2 Samuel chapter 9. I won't keep you very long. I want
to mainly just tell you a little story, talk about a little incident
that took place in David's life, and this crippled man by the
name of Mephibosheth. And let's read the account of
it in 2 Samuel chapter 9, beginning 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? And there was of the house of
Saul a servant whose name was Zeba. And when they had called
him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Zeba? 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 him the kindness
of God, the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath a son which is 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 Micah, the son of Amaliel, Ammiel
in Lodibar. Then King David sent and fetched
him out of the house of Micah, the son of Ammiel, from Lodibar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son
of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell
on his face, and did reverence, prostrated himself. And David
said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant.
And David said unto him, Fear not, for I will surely show thee
kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all
the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my
table continually. And he bowed himself and said,
What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead
dog as I am? Then the king called to Zeba,
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 shall bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have
food to eat. But Macphebosheth thy master's
son shall eat bread always at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen
sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king,
According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servants,
so shall thy servant do. As for Mephebosheth, said the
king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. And
Mephebosheth had a young son whose name was Micah, and all
that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephebosheth.
So Mephebosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at
the king's table, and was lame on both his feet." I think it's a very interesting
story, and one of the things that makes it so interesting
at this time, you'll study the history of the first seven chapters
of this book. David had come into the kingdom.
Both the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom now had
united, And he was king over the entire nation of the Jews. Some tell us that know the geography
of this place that David possessed all the land that God had promised
the children of Israel. all the land of Canaan on the
east and west side of the Jordan. He now possessed it all. He had
subdued all of these kingdoms. It is amazing as you read chapter
8 at the kingdoms that David subdued. And he had all of his
enemies put under his feet. The foreigners, if he let them
live in the land, they had to pay taxes. And he had rest. He was at the beginning of a
great and glorious kingdom. And it was at this particular
time that's so amazing to us because it's when he needed nothing. He lacked nothing in his kingdom
and he comes here and he says in our text here in verse 1,
Is there any one left of the house of Saul that I could show
him kindness? Now that's amazing in itself
because David needed nothing. He needed nothing. But his heart
was filled with kindness even for his enemy's grandson. Is
there anybody left in this land of Saul's kindred that I could
show him kindness? Now that is kindness, isn't it?
That's kindness to your enemies. And here in chapter 8, in our
text here that we're looking at, David, we see something of
the heart of David. that he had such a great heart
to have mercy and kindness upon his enemies. And that's sort
of an understatement because when you read the history of
Saul and David, you know that Saul hunted him like you would
hunt a little bird. David had to flee from him all
of his life. David basically, under God's
grace and power, he saved the children of Israel. They'd have
never defeated the army of Philistines and Goliath if it hadn't been
for David. David probably saved Saul's life more than once. Saul hunted him like a partridge. So he says here in the goodness
and kindness of his heart, is there anybody left of the house
of Saul? Well, you know something, if
there's anybody left, you wouldn't hardly get them to admit it because
they're afraid to. All Saul's sons were dead. He
had only one grandson that we know of was left. I know one
man, Ziba said, Jonathan has a son that's over there in Lodibar. That's David. That's the kindness
of his heart. But let's look here at something
about this man that he had mercy upon and showed kindness to.
What's said of this man? Well, we're told here in two
different places in this chapter that he was lame on his feet. And the last verse says he was
lame on both feet. He was totally lame. And we're
told how this happened to this man. When he was five years old,
his dad and his grandfather was killed. They were both killed
by the Philistines the same day and at the same time. They were
afraid that the Philistines were going to invade the land. If
they did, they'd kill everybody, especially the men children.
