, God was their king, but they insisted Saul was man's
king, but David was a man after God's own heart. David was the
king that God was going to put on the throne. Saul had usurped
the place that was intended for David. Saul had usurped that
place. As David came to prominence in
the purposes of God, you know it says that they sang after
one of the battles that Saul has killed his thousands but
David has slain his tens of thousands and Saul got very jealous of
David and Saul gradually set about trying to destroy David.
And on several occasions Saul tried to kill him. And then there
was open warfare between them. And a lot of the Psalms were
written when David was being persecuted by Saul and his family.
But in the fullness of time and in the purposes of God, Saul
and all those in power, all of his sons, seven sons, including
Jonathan, they were all killed in battle and were removed. And
David was made king. And David reigned for forty years.
And the reign of David was a glorious reign where he is picturing that
true kingdom of God. And he's at the height of his
powers in Jerusalem. All of his enemies are removed.
Everything that would threaten is taken away. It's long before
he fell into that sin which then led to all sorts of trouble with
his own house. His kingdom is absolutely at
its peak of glory. And he says, is there anyone
I can show kindness to of the house of Saul? He wasn't a vindictive
man. There had to be strict justice in that regime for all those
who would threaten But for the sake of Jonathan, he wanted to
show kindness to somebody. You see, 16 years before this
2 Samuel chapter 9, David and Jonathan, the son of Saul, had
made a covenant. And you find it in 1 Samuel chapter
20, and verses 14 to 17. 1 Samuel chapter 20 and verses
14 to 17 at the height of Saul's persecution and trying to kill
David because he knew that he was the one that was going to
become king in his stead but at the height of that Jonathan
one of the sons of Saul made a covenant with David and David
with Jonathan and this is what it says verse 14 of 1 Samuel
20 This is Jonathan speaking. 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. 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 great devotion
to one another, and for the sake of their covenant together in
the face of the persecution that came from Saul's house, this
covenant was made that David would show kindness to Jonathan's
household. even when they'd all disappeared
and David was at the peak of his power, that David would show
kindness for the sake of that covenant which these two had
made. Now Jonathan had a son whose
name was Mephibosheth. And in all of the turmoil of
the overthrowing of Saul and the rest of his sons, this child,
Mephibosheth, as we'll see a little bit later, was crippled in his
feet. He was made lame in his feet.
And he was in a very poor condition. But his rescue, his salvation,
was based solely on that covenant that David and Jonathan had made.
His rescue was based solely on that covenant that David and
Jonathan had made. Look at verse 1 of 2 Samuel chapter
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? Kindness? Why did he want to
show kindness to Mephibosheth? because Mephibosheth was a nice
guy with broken feet. No, for Jonathan's sake. That's
why. For the sake of another is why
he wanted to show him kindness. What did our text say of a couple
of weeks ago? God has saved us and called us
with a holy calling, not according to our works, not because of
anything we are or have done or will do, not according to
our works. God does not save his people
because of anything his people are in themselves or will do
in themselves. But, why? According to his own
purpose and grace. His eternal purpose and grace. Because it's a purpose and grace
that was fixed and set in the mind and purposes of God before
the beginning of time, before the world was. And where was
it placed? In the covenant that was made
in the Godhead. The covenant of grace. The covenant
between the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. The covenant
that said that a people that no man can number would be given
to the Son, who would satisfy justice on their behalf by becoming
man and in their place satisfying everything that the law of God
required. It was an everlasting covenant,
and it was on the basis of that covenant that God saves his people. In the same way, on the basis
of the covenant between David and Jonathan, he showed kindness
to Mephibosheth. And that's why, again, in the
Scriptures, here we have an example. It's a real historical account
and yet it's full of allegory. It's illustrating what salvation
is. The covenant that the salvation
of the people of God is based on is this. Not the covenant
of works, not the any number of other covenants that we read
about, but it's the blood of the everlasting covenant. That's
what Hebrews 13 verse 20 says. The blood of the everlasting
covenant. That covenant was based on blood.
