Be seated. God has spoken to us in various ways in his word. And at times he gives to us doctrinal statements. At times he gives to us commandments. At other times he gives to us stories, narratives. In fact, a large portion of his word is devoted to narrative. And amongst all that he tells us by way of narrative, he has told us not a little bit about in terms of biography about the life of certain saints and servants of his and in some cases we get a big a wide view of the life of one of God's servants, such as Moses or David, and above all, that servant and only begotten Son of God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. At other times, we get a minor glimpse and a little window into a life of which God saw the whole, but from which he has selected some things to tell us for our learning and for our admonition. And so, humbly, knowing that I see very little, but yet having seen something of the Lord's work in the life of Mephibosheth, I want to speak to you this evening on the life of Mephibosheth. We'll consider from this life four themes that I trust will profit us. Four themes from Mephibosheth's life. The first is caught up in providence. Mephibosheth was caught up in providence. And I direct you to the first reading that we heard together here in 2 Samuel 4 and verse 4 where we are introduced to Mephibosheth. There we're told whose son he is, the son of Jonathan, and we're immediately told that he is lame on his feet. This is a fact that recurs like a regular drumbeat throughout the whole account of Mephibosheth, that he was lame of his feet, and we're told about how this came to pass. And notice that Mephibosheth was caught up in Providence. He was caught up in a fight that he had not chosen. There were disturbances that were surrounding and impacting his life that at five years old he had not had a hand in. The traumatic event early in his life that's being referred to is when tidings came of Saul and Jonathan. That is, tidings came that Saul and Jonathan had died in battle, his grandfather and his father, with respect to Mephibosheth. We can remember perhaps something of the latter part of Saul's life and the way that he left God and went to the devil, and how he declined downwards and downwards into despair, and how Jonathan as a dutiful son stood at his side, and how then Saul sinfully took away his own life, and there was a defeat for Israel that day. on Mount Gilboa at the hands of their enemies. Now, all of this impacted the life of Mephibosheth, and he was born into that house of Saul, and the tumult early in his life was not because he had chosen it. but just in the same way that we can be impacted by the bitter fruits of the sin of those who have gone before us. And above all, we are impacted by the sin of our first father, Adam. This has brought misery upon us. by the choice of our first father Adam. I don't mean to excuse anyone. We're all guilty and we acted in Adam as our federal head but yet we are caught up in this circumstance of providence which has brought misery into our lives. We also notice that in these circumstances that Mephibosheth is given protection He's five years old. When the tidings come, the bad news that Saul and Jonathan are dead and his nurse took him up and fled. And so notice this, there's a non-family member who is caring for this five-year-old boy. So she is called a nurse. So this is not his own biological mother, but it's another lady who has been charged with his care. And clearly she was not like that hireling in that parable of our Lord Jesus Christ, the hireling who doesn't care for the sheep and who flees when the wolf is coming. This was a woman who cared for Mephibosheth, and instead of just, for instance, running away herself, from whatever dangerous situation had arisen here after the defeat in battle. Instead of just leaving this five-year-old boy to fend for himself, she picks him up and attempts to carry him and run with him. And you might think about that, how large a five-year-old child is and how many women would have strength to pick up a five-year-old and then attempt to run with a child like that in her arms. Clearly there was a notable measure of devotion that this woman had. And all of this is coming as the mercy of the Lord amidst what God is doing to judge the house of Saul, sinful Saul, whom God had rejected from being king over Israel. And so Notice that verse 4, you won't have picked this up from the reading because I only read verse 4, but nonetheless we can glance at the context here. So verse 4 is actually a flashback. And it's coming in the context of news about another death. So Abner was fighting on behalf of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul. So Abner was carrying on the fight for the house of Saul until he fell out with Ish-bosheth and then came over to David and was then murdered by Joab and so forth. But in other words, the death of Abner happened significantly later. than the death of Saul and Jonathan. And following the death of Abner, we read about these Rechab and the other servant that's Rechab and Banna, they come and they kill Ish-bosheth. So the context is tumult in the house of Saul and judgment falling upon Saul's house and Saul's descendants and Ish-bosheth is being murdered here in this context. And so then in the midst of that, we have a flashback and we see that instead of that, Mephibosheth is spared, that everything around him in the house of Saul is going down in ashes. But Mephibosheth himself is spared alive by this providence early in in his life and maybe you can connect with that and you can look left and right and see how other people have been made to bear the consequences of sin and they maybe they've been even taken out of this life and you yourself have been spared alive well