So the nurse picked this little fella up, five years old, Mictibosheth,
and they took off running, and she fell, and he fell, and he
damaged both of his legs, and he never walked since. We don't
know how old he was, but he was still lame in both legs. That's the man. And here in our
text, the place where he lived, the place where he lived was
called Lodibar. I looked the definition of that
word up. Some stretch it to mean a place
of no bread. Strong says it's a pastorless
place. It was sort of a wilderness,
a sandy place, and didn't get much rain. And you couldn't pastor
anything there. It was a wilderness. And that's
where this man lived. A fruitless land. Now, let's
look at something else. Here we've got the heart of the
King, and here we've got the man He's going to show kindness
to. And let's look at what David's here purposed to do for this
man. Now this is amazing. He said here in verse 7, And
David said unto him, Fear not, 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. Man alive, he's going to restore
this guy everything that had been taken away from him, that
his grandfather and his father had a right to. Restore him all,
and not only that, he said, you're coming out of Lodibar. You're
not going to live in that wilderness anymore. I'm going to bring you
here to Jerusalem, and you're going to eat at the king's table
continually. Boy, that's good news, isn't
it? But you know, this is what David purposed to do. This is
what he thought in his heart. He had been thinking about this. Why would David purpose such
a thing? Well, I think he gives us a hint here in verse 3. He
said, Is there any left of the house of Saul that I might show
the kindness of God unto him? He did this because it was an
illustration, an example of the kindness of God that he had already
showed to David. David knew what kindness was,
didn't he? And he said, I want to give him
an example. I want to show him the kindness of God. Listen to
what David said about this kindness. In Psalms 31, 21, listen to this. Blessed be the Lord, for He hath
showed me His marvelous kindness in a strong city. I said in my
haste, I'm cut off from His sight. I'm cut off from His sight. Wouldn't
that be a terrible thought? I'm cut off nevertheless. You
heard my voice and my supplication when I cried unto Thee. And what
did He attribute that to? His loving kindness. His marvelous
loving kindness. This is what He said in Psalms
117. Oh, praise the Lord, all ye nations. Praise Him, all ye
people. For His merciful kindness is
great towards us. The truth of the Lord endureth
forever. Praise the Lord for His merciful
kindness. I love those words when you put
them together, don't you? Loving kindness, merciful kindness,
marvelous kindness. I tell you, when you see something
of that kindness, you just can't magnify it enough. And David
said, I want to illustrate it. I want to give them an example
of it. So he calls this old cripple that lived in a place where there
was no bread or pasture and let him eat at his table. You remember
in Psalms 51 when David had fallen into that awful sin? And he thought,
surely the Lord is going to take His presence from me. And here
is what he said when he began that prayer. Have mercy upon
me, O Lord, according to Thy lovingkindness. According to
the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions according
to Your kindness. What were you and I, brothers
and sisters, when He extended His kindness to us? Isn't this
a beautiful example of what we were and His kindness towards
us? Listen to how Titus tells us. He said, We ourselves were foolish,
disobedient, and deceived, and we were serving divers' lusts,
if not with our flesh openly, with our minds secretly. But
after the kindness and love of God, our Savior towards man appeared. Not by any works that we did,
but according to His mercy. He saved us by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which He shed
on us abundantly through the Lord Jesus Christ. His kindness that first laid
hold upon us, wasn't it not? And aren't we just like this
poor man here? Weren't we crippled? Didn't we
have a fall? Weren't we in Adam when he fled
from the presence of the Lord, and when he fell, he became lame
in both feet, and you and I did too? That's the problem we have
now, isn't it? We can't walk. We can't come. We can't follow. Why? We're cripples. We're cripples. Listen to how
the Lord Jesus said it. This relates here so easy. He
said, No man can come to Me. Ain't that amazing? That's His
estimation of us. Why? He knows us. We're crippled.
It's not only that we won't come by nature. We can't come. We're
just like this poor cripple over in Lodibar. We lived in a place
of no bread. Did anybody give you any bread?
You starved to death, weren't you? No bread of life, no green
pastures to eat from and lay down beside the still waters.
We were in a wasteland wilderness full of pits in a dangerous place,
just like this poor man was. This is what David purposed to
do. Can you imagine when Mephibosheth
later began to think about this and thought, boy, when I was
still over there in Lodibar. I had no idea what David was
purposing for me. I had no idea I was on his mind.
I had no idea he was seeking into where I was to bless me. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
Isn't that a wonderful thought for you when you were dead in
trespasses and sins over in Lodibar? The Lord was thinking on you
and you didn't even know it, did you? He was telling his blessed Holy
Spirit. You need to go over there and get him. We're going to save
him. We purposed to do this. Bless
him. Purposed a long time ago. One of the things you'll find
out, I think it's in 1 Samuel chapter 20. It went all the way
back when Jonathan was still alive. Remember when David and
Jonathan was dear friends? And they had a pact together.
And Jonathan said, I'm going to listen and watch my dad. If
he's going to try to kill you, I'll be back here and tell you.
If he don't have anything against you, I'll tell you. And Jonathan
said, David, listen. I want you to swear to the Lord
to me that after I'm dead and gone, you'll show kindness to
my house for the Lord's sake. And David never forgot that,
did he? He never forgot that oath. He never forgot that vow
he made to Jonathan. Never forgot it. And all this
time it was in his heart. And now he says, this is what
I'm going to do. I'm going to do this. And he
tells us here why he did it. Not only out of his kindness,
but he did it for another's sake. I will show him kindness, our
text said, for Jonathan's sake. another's sake. And you're such
a blessing to you and I that everything God has done for us,
brothers and sisters, that's good. He's done nothing for our
sakes. Everything He's done, He's done
for Christ's sake. Be ye kind and tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, for Christ's
sake, Oh, what a plea before the throne of grace! For Christ's
sake! I never will forget when I went
to the Lord, a poor, heavy, laden sinner. I never will forget. I asked the Lord Jesus to plead
my cause. And the Father forgave me and
gave me His life in my soul for Christ's sake. Oh, that's assurances. If He gave you something for
Christ's sake, He's not going to take it back for your sake.