Why was it based on blood? Because to satisfy justice, life
must be given. And only an infinite life, and
only an infinitely pure life, and of value, that God's law
and justice can value, must be poured out. And where is the
life? The scriptures tell us the life is in the blood. So
it's the blood of the everlasting covenant. It's not a newly thought
up covenant. It's not, oh God tried to save
people by works in the Old Testament and then he gave up with that
and sent Jesus to come and shed his blood. That's what you'll
hear all over the place in false situations. No, this is the blood
of the everlasting covenant. When was the lamb slain in eternity? From the foundation of the world.
always was the case. He had to come in time to satisfy
justice. The Father chose a people by
sovereign grace alone. Really, sovereign grace alone. Not of works, lest any man should
boast. Before time began, he gave that people to his son as
a bride, as a bride, like a couple getting married, a husband and
a wife. He gave that people to his son as a bride, and he sealed
a covenant, a betrothal covenant, to satisfy justice in their stead. And the Spirit of God undertook
in time to make alive, to quicken. You know, how does Paul say to
Timothy? Saved us and called us, how? With a holy calling. Yes, a preacher
preaches, a preacher preaches, but if there isn't a holy calling,
those to whom the preacher is preaching will not hear. We hear
the holy calling of the Spirit of God. He saved us and called
us with a holy calling. The Spirit undertakes to come.
And for everyone that the Father gave to the Son, he undertakes
to give that holy calling, that quickening. That new nature,
that new man that can hear the things of the living God, that
can discern the things of the living God. And this gospel and
this covenant is unchanging. It's as unchanging as the nature
of God. God, for God to be God, he cannot
change his mind. He must be unchanging. God, the same yesterday, today,
and forever. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and today, and forever. The blood of the everlasting
covenant is the basis, is the basis of the salvation of God's
people. Just as this covenant of love
between David and Jonathan, that was the basis of the rescue and
the kindness shown to Mephibosheth. John chapter 6 verses 37 to 40
says this, Jesus said to them, all that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. Everyone that the Father gave
to the Son before the beginning of time shall come to him. Nobody
who is saved dies without knowing that they're saved in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Even the thief on the cross minutes
or at the most hours before he died, had this assurance from
the Son of God. Verily, verily, I tell you, this
day shall you be with me in paradise. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh, because they all will
come, I will in no wise cast out. None will ever be turned
away that the Holy Spirit calls with a holy calling. For I came
down from heaven. Why did he come, the Son of God?
I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me, the will of the Father. And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, What does God the Father
want? That of all which He has given
me, of all those people which He gave to the Son before the
beginning of time, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. Do you see how certain the salvation
of God is? It's declared in the Scriptures
to be absolutely certain. And this is the will of Him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth
on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up
at the last day." That's the covenant, the covenant of grace,
that Christ would come and satisfy justice for his people. The covenant
of love between the Father and the Son and the Spirit, that
they would save this people, that they would show kindness
to an undeserving people for the sake of that covenant. and
the love between them. And David would show kindness
to the house of Jonathan, any of the household of Jonathan,
show them kindness for the sake of the covenant of love that
he and Jonathan had. The father asks this, just as
David asked in verse one, is there any yet that is left of
the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's
sake? God the father asks this, Is there any of Adam's race to
whom I may show kindness for the sake of my beloved son? Is
there any of Adam's race to whom I may show kindness for the sake
of my beloved son? And the answer is yes. All those
for whom the son satisfied divine justice. All of them. As again,
I'll quote the verse, probably the most often quoted. For he
made him who knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5, 21. He made him who knew no
sin, Christ, sinless, to be sin. He made him sin. He made him
the sin of his people, that his people might be the righteousness
of God in him. And being made the righteousness
of God in him, as he says elsewhere in his epistles, Paul says, he
has qualified us, qualified us. to be the sons of God, to be
the children of God. He's qualified us to live in
his presence. He's qualified us with the righteousness
without which no man shall see God to live in his presence.
