Now this morning our message
is taken from the 9th chapter of 2 Samuel. The title of the
message is Covenant Mercies. Covenant Mercies. God shows mercy
to us because of that covenant of grace made between the Father
and the Son way back in eternity. Covenant, Covenant Mercies. Our God is a Covenant God. Covenant
God. Now this story of David showing
mercy to Mephibosheth, this young cripple, is one of my favorite
stories. And it has been for many years.
When I was just a young man, 29 years old, when I attended
one of the first Bible conferences I attended there at 13th Street
Baptist Church. This had been in 1981, 30 years
ago. A preacher brought a message
from 2 Samuel 9 And I heard that message, and that message gripped
my heart. It was a message that I needed
to hear. It was a message that I wanted
to hear. It was a message that was honoring
to the Lord Jesus Christ and glorifying to God, and I have
never forgotten it. And have determined to tell that
same story, how God saves sinners because of that covenant made
between the fathers. and the Son. I came away from
that meeting rejoicing in the salvation that's of the Lord.
And I trust that we can leave this house today rejoicing anew
and again in that mercy that we as believers enjoy from the
hand of our Sovereign King. Now, the Old Testament Scriptures
were given unto the Lord's people not by accident, just didn't
happen, but by direct intervention, by direct inspiration. What you hold in your lap is
not the words of men, it's the will and testimony of God Almighty. I believe that. All scripture
is given by inspiration of God. It says in 2 Peter, For the prophecy
came not at old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by God the Holy Spirit. what you hold in
your hand. And the book that we preach from
each time we come together in God's service, we take His Word
and declare unto sinners His truth, His Word. For preaching
is simply just repeating what God has already said. It's just one beggar telling
another beggar where bread is found in Christ Jesus. Whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that we through comfort
and hope of the Scriptures might find salvation in Christ Jesus."
The Old Testament was given to reveal unto us the way of salvation.
The way of salvation in Christ Jesus. It has the same message
as the New Testament has. For the Bible has but one message,
and that is salvation in no other. than the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Now this story of covenant love
between David and Jonathan is a glorious picture of God's eternal
covenant of grace between the Father and the Son whereby we
experience the mercy of God given unto us today. David showing
mercy to this Undeserving cripple boy named Mephibosheth. He did
so because of that covenant he made with Mephibosheth's father,
Jonathan. And it is a beautiful picture
of God for Christ's sake. David had mercy on Mephibosheth
for Jonathan's sake. Even so, God the Father has mercy
on us because of Christ. We're taught in Scripture to
love one another and to forgive one another. Even as God, for
Christ's sake, has forgiven us, the man who will not forgive
is a man who has not been forgiven. Mark it down. Now, I have five
points in our message today, and let me give them to you,
then we'll go back and look at each one. Five things we see. We see the design of mercy. We
see the object of mercy. We see the application of mercy.
We see the response of mercy. And then we see the results,
the results of mercy. What are the results? You remember
what David said to Mephibosheth? You're going to sit at my table
as the king's son, not just once, not just twice, continually at
my table as the king's son. Now, let's look first of all
at the design of mercy. The design of mercy. God has
an eternal design, an eternal purpose. Look at verse 1 of chapter
9, And David said, Now this is a king speaking, Is there yet
any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may not cut him
off, cut him out, but that I may include him with kindness? And
the word kindness, there is mercy. And do it for Jonathan's sake. For Jonathan's sake. David is
now enthroned as king over all Israel. The old king, the people's
king, was gone. Saul had been slain in a battle. And also, Jonathan, his son,
was also killed in the same battle. The old king is gone. The new
king reigns in mercy and grace. David, in keeping with his word
to his friend Jonathan to show mercy to his family, keeps the
word of his oath. and makes good on that promise.
You remember what Jonathan said to David? If I die, will you
promise me that you show mercy to my family? Swear to me you
will. David said, I will. David now
is making good on his promise. He's making good on that promise.
David is determined to show mercy unto Mephibosheth because of
the love he has for Jonathan, his friend. Turn back here to
1 Samuel. 1 Samuel chapter 18. 1 Samuel
18. At first when David, young David,
the shepherd boy, slays the Philistine giant Goliath, well, he impressed
a lot of people. He impressed old King Saul. And
King Saul adopted him as his son, brought him into his own
family until he found out that the hand of God was on David.