you should recognize that it is it's the arms of providence that have caught you up The arms of a nurse caught up Mephibosheth, and she went and ran away with him from a dangerous situation. But it was the arms of providence that were catching up Mephibosheth. And maybe you can see that too in your life. You've been caught up and spared. But yet, in the midst of all this as well, it is not an unmixed providence. There's a battle that Mephibosheth hasn't chosen. There's a deliverance that's provided remarkably and graciously for him. But yet, as this nurse takes him up and flees, and she's hurrying to run, he fell and he became Lame. And this was a life-altering accident, we say. And I suppose it's fine to use that word. colloquially speaking, accident, although as long as we remember this came to pass according to the decree of God. And this was going to follow Mephibosheth for the rest of his life. It was going to limit what he was able to do. It would not be so utterly debilitating that he would be unable to marry and have a family of his own because we do later read that he had a son. But yet, his life was significantly altered by that. We're not told about the inner life of Mephibosheth. But if he's anything like me or you, then there would have been many times when he would have wondered, why did this have to happen to me? Why have I been deprived of the use of both of my feet? And perhaps he wondered. Is this a mark of God's displeasure against me? Is the curse and judgment that is falling upon the house of Saul, is it pursuing me here too? Am I cast off by the Lord. But yet we also need to recognize that God uses hard providences to humble people and to prepare them. And it is often that He brings us low before He brings us high. And so in the life of Mephibosheth, we see that first of all that he was caught up in providence. Secondly, we see that Mephibosheth was sought out in kindness. He was sought out in kindness. And we see this in 2 Samuel chapter 9. And there in verse one, we read, 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? So notice what's happening here, which is that David is remembering He is remembering the covenant that he had made with Jonathan, whom his soul loved, and he is remembering how Jonathan had pleaded that David would show kindness also to the descendants of Jonathan for his sake. and a good number of years have passed because in the same chapter we read that Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah. First time he's referred to Mephibosheth is himself a young boy and now he has a young son himself so perhaps something like 20 years have passed But still, after 20 years and after long war between David and the house of Saul, and after David has become established in his kingdom, and he has built himself a house, and he's won military victories and so forth, if there were going to be any time when David could possibly forget about his covenant with Jonathan, then it would be at this moment that he would forget about his covenant with Jonathan, because dead men don't speak. Jonathan is not there to say, remember what you promised to me, but rather David shows kindness. And the word here is the same word for kindness in the book of Ruth. It's a word that's also translated mercies. Mercy endureth forever. And so David is showing faithfulness to the covenant that he had made with Jonathan. And in this, we have a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, who always remembers His covenant indeed with the Father in eternity. He made a covenant that He would come in time and that He would undertake the salvation of poor sinners. So David here is a type of Christ who came in faithfulness And with the law of God within his heart, and keeping his covenant, and keeping his word, the Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost. Notice how David in the passage described here how he is active. He apparently knows about Ziba, this servant of the house of Saul, and he calls him and he inquires if there's any left of the house of Saul that he may show the kindness of God unto him. And so rather than being passive and saying, you know, I don't know that there's even anyone left of the house of Saul, and so I'll just kind of turn a blind eye to it or forget about it. David doesn't do that. And notice also his question is general. Is there not yet any of the house of Saul? He could have limited this and asked, is there any descendant of Jonathan left? but he throws it open wider. Is there anyone left of the house of Saul? And he's prepared to show kindness. Indeed, he says that I may show the kindness of God unto him. And this is something for our souls to feed upon, because we ought not to come away from this text. just with the praises of David upon our lips, although it's appropriate to give honor to the name of David for what he did here, but we should above all come away with the praises of God upon our lips because it was the kindness of God that David showed to to Mephibosheth, and you'll remember how our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, there he speaks about a kind of love that even the Gentiles have, and remember how he challenges us that if we love those who love us, that what thank have we, or if we If we give greetings to those who greet us, what have we done more than others? Don't even the heathen do this kind of thing. There is a certain kindness that is Praise God that it's there by His common grace that there's a certain decency and people are kind to those who can do something nice for them. We thank God that that's the way that it is. But yet our Lord Jesus calls us to a love that far transcends the kind of be nice to the people who are nice to you kind of love. How can we do such a thing? Only once we've caught a glimpse