Who is he qualified? Sinners. sinners, no better than
anyone else. Mephibosheth was even as the
others of Saul's household. Mephibosheth was just the same
as those who were the enemies of David by nature. What qualified
Mephibosheth for David's favour? What was it that qualified Mephibosheth
for David's favor? All of Saul's sons, and any that
might threaten David's rule, were killed. It was strict justice. We might say, oh, how cruel the
scriptures are. It's just that the way things
were in those days and at those times, this was strict justice.
When David came to power, those that would threaten his rule,
which was all the family of Saul, were killed in strict justice.
And Mephibosheth was a member of that household. He was the
son of Jonathan, who was the son of Saul. And Mephibosheth
had nothing to qualify himself. As I said earlier, his name means
reproach. It means shameful. He was poor. He was destitute. He was helpless. He'd been made lame, disabled
through a fall. We read in 2 Samuel chapter 4
and verse 4 how it happened. 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. This was the
fact that they'd been killed in battle. And his nurse took
him up and fled. And it came to pass, as she made
haste to flee, that he fell. The little boy fell, the five-year-old
boy fell. And he became lame, he was crippled
in his feet. And his name was Mephibosheth.
And where did he live? It tells us in this chapter.
He lived, you know, when he asked Ziba, where is this one? He says,
he's living in Lodabah, in Machiah's house. You know, the names in
scripture all have significance. Those that know the ancient languages
much better than I do, and that's not very difficult seeing as
I know so little of them. They tell us that this means
that he was sold. The house of Machia was sold.
Maybe it means he was a slave or a servant in some way. And
Lodabah means the place of no bread. He was sold in the place
of no bread. Is that not God's elect by nature? Is that not what we are in our
flesh by nature in terms of spiritual richness in terms of spiritual
food, were sold, slaves to sin, held enthralled by Satan, slaves
to sin in the place of no bread, in the place of no manna from
heaven, were like, he, Mephibosheth, was a picture of what God's elect
are by nature. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 3 tells
us what we are by nature, by nature the children of wrath. Those that God has saved in eternal
election are by nature, in their flesh, the children of wrath,
even as others, just like everybody. Oh, we're better than everybody
else, that's why we're saved, that's why we get... No, we're
not. Children of wrath, even as others. What does Romans 3.23
say? All have sinned. Everybody in
general, yes, it means that, but in the context, it specifically
means everyone that he saved. All of his elect, have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, but are justified by the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by his shed blood. We in our
nature are altogether vanity. Mephibosheth, in his enslaved
situation in the place of no bread, is just a picture of what
we are like in our flesh by nature, altogether vanity, emptiness,
emptiness. Well like the verdict of Isaiah
chapter 1 verse 6, speaking of the people he says, from the
sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in
it. Full of sores. No soundness in
it. By nature enmity. By nature. Romans 8 verse 7 says that the
carnal mind, the fleshly mind, the natural mind, people as we
are in our nature, oh such nice people, I know we get on with
people, I know people show us human kindness and we try to
show human kindness to them, but in the reckoning of the eternal
God, the carnal mind, says Paul, is enmity with God. It's an enemy
of God. Enemy, the best of us, the very
best of us, in our carnal fleshly minds, are enmity with God. And Romans 5 verses 9 and 10
says, when we were enemies, which the carnal mind is by nature,
when we were enemies, then, not before we'd done anything to
make ourselves better, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of his son. That's how God has reconciled
his people, not according to our works. He has saved us and
called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. As
we are, we're unable to come to him. We're unable to believe
him. Jesus said this to the Pharisees in John 6, 44. He says, no man
can come to me unless the father draw him. God the Father must
draw his people before they'll come to him. In and of themselves
they're unable to come to him. Unable to come to him. Mephibosheth
was in that place where we all are by nature. It's the place
of the prodigal son. You remember in the account,
the parable of the prodigal son, where he's found eventually when
he's spent all his wealth. And the worst, the best that
he can do is feed pigs. That's all he can do is feed
pigs. He's come to such an end of himself. And this is where
each of us are. And this is where the Holy Spirit
shows us that we are. When he shows us that we're sinners
before the law of God. When he shows us our true eternal
condition. It pictures our natural lost
state and our absolute spiritual destitution, our absolute spiritual
poverty. This was Mephibosheth in the
house of no bread in the place of being sold. That's what he
was like and that's why he's such a picture of what we're
like. But as with all of God's elect, there comes in time an
irresistible call. A call that you cannot resist.