And then Saul became his enemy. But Saul's son and David Saul's
son, Jonathan, and David had a very close relationship. 1
Samuel 18, verse 1, And it came to pass, when he made an end
of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with
the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And
Saul took him that day, would not let him go no more to his
father's house. And Jonathan and David made a
covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. Now watch this.
Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and
gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his
bow, and to his girdle. Remember, David didn't have a
sword to go out even to fight against that giant Philistine. What did he have? He had that
sling. He had his sling. And God with simple means killed
the giant, with the ordained means. Now here's the gospel
for us. David and Jonathan purposed to
show mercy unto Mephibosheth before Mephibosheth was born,
before Mephibosheth knew anything about it. Mercy was purposed
before it was imparted unto Mephibosheth. Now here's the gospel. The Father
loveth the Son. and has given all things into
His hand. The salvation that we enjoy right
now is the result of that eternal covenant of grace made between
the Father and the Son, which the Father chose a people and
gave them to the Lord Jesus Christ. And our Lord said, all that the
Father has given to me, they will come to me, and those that
come to me, I will never, no, never cast them out. The salvation
we enjoy right now is because of that eternal covenant made
between the Father and the Son, in which He gave the Father,
gave the Son of people, made Christ their charity, made Christ
their shepherd, made Christ the sacrifice for their sin. The
spiritual blessing that we enjoy and receive freely by His grace
flow out to us freely and fully because of that covenant of grace. We call that the eternal. covenant
of grace. They flow out to us how? Freely. We're justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our great God brought again from the dead that great shepherd
of the sheep to the blood of the everlasting covenant. Hebrews 13, 20. The blessing
of salvation were purposed in that eternal covenant of grace
before we knew anything about it. Before we were born. God determined to show mercy
upon His covenant people given unto Him. Let me show you that
in Scripture. Find 2 Timothy 1.9. 2 Timothy
1.9. God has an eternal purpose whereby
He is purposed in that covenant to show mercy to many. 2 Timothy
1.9. Verse 9, 2 Timothy 1, 9. It's
God who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace. Now
watch this. Purpose and grace. His purpose
is married to His grace. His grace is married to His purpose.
His purpose is an eternal purpose, which was given us in Christ
Jesus when we walked in Isle, when we prayed through, when
I made my decision for Jesus. That's not what it says there,
is it? which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality
to life through the gospel. So the blessings of salvation
were purposed in that eternal covenant of grace before we knew
anything about it, before we were even born. God from eternity
purposed to save the people in Christ Jesus. Our blessed Savior
is the surety of the covenant. He honored all the covenant obligations. All the covenant obligations.
He honored the law of God for us that we have violated, that
we have broken. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. He established that covenant
righteousness whereby God can be a just God and Savior. And
the Lord Jesus Christ put away our sin for us, fulfilled all
covenant obligation for us to enable God to be a just God and
Savior, to enable God to be just and the justifier of the ungodly. The love God has for the Lord
Jesus Christ flows out to us because of all that the Lord
Himself, the Lord Christ, Christ crucified, has done for us. You
remember this scripture? God who spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? All things freely given of His
fullness, have we all received grace for grace? Well, that's
the design of mercy. What's going to happen in time?
We see the object of mercy. Would Jonathan's son name Mephibosheth? Look at verse 2, down through
verse 4. And there was at 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,
That's me. And the king said, Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness,
the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath here the son. which is laying on his feet. And the king said unto Ziba,
Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king,
Behold, he is in the house of Maker, the son of Hamiel, down
in Lotavar. Lotavar was a place of no pasture. Lotavar was a wilderness. That
is where Mephibosheth is. He is down in a house of no bread. Down in a house of no pasture. The house of King Saul had been
David's enemies. Saul was determined at one time
to kill David. The family of Saul deserved no
mercy, did they? But David, a man after God's
own heart, was determined to show mercy. Our God is holy. Our God is righteous. But He
is also merciful. He also delights to show mercy. I'm going to seek mercy where
it's found, in the Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing He's plenteous
in redemption, seeing that He delights to show mercy, based
upon that covenant of grace, based upon the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, I'm going to seek mercy where it's found,
in Christ. Adam's race of fallen rebellious
sinners deserve no mercy, do we? God is not indebted to sinners,
but he is determined to show mercy on his covenant people. Our God said, I'll be merciful
to whom I will be merciful. I'll show mercy to whom I will.