of the kindness of God. Because with our God there is mercy for His very enemies. And this is proclaimed above all in In the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, for scarcely would one die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man, one might venture even to die, but God commendeth his own love towards us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. And if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved. by His life. There is with God an exceeding kindness, an exceeding love that goes above and beyond what we see practiced amongst men, a love that seeks for its very enemies to do good unto them. So what are we to do with that? The first thing is that we are to believe. We are to believe this good tidings. We are to cast off gloomy fears and discouragement and believe that what we see in the life of David, seeking one from the house of his enemy to show kindness to him, that there is a beam shining forth from the countenance of God with whom there is more favor than we can grasp. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. We're to believe that it is so. And yes, we also are to imitate. David seeking out in kindness. Mephibosheth is one of the approved examples of Holy Scripture. And if God only gave us mere examples, and He didn't also give us His Holy Spirit, then they wouldn't profit us anything, and we couldn't imitate them. But He has given us His Holy Spirit. And so we are through the Spirit to stir up kindness that is like unto the kindness of David. We are to not just shut our eyes, but we are to think, Is there any opportunity for me to show extraordinary kindness, even the kindness of God, the kind of love that goes beyond the calculations of men? Is there an opportunity for me to show kindness to an enemy? Is there an opportunity for me to show kindness towards one who can't pay me back? Because Mephibosheth, being lame, could not pay back David. Oh, let us stir up such love. So, well, then we've seen that Mephibosheth was caught up in providence. We've seen that he was sought out in kindness. Thirdly, we see that he was humbled by grace, humbled by grace. So King David sent, verse 5, and fetched him from the house of Makir, In verse 6, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face. and did reverence. So he was not committing the sin of idolatry but rather giving proper civil honor to a king. And we ought not to take this lightly or take it for granted or think that this was necessarily easy for Mephibosheth to do because in terms of his family connection, he was on the losing side and David had been exalted in in honor by the Lord. His horn had been raised up. So Mephibosheth, you know, he's the son of Jonathan. And he could think to himself, you know, I should have been in line to become king. I should have been prince. I should have been number two. My dad should have been king. He could have stiffened his neck. He could have resisted. He could have said, what is King David calling me for? and been very grudging or outright defiant towards him, but it wasn't so. He rather reverenced God's anointed king, David, even before he knows why it is that David has called him. And so he's showing forth the work of grace and acknowledging the Lord Jesus Christ and bowing to him who is king. So Mephibosheth is already on his face. David calls him by name. He answers, Behold thy servant, placing himself still at the service of David. And David says to him very Christlike words. Very often we hear our Savior saying, Fear not. So it is with David. He says, 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 so, Mephibosheth is given not a death sentence, not a threat, he's not given a talking to about you'd better shape up and stay in line and make sure you don't think about rebelling against My Kingdom. There's none of that. Rather, He's assured of continued kindness and He is welcomed at the table of the King and this welcoming Him at the table of the king is even described as a kind of act of adoption. In verse 11, as for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. He's treated like a son. And so he's treated with abounding grace. And so what is the effect that grace has? when it is lavishly bestowed and it is received in faith. The effect is more humility. So Mephibosheth has already gone down onto his face before David, but here he says, What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? There's a certain similarity to Peter who, when the Lord Jesus commanded that great catch of fish, And Peter beheld the kindness of the Lord towards him. Peter said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Peter was humbled, but yet Peter wasn't right to pull back and ask Jesus to depart. And so Mephibosheth does not ask David to depart from him. Mephibosheth does not refuse. He doesn't say, how could I possibly accept this? The gift is too great. He does none of these things, but he does properly humble himself. And it strikes me that there's actually a likeness between Mephibosheth and David himself. Because David, in the encounters with Saul, he likened himself to several different animals. And one of them was a flea, one of them was a partridge on the mountains, and the other one was a dead dog. And speaking to the king at the time, David said, I'm a dead dog. Mephibosheth does the same thing. David, when he hears the promise of the Lord that the Lord is going to make him a house, then he says, who am I and what is my father's house? This who am I response is, well, it's the language of gracious humility in the heart. Why would you even look upon such a dead dog as I am?" And this is a mark of grace, to be more humbled by grace when it is received. And I'm persuaded that in the heart of a child of God, in receiving the grace of