Well, I'm just so sorry, Lord, that yes, you are and you always
have been. But He did nothing for you, for your sake. He did
it all for Christ's sake. David said, Jonathan, He's my
friend. He is my friend. I love them. Boy, they loved
one another, didn't they? And I tell you, the Father and the
Son, they're friends, aren't they? Man, they love each other. The Father loves the Son and
has given everything into His hands. And there's no telling
what He may give a man that will go to Him and say, Father, for
Christ's sake, or Christ's sake, or another's sake. But how was David going to bring
all this about? Mephibosheth was in a faraway
land, and he was lame on both foot. How in the world? Now,
it's one thing to purpose. It's one thing to say, I'm going
to bless this fellow for Jonathan's sake. I can do that. But how
in the world are you going to bring that to pass? Well, David
thought for a while, no doubt, and thought, well, I'll send
him a letter of invitation. I'll write him a letter of invitation.
I'll sign my name to it, and I'll send it by a guy here on
the mail, and he'll go over there, and he'll read that, and he'll
hurry over here. He won't because he can't walk. He can't walk. Well, I'll send a couple of my
soldiers over there and I'll make him to understand. You need
to come over here. The king is going to bless you.
He didn't do that either. And you know why? He wouldn't
have come. He wouldn't have come. And I'll tell you why he wouldn't
have come. His heart was full of doubts towards this king.
He was scared to death to face this king. I know what He's going
to do with me when I get over there. He's going to slay me.
I'm the last one left and He's going to kill me. Don't you think
He thought that? Well, sure He did. David said, Macphail Bishop,
don't fear. Don't be afraid. How's He going to get him over
there? I love how the Holy Spirit says it this year. Here in verse
5, The King David sent and fetched Him. Don't you love that? I looked up this word, fetch,
and it means to take, to seize, to bring, to carry. I don't know
who David sent to get this fellow. But he seized him. And he carried
him and set him down there in front of the King David. I like
that, don't you? I think Greg's been talking about,
was the gospel work of God's sovereign power and grace, or
is it just an offer? If it's just an offer, none of
us are going to be saved. I never will forget the illustration.
Me and Brother Larry listened to this. I told you one time
I listened to this a hundred times, but I exaggerated. My
conscience smoked me when I left here after telling you that.
But I bet I have listened to it twenty-five or thirty times. The reign of Christ. But this
preacher gave the best illustration the Lord bringing a man to Himself.
And He said, it's like a man drowning out in the water. And here you've got the lifeguard.
And what does the lifeguard do? Does he swim out there and get
along beside the man and say, now, you can do this. Just think
positive of this. Breathe deep and paddle. You
can do this. Just keep on. Keep on. Come on
now. You'll make it. He doesn't do that, does He?
What does He do? He grabs him, doesn't He? He
grabs him, and He secures him in His arm, and He drags him
back, and He don't let go of him until He sets him down on
the shore. That's the way the Lord does
us, is it not? When the King of glory sends
out a summons, and the Holy Spirit through His Word, through His
preachers, He goes to that sinner. And He captures him! He seizes
him! I tell you, it's a gripping thing
to be seized of the Holy Spirit, is it not? And He may do it roughly,
and He may drag him over there to the king suddenly, or He may
do it slowly and gently, but there's one thing about it. When
the king sends him to fetch him, He brings him. Whoever went after
this man didn't come back and say, He won't come. He just won't come. That poor
cripple, he won't come. I've tried to convince him. We've
sung 23 verses. But he won't come. He won't come. All that the Father gives to
me, what does that say? Shall. Shall. He's going to be fetched. And
here in verse 6, look at this. Look at this. Boy, when He comes
before the King, look in verse 6. This is amazing. And when
Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming to
David, he fell on his face. He fell on his face. Why did
he do that? You know why he did it. He was
a miserable, crippled, And he finds himself in the presence
of this great King. And he cannot help himself. He
falls on his face. Here David is. Get a picture
of this. Here David is sitting upon his throne. No telling what
that looked like. He was surrounded with all these
mighty men. He had all these mighty men.
