Mother's Day, would you turn
to 1 Samuel chapter 20? Well, turn to 2 Samuel chapter
9. I want to begin this with 2 Samuel
chapter 9. This is one of my favorite Old
Testament stories, and it can't be understood apart from First
Samuel, chapter 20. Second Samuel, chapter 9. And David said, is there yet
any that's left of the house of Saul? Remember, the house
of Saul was David's enemy. That I may show him kindness. And that word kindness is generally
translated loving kindness. It's the same word that David
used in Psalm 51 when he said, have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy loving kindness. Is there yet any that's left
of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's
sake? And there was one of the house
of Saul, a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called
him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And
he said, Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness
of God unto him? And that's some kind of kindness,
isn't it? The kindness of God. And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet." You can't
walk. You can't work. He can't do anything
for you. He would have to be carried.
He's lame on his feet. And the king said unto him, Where
is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house
of Makar, the son of Amelia, or of Lodabar. Then king David
sent and fetched him. out of the house of Maker, the
son of Amelior from Lodibar. Don't you want the Lord to fetch
you? Now, when Mephibosheth, the son
of Jonathan, you remember he said, is there any of the house
of Saul that I can show kindness to for Jonathan's sake? Now,
when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul was
coming to David, he fell on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth,
And he answered, behold, thy servant. And David said unto
him, fear not. Evidently, he was very afraid.
He thought he was going perhaps to be executed as an enemy of
the king. And he says, fear not. I will
surely show thee kindness for Jonathan, thy father's sake and
restore to thee all the land of Saul, thy father, and thou
shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself and said,
what is thy servant that thou shouldst look upon such a dead
dog as I am? Let's pray together. Lord, we come into your presence with thanksgiving for the Lord
Jesus Christ and for salvation for his sake. And Lord, we ask
that we might be enabled by your grace to worship him and teach
us what it means to trust him. And oh Lord, that we might sit
at his table and be fed by him. Bless us for Christ's sake. Forgive
us of our sins for Christ's sake. Cause your grace to reign in
us for Christ's sake and Lord be with all your people wherever
they meet together. In Christ's blessed name we pray, amen. Now this interesting story, one
of my favorite stories in scripture, can really only be understood
in light of 1 Samuel chapter 20. So would you turn with me
to 1 Samuel chapter 20? David says, is there any that
I can show kindness to for Jonathan's sake. Now you remember,
we've already seen this special relationship that existed between
Jonathan and David. It was said that they loved each
other as they love their own soul. And their souls were knit
together. And when Jonathan died, David
said, thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. Now,
David leaves Samuel. We read about that in chapter
19, I suppose, because Saul was there, and he fled back to Jonathan. Jonathan had helped him before,
and he needed Jonathan's help once again. Now, in verse 1, And David fled from Naoth and
Ramon, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What
is mine iniquity? And what is my sin before thy
father, that he seeketh my life? And he, Jonathan, said unto him,
God forbid, thou shalt not die. Behold, my father will do nothing,
either great or small, but that he will show it to me. And why
should my father hide this thing from me? It's not so. Now, I
have no idea why Jonathan said that, because he had seen his
father attempt to murder him, throw javelins at him on at least
two different occasions. So why he said this, I don't
know, but he said it. But let's go on reading verse three. And
David swear moreover and said, thy father certainly knoweth
that I found grace in thine eyes. And he saith, let not Jonathan
know this lest he be grieved, but truly as the Lord liveth
and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death. You know, that's true of all
of us, isn't it? Right now, there's just a step
between me and you and death. That's a sobering thought. And
it's also true that we're immortal here until the Lord calls us
to die. Both of those things are true.
But he felt so hounded, he said, there's just a step between me
and death. I'm in big trouble. He was scared
to death. Verse four, then said Jonathan
unto David, whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for
thee. I'll do whatever it takes for
your protection. And David said unto Jonathan,
verse five, behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should
not fail to sit with the king at meet, but let me go that I
may hide myself in the field until the third day at even.