It comes when the Holy Spirit comes to each one of the sinners
for whom Christ has paid redemption's price. And that call comes in
time, and it cannot be resisted. It cannot be. Mephibosheth was
in no situation to resist the call of David. Look in verses
4 and 5 of 2 Samuel chapter 9. The king said unto him, that's
to Ziba. Where is he? Where is Mephibosheth?
And Ziba said unto the king, Behold he is in the house of
Machiah the son of Amiel in Lodabah. And king David sent and fetched
him out of the house of Machiah the son of Amiel from Lodabah.
David didn't ask any questions. He didn't ask Mephibosheth if
he wanted to come. He sent and fetched him. Just
go and get him and bring him here. It was an irresistible,
it was a call that Mephibosheth could not resist. And can you
imagine what must have gone through his mind? Because it is a real
historical account. What had happened to all of his
uncles, all of the sons of Saul, to his own father and his grandfather,
they'd all been killed. Anybody that resisted David had
been killed, and he's sent for by David. Can you imagine what
must have been going through Mephibosheth's mind as he was
brought to Jerusalem to the palace? He must have been terrified in
his flesh, just as the sinner is seeing what it is, something
of what it is to be a sinner and to fall into the hands of
the living God. What a fearful thing it is. He
must have felt something of that. But God seeks his elect, like
David sought out this one of the house of Jonathan. God seeks
his elect, the lost sheep. Oh, he's got ninety-nine, isn't
that enough? Are the ninety and nine not enough?
No, there's one that he knows is a lost sheep out on the mountain.
He must go and get that one lost sheep. He must go and do whatever
is necessary to rescue and bring home that lost sheep. And so
he goes out and brings back his lost sheep. What a blessing to
be amongst those sheep. Psalm 65 verse 4, blessed is
the man whom you choose. Blessed is the one that God chooses. Blessed distinctively, separately,
the man that you choose, and cause to approach him." They
don't come by nature, they're caused to come and approach to
God, that he may dwell in thy courts. Those that are made willing,
as Psalm 110, verse 3 says, made willing, when they're not willing
by nature, they're made willing in the day of His power. Isaiah
65, verse 1, we don't naturally seek God, just like Mephibosheth
did not naturally seek the presence of David. He was terrified of
the presence of David. And Isaiah 65, verse 1, God says,
I am sought of them that asked not for Me. I am found of them
that sought Me not. Think of the examples. Is this
not always the way that God works? Think about Abraham, amongst
his idolatrous family, in Ur of the Chaldees. He wasn't seeking
God. God went and sought him. God
said, Abraham, Abraham, get you out of this land. Get you to
a place that I'll show you. Moses, had grown up in Pharaoh's
household, and then he'd seen his people, the Hebrews, being
cruelly treated, and he'd killed that Egyptian, and he ended up
having to flee for his life. And he goes to Midian, and he
goes and marries a wife, and he works for his father-in-law,
tending the sheep, and there he is, getting on in years, 80
years old now, and he's an old man, and he must think it's all
over for him. Well, I wonder what that was all about. And
God calls him. God calls him. Moses wasn't calling
for God. God called Moses out of the burning
bush. Think about Ruth. Ruth the Moabites. She wasn't amongst those that
were favoured in the land of Israel by the God of Israel.
But yet through God's providential workings he sent the family of
Naomi and her sons and in that way Ruth comes back to Bethlehem
with Naomi and Ruth marries Boaz and Her grandson, or is it her
great-grandson, is King David. And many generations on is the
Lord Jesus Christ. God called her by his providential
grace. Zacchaeus, the tax collector,
wasn't seeking God. Zacchaeus was seeking what all
crowds seek when they hear a rumor, something's going on. And Zacchaeus,
being a very short man, climbed up into a tree to see what was
going on. He wanted to see what was happening that day, this
man that was hated by all of his neighbors because he was
an extortioner and a tax collector. But Jesus was looking for him. Jesus called him, Zacchaeus,
come down. Personally, Saul of Tarsus was
going about his business to destroy the Church of the Living God.