And here is this defenseless, miserable, crippled, whose family
has been the enemies of David, and all of them now is destroyed
but him, and now he finds himself there in the presence of this
great King. What else can he do but fall
on his face? And that's what he does. He falls
on his face. Listen to me. If a man is still
trying to decide if he's finished with his sin or not. He's not been fetched. If a man's still bragging about
his merits and his power and his wisdom and that he's made
himself to differ, he's not yet consciously standing in the presence
of this King. If a man's still bragging about
his own beauty, he's not yet seen the King in his. When the Holy Spirit fetches
us into the conscious presence of Jesus the King, I tell you
what we'll do. We'll prostrate ourselves. That's
all we know to do. what holy and humble remorse
this poor wretched cripple had for King David. And you know
that's where we begin. That's where we begin. Listen to some of the things
those men have all thought about themselves. Listen to this man
here in verse 7 and 8. Let me read it to you again.
When we see the Lord Jesus Christ, the King and the Savior, you
know something? It will change our opinion of
ourselves. When we see Him, somebody read just a few days ago, Isaiah
chapter 6, when I saw Him, I said, woe is me, I am undone. And look what He says about Himself
in verse 7 and 8. And David said unto Him, Fear
not, I will surely show thee the kindness For Jonathan thy
father say, I will restore thee all, all the land that your father
Saul had, and you shall eat at my table continually. And he
bowed himself and said, What is thy servant, that you should
look upon such a dead dog as I am?" I do not know what kind
of opinion this man had of himself before, but when he saw the king,
This is the conclusion he reached about himself. I ain't nothing
but a dog. This song we were singing here,
Mr. Wesley wrote. I didn't mark it. False and full
of sin I am. Thou art full of truth and grace. Just and holy is thy name. I am all unrighteousness. What would make a fellow think
that about himself? He's seen the King. He's standing
before the King. Listen to what some of the men
of old said about themselves. I'm talking about great men.
Abraham said, All I am is destination. You know what made him say that?
He's standing before the Lord, wouldn't he? Job said, I am Thou. What made him say that? My eyes
have seen You. I'm Thou. Solomon said, every
man, including myself, at his best state is altogether vanity. Daniel, that holy man, saw the
Lord in a vision and he said, all my comeliness, all my beauty
has turned to corruption in me. And boy, when Peter stood before
the Lord and saw something of His goodness and His power, He
said, Lord, I'm a sinful man. Depart from me. And Paul said,
Peter, you've got nothing on me. I'm the chief of sinners.
Ain't that what he said? And John said, if I say I have
no sin, I've deceived myself and the truth is not in me. Let
me show you. Let me show you. Just hold that
and look over here in Ezekiel right quickly. Very familiar
passage in Ezekiel chapter 36. Look in chapter 36. This is where
the Lord is talking about going to take us from among the heathen.
And He's going to wash us and He's going to give us a new heart
and a new spirit. Ezekiel chapter 36. And this
is going to be our reaction after He's done this for us. After
He's cleansed us and put a new heart in us and a new spirit
in us. Ezekiel chapter 36. And look in verse 31. Then shall you remember your
own evil ways and your doings that were not good. And you shall
loathe yourself in your own sight for your iniquities and for your
abomination. Not for your sakes do I this,
saith the Lord. Be it known unto you, be ashamed
and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel." That's what
a man thinks about himself when the Lord gives him a new heart.
And the more you find out how freely you're blessed in Jesus
Christ, the more you're going to abhor yourself. And the more
you see His cleanliness and holiness, the more you're going to see
yourself full of unrighteousness and sin. And the only fountain
you're not going to have to trust in is that fountain that was
open for sin and for uncleanness. And in our text, lastly and closing,
remember this, in verse 13 of our text, Mephibosheth dwelt
in Jerusalem, and he did eat continually at the king's table,
and was lame on both feet. It seems like sort of a paradox
or something, doesn't it? Contradiction. He sat at the
king's table continually and ate, and yet he was lame on both
feet. John Gill had this to say about
this. And he said, Yet this was no objection to David. He admitted
him, notwithstanding his infirmity, nor any obstruction to Mephibosheth,
who found ways and means to be carried to the king's table daily. David had no objection to him
being lame. He didn't look upon him with disgust. And somebody
said, anyway, when he sat at the table, his feet was hit.
You know something? The Lord doesn't see our infirmities
either, does He? We don't disgust Him. We may
disgust ourselves. But He has no objection to us.
He says, I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness and their
sins and iniquities. Well, I remember no more. We can sit at this table, can't
we? We lowly bar sinners can sit at this table. And all the
days of our life. Bless His name. Let's pray.