And if thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly
ask leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem in the city,
for there's a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If
he say thus is well, thy servant shall have peace. But if he be
very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore,
thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant, for thou hast brought
thy servant into a covenant of the Lord. And he's talking about
that covenant that was made in 1 Samuel chapter 18. We don't
know what the contents of that covenant was, but they made a
covenant together. And he said, you've entered into
covenant with me. Notwithstanding, if there be
any iniquity in me, slay me. Thyself, for why shouldst thou
bring me to thy father? And John said, Far be it from
me, for if I know certainly that evil were determined by my father
to come upon thee, then would not I tell you about it? Now, I think it's interesting. I've read where people said David
was in some kind of backslidden condition that he would make
up some kind of deceitful way of getting information. He lied. He was hiding in a field. He
said, you lie to your daddy and tell him that I'm gone to a banquet
at my parents' house and to see my brother and so on. And I got
to thinking about that. I guess these same people would
say it was wrong for Rahab to lie about the spies. The Bible calls it an act of
faith. By faith, Rahab hit the spies, and she acted deceitfully. It's never okay to lie, I realize
that, but whenever you're in trouble, I'm not excusing this,
but when you're, you know, people, did you do it? No. No. I mean, that's people's natural
response. That's not right, but that's just the way it is, and
David makes up some kind of scheme in order to find out what was
in Saul's heart. Verse 10, Then said David to Jonathan,
Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answers
roughly? Verse 11, And Jonathan said unto David, Come and let
us go out into the field. And they went out both of them
into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, Oh Lord God of Israel. Now, what's that mean? To be honest with you, I don't know.
Other than this, who David represents. He's the David, the Lord Jesus
Christ is called the son of David. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lord God of Israel. And Jonathan knew. that his kingdom
was going to be prospered by God and that God was going to
defeat all of his enemies. David is such a mighty man of
valor and that the way Jonathan speaks to him, you know, in the
next chapter, I think it's he, David actually comes into the
tabernacle. No mere man was allowed to do that. David eats the showbread
that no man's allowed to do. And the New Testament actually
speaks of it. And this speaks of his greatness and his glory
and who he is. And when he comes to Abathur
the priest, he says, give me five loaves of bread that was
hallowed that only the priest could eat. And he didn't ask
for permission for it. He said, give it to me. You see, he represents
the Lord God of Israel. And that's why Jonathan speaks
of him this way. So verse 12, and Jonathan said
unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father
about tomorrow, or any time, or the third day, and behold,
if there be good toward David, I then send not unto thee, and
I then send not unto thee, and showeth thee, the Lord do so
much more to Jonathan. But if it pleased my father to
do thee evil, then I'll show it thee and send thee away and
thou mayest go in peace and the Lord be with thee as he hath
been with my father. Now he's speaking of the covenant. Now let's go on reading beginning
in verse 14. And thou shalt not only while
I yet live show me the kindness of the Lord that I die not, but
also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord has cut
off the enemies of David, every one of them from the face of
the earth. You see, Jonathan knew exactly what was going to
happen with David. Lord's going to cut off all your enemies and
you're going to become the most powerful man in the world. I love that scripture in Chronicles
that says the fear of David came upon every nation. He became
the most powerful man in the world, the most mighty warrior
in the world. Everybody was afraid of David.
And Jonathan knew God's hand was upon him to raise him up
to this purpose. He knew that. But he says, verse
15, But also thou shalt not cut off
thy kindness from my house for ever. No, not when the Lord has
cut off the enemies of David, everyone from the face of the
earth. So David 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. He wanted to hear
about that covenant again because he loved him as he loved his
own soul. Now this is the covenant. that
was made that saved Mephibosheth. You remember when David said,
when he's now the mightiest man alive, he has no enemies. And
he says, is there any that I can show the kindness of God to for
Jonathan's sake? He remembered this covenant. It was a covenant that was made
before Mephibosheth was ever born. And his salvation was guaranteed
in this covenant before he was ever born. Now what this illustrates
is the covenant of grace. Now understand this, this is
so fundamental to understanding the gospel. God has made two
covenants, only two. One covenant is the covenant
of works. You will be rewarded salvation
if you fill in the blank. Whatever it is. Salvation in
some way dependent upon you. You will be rewarded salvation
if you keep the law, if you do this, if you do that. If salvation
ultimately dependent upon something you do. That's the covenant of
works. And then there is the covenant
of grace. Now that is salvation dependent,
conditioned, holy, 100% upon what Christ has done. Which one do you prefer? Do you
want salvation dependent upon what you do? Or salvation dependent
upon what Christ has done. You know, God will meet you on
the ground you want to meet him on. If you want to meet him on
the ground of your works, go for it. Go for it. See what will happen. You will
be rewarded accordingly. That's a place I never want to
meet God. Not on the ground of my works or the ground of anything
I do. I don't want to touch that. I
wanna be just like Mephibosheth was. He was saved for one reason,
for Jonathan's sake, because of a covenant that was made before
he was ever even born. And a covenant that was guaranteed
before he was even born. Now Christ Jesus, according to
the scriptures, Hebrews chapter seven, stood as a surety of a
better covenant. Turn with me for a moment to