the Lord, that the child of God has a desire to be as low as possible, to disappear, to be the last of all, and to put himself in the lowest place. And in his better moments, the child of God which has kind of a holy zeal that's actually sincere and not phony and not a put on to put himself as low as he possibly can. I'm the last and least of all the saints. And this commends to us a gracious humility. And yet we ought not to allow that to become an opportunity for despair or despondency or discouragement. We should put ourselves low, and yet we should receive what the Lord graciously gives through Christ. So Mephibosheth, secondly, he was humbled by grace. Fourthly, Mephibosheth was sifted amongst men. He was sifted amongst men. And so this, it is what we've seen so far. is a wonderful story of gracious salvation. Here is one who is from his youth. He's afflicted and yet preserved by the providence of God. He is sovereignly sought out by the Lord's anointed that he might show kindness to him. He has grace lavishly heaped upon him. It is kind of like a picture of a conversion story, but yet We know that conversion is not the end, and the converted man has trials to face and siftings. And so we see that in the life of Mephibosheth. And first of all, we see, well, it's centered around his relationship with the zeba who's mentioned here, this servant of Saul's house. And so Mephibosheth is put in a position of some dependency in a way upon Ziba. Ziba is charged by the king to care for Mephibosheth and all the property that now has been handed over onto Mephibosheth. And Ziba himself appears to have been a quite prosperous man who had, as we're told here, he had servants, He had 15 sons and 20 servants, verse 10. So to say that Ziba was a servant doesn't mean that he was poor, or he didn't have a buck to his name, but rather it was a wealthy servant, and we can anticipate that this may have provided a temptation, perhaps. But nonetheless, Mephibosheth, in the first instance, he is dependent upon this Zeba. And now, when we fast forward, we take a glance at the story that Zeba later told about Mephibosheth. When David was exiting out of Jerusalem, fleeing from Absalom, and he was under God's rod and so forth, and Ziba comes and meets David and brings him asses, and he brings him gifts of food and so forth, and with everything that follows, with Ziba, I think we have to be careful because we're nowhere told that all of this was false and phony on the part of Ziba because actually Ziba is showing loyalty to David at a time when David's under affliction and he doesn't have the upper hand and so forth and he's bringing him lavish gifts. So there's the possibility that this is actually sincere and showing Ziba's loyalty unto David. But yet, in the midst of it, Ziba makes the claim that Mephibosheth is Hoping to get the kingdom back Which and then we fast forward further we find Ziba's rather Mephibosheth's side of this story and he Gives his own tokens of sincere devotion to the king chapter 19 verse 24 and following. There are signs of apparent sincerity, of loyalty on Mephibosheth's part towards David. He hasn't groomed himself. He hasn't trimmed his beard or washed his clothes ever since the king departed. And now David is coming back Absalom has died and Mephibosheth has been distressed this whole time and makes the claim that Ziba has slandered him and taken advantage of his weakness and his lameness. I'm inclined to believe that Mephibosheth is telling the truth here, that he was in fact slandered and meant no ill against David. So this provides a glimpse into the life of a saint. It is many times true. It is the common lot of God's children to be slandered and to have things said about them. So picture Mephibosheth's position. He can't go and speak for himself, and in his absence he is slandered. can't repair the damage that has been done to his name. And so it is many times our Savior himself was falsely accused and so it is many times with the children of God. But yet how commendable that the example of Mephibosheth in these circumstances that he makes no claim actually to this property. and again says that he was dead before my Lord the King. He counts his life as having been forfeited because of the judgments that fell upon the house of his grandfather Saul, and he makes no claim the property and says, let Ziba have it all. So this shows actually a peaceable disposition under slander, which is commended to us as an approved example. So notice that David has returned back and Mephibosheth is one of the ones who has come out to greet him. But Ziba too has done so. Verse 17, 2 Samuel 19, 17 tells us that Ziba and they went over the Jordan before the king. And so the point is that Mephibosheth and Ziba are going to have to live together under the reign of David. And so Mephibosheth is not demanding that Ziba be cast out or something like this. He is yielding up his own things for the sake of peace, just as we think about how Abraham yielded up to Lot to have the first choice so that he could, as far as it depended on him, live at peace with all men. It teaches us that where there is true grace, then the hand of God in providence will come sift us. And many times these siftings have to do with our relations with others, and even relations with others in the church. We're going to be living in the kingdom with them. And so this commends to us forbearance, and yielding up our own things, and rather to be defrauded of our personal things than to contend over much. And so may the Lord then grant us edification in His glory, in the life Mephibosheth, because of his own testimony that he was a dead dog unworthy to be looked upon, but yet we do build up and proclaim the glory of the God of grace who did something in and through.