So then it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but it's God that would show mercy to sinners. You see, the
language of the religion of men, the religion that's man-centered,
is one of merit. Merit. But the language of true
redemption is not merit. You know what it is? Mercy. Mercy
to the miserable. Grace to the guilty. Salvation
to sinners. He justifies the ungodly. Turn
over here to 1 Timothy chapter 1 this time. 1 Timothy. You remember
what Saul of Tarsus experienced from the hand of God as he went
about persecuting believers? When he ran into the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ saved him because of that covenant
promise. 1 Timothy chapter 1, look at verse 13. Who was before? This
is 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13. Who was before? A blasphemer,
a persecutor, one who caused injury. He said, but I obtained
mercy. Didn't earn it. Obtained mercy. although I did it ignorantly
in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant with faith and love, which is in Christ
Jesus. This is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the chief offender. I obtained mercy. You remember
the publican prayed, Lord, be merciful to me, thee sinner.
Ziba tells David about Jonathan's son. who was crippled and lame
on his feet. It says that in the last part
of verse 3, back in our text. Yeah, Jonathan has a son. He's
not much. David, I don't think he'd be
interested in old Mephibosheth. He can't bring anything to your
kingdom. He's just an old cripple. He's lame on his feet. This is interesting here, turn
to 2 Samuel chapter 4, how did he become lame? 2 Samuel chapter 4, when there
was a great battle, and King Saul and Jonathan were involved
in this battle, and both of them were killed. Well, the nursemaid
that was watching after Mephibosheth, when she heard the news of the
king's family being slain, well, she took up the young lad and
started to flee away from the enemy. And when she did, this
is what happened. 2 Samuel 4. Verse 4, And Jonathan Saul's
son had a son that was lame on his feet. He was five years old,
five years old, when tidings came out of Saul and Jonathan
out of Jezreel. They were 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. He fell. Evidently, they were
fleeing maybe on a horse or a mule or something. And he fell. And
he became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. He was ruined in a fall. Now,
does that sound familiar? Ruined in a fall. That's what
happened to us. We were ruined. Ruined in a fall. And that's how we became lame. The word lame, through a fall,
not only describes the condition of Mephibosheth, how he became
crippled. It is our condition since our
fall in Adam. In Adam, all have become crippled,
diseased, dead in trespasses and in sin. And Adam all died. And Adam all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God. All our faculties were affected
by this sinful fall against God. Our mind, our affections, our
will, our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Our will is contrary to God's will by nature. And
our mind is corrupted, corrupted with the vile disease of sin. It has affected not only our
walking, but our thinking, our going, our attitude, and our
conduct. All our faculties were affected
by this fall, so much so that the Word of God said, in our
flesh dwelleth no good thing. In our flesh there is none righteous,
no, not one. We are totally unable to take
a step toward God because we're crippled. Matter of fact, we're
so ruined in our fallen condition Our will is to run away from
God, not toward God. Man's will is embonded to his
nature, and his nature is sinful and fallen in rebellion against
God. Notice something else. Ziba gives
the report. Yeah, old Jonathan's got a son,
but he's not much. He's ruined. He's crippled. And
then Ziba said to the king, he says, well, where does he live?
Where is he now? And Ziba gives a report, well,
behold he's down in the house of Maker, verse 4, Maker's the
son of Amiel and he's down in Lodibar. Notice where Mephibosheth
lives here. He lives in the house of Maker.
Now some think that the house of Maker was the house of bondage.
Down in the country known as Lodibar, Lodibar was the was
the place of no pasture, no bread. It must have been a rocky place,
not able to bear any crops or grow any food. And here's old
Mephibosheth, he's down in a house of a slave, serving a slave with
no bread, nothing to eat. He's destitute. He's a beggar,
bankrupt, vile, and a slave in bondage. That's us, isn't it? That's us by birth and nature.
We live and we're born in a house of bondage. In bondage to sin
and depravity. Under the curse of the law. Living
in a land of Lodibar. No bread. No pasture. No water. Starving from lack
of bread from heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ in loving
darkness. loving darkness rather than the
light. We kind of like it down there
in Lodabar. That's where we are by nature.
Dead without God, without hope, and without Christ. And yet,
even hearing, David hearing about where Mephibosheth lives and
his condition, and that he's a slave, you know what doesn't
discourage David from saying, I want Him. He's mine. Bring Him to me. Here's the third
point. Here's the application and command
of mercy. Verse 5, The King said, Then King David sent and
fetched Him out of the house of bondage, out of the land of
Lodibar. What's going to happen here?