Genesis chapter 43. I want to look at a scripture in the Old
Testament and a scripture in the New Testament that illustrate
to us what a surety is. In Genesis 42, when they were
getting ready to go back, they were wanting to go back to Egypt,
We read in verse 37, and Reuben spake unto his father, saying,
Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. Talking about
bringing Benjamin back. Kill my two boys, if I bring
him not to thee, and deliver him into my hand. And I'll bring
him again to thee. And he said, My son shall not
go down with you. You know, he knew Reuben. He said regarding
Reuben, unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. He didn't gloss
up who Reuben was. He knew exactly who he was. He
said, I wouldn't send him with you for any reason. You're not
trustworthy. I couldn't trust Benjamin with
you. I think it's almost funny the way he said, if y'all don't
bring him back, kill my two boys. So that's what you think Jacob
would do. He'd kill your two sons. He exposes his own heart in that. But there's now Judah. Judah
says, I'll bring him back. And look what chapter 43, verse
8 says. And Judah said unto Israel, his
father, send the lad with me, Benjamin, the favorite son, and
we will arise and go that we may live and not die, both we
and thou and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. Of my hand shalt thou require
him. I bring him not unto thee and
set him before thee. Let me bear the blame forever. Jesus Christ, the Lord said to
his father, send him with me. I will be surety
for him. Of my hand shall thou require
of him. Now Christ bore the complete
responsibility of my salvation when he stood as my surety. Now
that is called the covenant of grace. Which covenant do you
find safety in? The covenant of works or salvation? If any part of it is in any way
dependent upon you, or a salvation that is completely, 100% dependent
upon what Christ does for you. Turn with me to the little book
of Philemon. Right before the book of Hebrews.
Philemon. Now he's talking about that runaway
slave in verse 17. Philemon, verse 17. If thou count
me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. And that's what Christ says to
his father concerning every one of his people. If you count me
as your equal, you receive him just as you receive me. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth
thee aught, put that on mine account. I, Paul, have written
it with my own hand. I will repay it. The Lord Jesus
Christ, as my surety, tells the Father, you receive him. If you
count me your partner, if you count me your equal, the son,
the son, the son of God, the second person of the Trinity,
the altogether lovely one, if you count me as your equal, you
receive Todd. exactly as you received me. If he owes you anything, you
put it on my account. I'll pay it. And that's exactly
what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary Street. What a beautiful
covenant. This is where Mephibosheth found
salvation in a covenant that was made before he was even born. Now that is the covenant of grace
and that can't be understood apart from what's going on here
in 1 Samuel chapter 20. Now when you turn back to 1 Samuel
chapter 20. You know, all of my salvation
and all of your salvation, if we're saved, all of our salvation
is found in this covenant. Amen? You believe that, don't
you? David put it this way right before
he died. In 2nd Samuel, chapter 23, verse
5. He said, although my house be
not so with God. And David's house was a wreck. It was a mess. And the Lord told
him after that issue with Bathsheba, the sword shall never depart
from your house. And his house was a wreck and
a mess. And I don't have any doubt that
he also meant this house. Talking about this sinful person. Although my house be not so with
God yet, hath he made with me an everlasting covenant. Same thing that Jonathan and
David did in type. He made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And David said, this
is all my salvation. Can you say that? Do you believe
that? This is all my salvation. Not only is it all my salvation,
it's all my desire. It's all my desire. This is all
I want, is to be in that covenant, to be represented by my Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ the righteous. Oh, to simply be found
in him. This is all my salvation and
it's all my desire. though he maketh it not to grow. So let's go on reading verse
18, 1 Samuel chapter 20. Then Jonathan said to David,
tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed, because
thy seat will be empty. I got on sermon audio to look,
I always look for if someone's preached out this passage of
scriptures, and there was a bunch of messages on This Verse of
Scripture about church attendance. That kind of tickled me, you
know. Is your seat empty? You know,
and well, you know, we ought to be in church. I don't think
I'm, you know, but I thought how ridiculous to use something
like that. At any rate, and when thou hast
stayed three days, Then thou shalt go down quickly, and come
to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business
was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone as ill. I think
there's something to that three days. In the next chapter, there's
something to three days. It's representative of what's
going to happen because of the Lord being three days in the
grave. Verse 20, And I will shoot three
arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And,
behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go find out the arrows. If I
expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of
thee, take them. Then cometh thou, for there is
peace to thee, and no hurt as the Lord liveth. But if I say
thus unto the young man, behold, the arrows are beyond thee. Go
thy way, for the Lord has sent thee away, and is touching the
matter which thou and I have spoken of. Behold, the Lord be
between thee and me forever. You know, I'm with the Lord forever
because of that covenant. You know, believers are forever
together, forever together because of that covenant. We're going
to spend eternity together. That's a glorious thought, isn't
it? Worshipping our Lord. Verse 24,
so David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon was come,
the King set him down to eat meat. And the King sat upon a
seat as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall and Jonathan
arose and Abner set by Saul's side and David's place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul spake not
anything that day, for he thought something hath befallen him.