He was going about his business doing what he thought was the
work of God. He wasn't seeking the Lord Jesus
Christ, he was seeking to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ, who said
to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And stopped him
in his tracks. God called him, the Ethiopian
eunuch, with all of his royal privilege and all of his, the
things that went with that position of royalty and privilege was
going back, having been to Jerusalem with a scroll of the scriptures
that he'd bought as an archaeological artifact I guess, and God sends
to him Philip to preach the gospel to him. He doesn't look for God,
God sends Philip to him. and compels his people to come.
He compels them to come. David sent for Mephibosheth and
compelled him to come. And he came in submission. Look
at verse 6. And Mephibosheth, the son of
Jonathan, the son of Saul, when he came unto David, he fell on
his face and did reverence. He came in submission. And David
said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant.
He must have been terrified. And David said unto him, What
does God say to his people? Fear not. Don't be afraid. I
will surely show thee kindness for the sake of Jonathan thy
father. God says to the sinner coming
to him, Don't be afraid. I will surely show thee kindness
for the sake of my beloved son. Mephibosheth was received exactly
as he was. He was still crippled in his
feet, lame in his feet. He didn't have to do anything
to make himself better. He came as he was, just as I
am, without one plea But that thy blood was shed for me, O
Lamb of God, I come." He knew, verse 8, that he was a dead dog. Look at the end of verse 8. Why
should you look upon such a dead dog as I am? A dead dog. What do you think of yourself?
I'm a dead dog. A dog was not regarded with any of the kind
of fuss and privilege that dogs often in our society are regarded
with. They were either working animals
or they were a nuisance to be got rid of. He said he was a
dead dog, a dead dog. King David received him for Jonathan's
sake. God the Father, the God of the
universe, receives sinners for the sake of his son. Titus chapter
3, verses 3 to 7. For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another, but after
that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy he saved us. He showed us kindness by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed
on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life. welcomed and honored by an act
of the King's mercy. This was Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth
got so much more in King David than he had lost in Saul and
the family of Saul. And in the same way, the believer
that comes to the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in him, got
so much more, gets so much more, the riches that are in God, in
Christ, than we ever lost in Adam. Eternal life. peace with
God, inheritance in glory, honor as sons. This is what sinners
get in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of Christ. 1 John
chapter 3 verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, dead dogs, sinners, what manner of love
he's bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of
God. Sinners, dead dogs like Mephibosheth,
in the gospel of grace are called the sons of God, whereby we cry,
Abba, Father. And sitting at David's table,
here he was, he was to eat bread at David's table, he was sitting
at, where are your feet when you're sitting at a table? They're
under the table. They're hidden from view. They're
covered. Sitting at David's table, all
his physical infirmities were covered and hidden. And sitting
at the table of Christ, Sitting in heavenly places with him,
all that was our physical infirmity of sin is covered. Covered by
him. Dwelling in the king's palace,
eating as one of David's sons. Look in verse 11. He says, this
is the end of the verse. As for Mephibosheth, said the
king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons, I'll
make no difference between him and those who are his sons by
nature, by the flesh. Continually, verse 7, continually,
you will see it, shall eat bread at my table continually. It won't
stop, it will go on and on and on. John 17, 24, Father, says
the Lord Jesus Christ, I will that they also, his people, whom
thou hast given me, be with me where I am that they may behold
my glory which thou hast given me." This is the destiny of the
people of God. And how permanent is it? How
subject to change is it? Romans 8, 38 and 39, Paul says,
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He
saved us for eternity. He's called us in time. He's
called us in time, and it's based only on the eternal covenant
of grace in Christ Jesus. This is truly salvation, is eating
the King's bread, soul food, perpetually. As Psalm 23 says,
Psalm 23 verse 5, the child of God says this, God has prepared
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. My cup runs
over. So it was for Mephibosheth, in
the favor of David, for the sake of Jonathan. So it is for every
child of God, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. For the sake
of the Son of God, God bestows all these blessings upon his
people.