King David commands that nephivyshep be brought before him. To fetch
him, bring him. This word here, fetch, I looked
it up, you know what it means? It means to bring. It means to
carry him. It means to buy. It means to
draw. It simply means go get him. Bring
him. Fetch him. He's mine. Now notice this, David doesn't
invite Mephibosheth to come. He commands that he be brought
before the king. Notice the language in verse
11. Then said Ziba unto the king, according to all that the Lord
the king hath commanded his servant, that's what I'll do. When the
king said, go get him and fetch him, it's the command of the
king that will be carried out. You see, the Scriptures teach
where the word of the King is, there's power. What the King
commanded was done. It says in Psalm 33, For he spake,
and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast. Now here's
the picture of the sinner being effectually, irresistibly called
to the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus
Christ, out of covenant love, came to redeem us from our sin
with His own blood, giving His life to deliver us from our ruin,
coming to put away our sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And
in time, God the Holy Spirit, through the means that God has
ordained, calls us out of bondage and death into His marvelous
light and life. And that's what we call fetching
grace. We see that electing grace, don't
we? We see that redeeming grace,
don't we? And we see that calling grace.
We see that fetching grace. Go get him, he's mine. No man
can come unto me except the Father which sent me. Draw him. The
Holy Spirit powerfully, irresistibly draws God's covenant people unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they willingly come. They willingly
come. You know why? They are made willing
in the day of God's power. Our covenant God is not trying
to call sinners to Christ, for He does not try to do anything. He is graciously calling out
His covenant people with the gospel, and His sheep will hear
that call, and they will come to Christ. Come to Christ. He said that in John 10. Remember?
We've read that so many times. My sheep hear my voice. I know
them. I give unto them eternal life. They hear my voice. I know
them. And I give them life and they
will never, no, never perish. Those called, come. Look at our
story here. Look at verse 6. 2 Samuel 9,
verse 6. What's going to happen now? Is
Mephibosheth going to refuse to come? Now, when Mephibosheth,
the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come, oh, he did
come, didn't he? Why? Why'd he come? He couldn't
come on his own. He was crippled. You know, he
couldn't even walk an aisle, make a decision. He was crippled.
They brought him to the king. Mephibosheth was brought to the
king. And we come to the king by his
grace. When Saul, the son of Saul, was
come, Under David, the king, he fell on his face and did reverence. He worshipped the king. And David
said, Mephibosheth. Oh, he knows his sheep by name
and he calls them out. Mephibosheth. And he answered
and said, Behold thy servant. Will Mephibosheth come? Oh, yes.
Oh, yes. He came because he was brought.
Brought by God. My favorite chef fell on his
face before King David, fully expecting the worst, being the
king's enemy. And David reaches out in mercy
unto him. He bowed to David's rule. Look what he says. He says, Behold,
I'm your servant. I'm your servant. He bowed to
David's kingship. He owned his lordship, didn't
he? He said, You're my king. I'm going to serve you. Something else, look at verse
8. He owned him as his king. Behold, I am your servant. And
then he says this in verse 8, he bowed himself. He got right
down on the floor before the king and said, what is thy servant
that thou shouldest look upon me? Dead dog. I'm a dead dog, David. He owned his condition. Worthless
dog. Mephibosheth could not contribute
anything to David. He couldn't bring anything to
David. He couldn't contribute anything. Now, here's a gospel
application for us. Those called by the gospel of
Christ, they do bow and submit to the lordship of Christ. Believers
do highly esteem and reverence our God and our Savior, for holy
and reverend is His name. They take their place before
Him as a willing servant. Remember Saul of Tarsus, before
the Lord Jesus Christ, when he was broken and put in the dust,
he said, Lord, what will you have me to do? Willing servant. Remember Isaiah that year, the
king whose eye had died. Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up. And then he said, woe is me,
I'm undone, I'm a man of unclean lips. And then he said, Lord,
here am I. Send me. God's people are made
willing in the day of God's power. They take their place before
Him as a willing servant, and they own their true condition
too, don't they? They own their true condition.
I'm a dog. I'm a dead dog before God Almighty. I can't bring anything unto God. I can't contribute anything before
Him. Not at all. Let me show you another
picture of this. If you find Luke 18. Luke 18. Remember that woman that came
unto the Lord seeking mercy? In Luke 18. Well, Luke 18, verse 13. I've
written down the wrong reference here. The publican, standing
afar off, would not lift up so much his eyes to heaven, but
smote upon his breath, saying, God, be merciful to me, thee
sinner. He owned his true condition. Like Job. Job owned his true
condition. I have heard of thee, Job said,
by the hearing of the ear. But now I see thee, wherefore
I hate myself. I repent in dust and in ashes. Something else. Those brought
before the King, they take their place before Him as a servant.