He's not clean. Surely he's not clean. And you know, if you touch,
he's talking about, you know, maybe he came in contact with
a bone or something dead or, or touch something was unclean
and you weren't able to worship. You couldn't come in. Surely
the only reason here is he's unclean and he's waiting until
he can become cleansed. Verse 27, it came to pass on
the morrow, which was the Second day of the month, David's place
was empty. And Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh
not the son of Jesse to meet, neither yesterday nor today?
I think it's interesting the way he calls him the son of Jesse.
That was an expression of contempt. He was angry with him. Where
is that son of Jesse, that nobody? And Jonathan answered Saul, David
earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said,
let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the
city, and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there, and
now if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away,
I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto
the king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled
against Jonathan. He said unto him, Thou son of
the perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast
chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion
of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse
liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor
thy kingdom. Wherefore now send in fetchment
unto me, for he shall surely die." You know, I think it's
interesting. Jonathan had the throne coming to him, but he
didn't want it. He wanted David to have it. He knew David was
the true king of king. And that's the way every believer
is. You know who they want on the throne? They want on the
throne who already is on the throne. He knew that God had
already determined David to be king, and he was gonna be king.
He was glad it was that way. Every believer loves the kingship
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We love him being king, don't
we? He's the king of kings, and we love it to be so. Verse 32. And Jonathan answered Saul his
father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? What evil
hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him,
his own son, to smite him. Whereby Jonathan knew that it
was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose
from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second
day of the month. For he was grieved for David, because his
father had done him shame. And it came to pass in the morning,
that Jonathan went out into the field, just like David told him
to, at the time important with David, and a little lad with
him. And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows
which I shall shoot. And as the lad read, he shot
an arrow beyond him." Now I think this is interesting to think
about. This lad didn't have any idea what was going on. This world doesn't have any idea
what's going on. They don't know what God's doing. Jonathan and
David knew, didn't they? But this lad didn't have a clue.
He was going after arrows. He didn't know why he was doing
it, but he was doing it. And when the lad was come, verse
37, to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan
cried after the lad and said, is not the arrow beyond thee?
And Jonathan cried after the lad, make speed. Hey, stay not.
And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
But the lad knew not anything. Only Jonathan and David knew
the matter. That's the way the world is, isn't it? They don't
know anything. But God's people do. And Jonathan gave the artillery
to his lad and said to him, go carry them to the city. As soon
as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south
and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times.
And they kissed one another and wept one with another until David
acceded. You know, they thought, this
is the last time we're going to ever see each other again. And they were
so broken hearted over all this. And Jonathan said to David, go
in peace. For as much as we've sworn both
of us in the name of the Lord saying, the Lord be between me
and thee and between my seed and thy seed forever. Peace because
of a covenant, an eternal covenant. And he arose and departed. And
Jonathan went into the city. Now, all this is about the covenant. Turn with me in closing to Psalm
74. Verse 19, O deliver not the soul of thy
turtledove unto the multitudes of the wicked. Forget not the
congregation of thy poor forever. Have respect unto the covenant. What a prayer. Have respect unto
the covenant. And when I pray, praying in Christ's
name, I'm praying, have respect unto the covenant. And God always
has respect to the covenant.