They own their true condition as a sinner before God, ungodly,
and they declare their only hope of salvation is in the Lord's
mercies. In the Lord's mercy. Will the
sinner be brought to Christ when He's called? Hmm? Oh, yes. They'll come. We don't need to browbeat people,
badger people, and bug people. When God the Holy Spirit calls
His people out of darkness unto His marvelous light, they know
it. And they'll let others know in time. Something else we see
here. Here's the result of covenant
mercies. The result of covenant mercies.
Verse 7. Look at verse 7 in our text.
David said unto him, Fear not. Fear not. For I will surely show
thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore
thee all the land of Saul thy father. And thou shalt eat bread
at my table, my table now, all the time." Continually, continually. Here's the result of mercy. Look
at verse 13 now. And Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table, and he was
laying on both his feet. David restored unto Mephibosheth
all that he had lost. You remember it says over here
in verse 9, the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said
unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that pertaineth
to Saul and to all his house. David restored unto Mephibosheth
all that he had lost. David fulfilled every covenant
prometh unto his friend Jonathan. David took him home, took him
in, adopted him into his family, provided for his care, restored
unto him all that his father had lost. And now he's sitting
at the king's table as one of the king's sons. Now here's the gospel application
for us. In the Lord Jesus Christ we have
restored unto us all that Adam lost and much more. Where sin
abounded, grace does much more abound. Adam lost the way, Adam
lost the truth, Adam lost life, didn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ
said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am life. Where sin abounded, grace does
much more abound. Secondly, in the Lord Jesus Christ
and through Him, we've been adopted into the family and made sons
of God. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons
of God." Galatians chapter 4. Turn there for a moment. Galatians
chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. Adopted into the king's family. Galatians chapter 4 verse 4.
But when the fullness of time was come, fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, fathers. Wherefore thou art no more a
servant, but a son, and if a son, an heir of God, through the Lord
Jesus Christ. So in Christ we have restored
unto us all that we lost in Adam and much more. In Christ and
through Christ we've been adopted into the family and made sons
of God. Covenant mercies, covenant love. Thirdly, in Christ we have continual
and everlasting blessings. We have an eternal inheritance,
incorruptible, unbefiled that does not Fade away. That's what
we have in Christ. The blessings we have in the
Lord Jesus are not temporary. Not temporal. What are they?
What are they? They're eternal blessings, aren't
they? And in Christ, our wounds are covered. The blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sin. And in Christ, there is no condemnation. to those who were in him. Now
let me show you something in closing. Find 2 Samuel 21. 2
Samuel chapter 21. King Saul mistreated some people
down in Gibeah, or the Gibeonites. And he killed a bunch of their
people. When David comes to the throne, the Gibeonites They say
unto King David, we don't want the gold and silver of the house
of Saul. We want his sons and we're going
to kill them all. Well, who's included in that?
Mephibosheth. Look what it says down here in
verse 4. The giving night said unto him,
this is 2 Samuel 21 verse 4, We will have no silver, no gold
of Saul, nor of his house, Neither for us shalt thou kill any man
in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say,
that I'll do for you. And they answered the king, The
man that consumed us, that divides against us, that we should be
destroyed from remaining in any of the coast of Israel, let seven
men of his sons be delivered unto us." See what he's asking
for? You give us seven sons of Saul. And we'll hang them unto
the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the
king said, I'll give you seven of Saul's sons." Look at the
next verse. The king spared Mephibosheth,
the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's
oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of
Saul. He hanged, you read on, they
hanged seven of those sons of Saul. But you know who was spared?
Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth. My friend, do you
see the gospel in that? God has spared us for Christ's
sake. We're deserving to be hanged
by the neck until dead because we're guilty before God. But thank God He's pleased to
save His covenant people. Thank God for His covenant mercies.
David, as he dies upon his deathbed, you remember what he said? His
last words recorded in Scripture? God hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and is sure, this is all my hope
and all my salvation, although it's not very popular among my
family. It's all my hope and all my salvation. Mephibosheth did eat at the king's
table continually and was considered a son of God. And those whom
God saved by His covenant grace, they do eat at the king's table
as a king's son continually because of the Lord Jesus Christ.