Open your Bibles to 2 Samuel 9, and you'll find that on page 307 if you're using the Bible provided for you in the chair. Page 309, that's 2 Samuel chapter 9. Before I read the text, let me pray. Our gracious God, we thank you. We thank you that we can enter into your presence through prayer, invited by you through your son, in whom we have received all of the blessings that are ours through inheritance through him. Father, we rejoice to know that these blessings that we read about in the text are ours now, that we have, as we heard this morning, the resurrected life, that we have eternal life, and that these blessings and benefits that we read about in this text are nothing more than that life eternal which we are promised in Christ. So Father, as we await the consummation, as we grow in grace, as we become more and more like Christ Jesus our Savior, we ask that you would continue to work in us according to your appointed means. So Father, as we gather, we pray, as we place ourselves under your word, we pray that you would use it, that your spirit would take this word up, this word that he inspired, that he set down through apostles and prophets, and that he would take it up now and use it by way of illumination to our own hearts and minds, that we might indeed come away changed. Father, as we look at this text this evening, we pray not only that we'll see the historical moment, but we also pray that we'll see the Lord Jesus Christ. We'll see a foreshadow of what he was, what he is, and what he did for us. Father, we ask now that you'll bless us in Jesus' name. Amen. When we think about David, King David, I think there's always a particular phrase that comes to mind. I think we can't help ourselves when somebody mentions David. We think to ourselves, ah, David. David was a man after God's own heart. We have a tendency to say that and say it often, or at least think it often, but the question is, what does it actually mean? What does it mean that David is a man after God's own heart? Do we know what it means? Oftentimes we can use the scriptures to interpret scripture, and I would encourage us to do just that at a place like this. Is there any place, for instance, is there any place in the New Testament wherein we might go to find for us described that phrase, a man after God's own heart? And I think there is a place to which we can turn in the New Testament that might help us to understand this well-worn phrase. And it's a text that we find in Matthew's Gospel. And again, it's not just any old place, but it's certainly a well-worn place. It's the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5 and verses 45 and 46. And here we find that Jesus himself says, So that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, for he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust, For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. In other words, being like your Heavenly Father means loving your enemies. And here, we find David doing just that. He is a man after God's own heart, and if we understand what it means to be a man after God's own heart, as one who loves his enemies, we understand David to be just that man. Think about what David says in this text, though we haven't read it yet. He says, he asks the question, is there still anyone who is left in the house of Saul that I may show kindness to him for Jonathan's sake? Now I want you to think for a minute about the house of Saul. The house of Saul was an enemy to David. I mean, think about it, David had to run because of the house of Saul. He hid in the desert because of the house of Saul. He went without sleep, sometimes food, because of the house of Saul. He was indeed an enemy of the house of Saul. Even if David didn't conceive of himself as such, Saul certainly saw himself as an enemy. And here David is loving his enemies. Loving the house of Saul, the house that persecuted him. But not just in a general way, not just in the way wherein we find it described in the Sermon on the Mount, that God blesses the just and the unjust with sunshine. No, here we find David loving his enemy in a way that's more reflective of what we find in Romans chapter 5. There God said that he loved us even when we were his enemies by sending his only begotten son to be a propitiation for our sins, a sacrifice for us. And here David is loving in that way. He is entering into covenant with the house of Saul that he might shower upon the house of Saul, or at least a figure in the house of Saul, all of the blessings that roll from the house of David. I want you to notice, for instance, the word kindness that's used in the text here. Kindness. And notice Jonathan, for the sake of Jonathan. Kindness here is a word that we're going to see again, and I'm going to draw your attention to it in just a few minutes, but this word is an important word. It's a word that is pregnant and full, and it means, and it means this kindness, means that David is about to shower on to Mephibosheth of the house of Saul the great blessings. that David himself received from the hand of God. And so here what we find is we find a picture of God's love for his enemies, but not just enemies who remain enemies, but enemies he has made friends. And so let me have you turn this evening to 2 Samuel chapter 9, and I'll read the entire chapter. This is 2 Samuel 9, verses 1 through 13. Listen now to the infallible and inerrant word of God. And David said, is there still anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David, and the king said to him, are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. The king said to him, where is he? And Ziba said to the king, he is in the house of Mekur and the son of Ammiel at Lodibar. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Mekur, the son of Ammiel at Lodibar. And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, behold, I am your servant. And David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my table always. And he paid homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, all that belong to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bred to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table. Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. Then Ziba said to the king, according to all that my lord the king commands his servants, so will your servant do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now, he was lame in both his feet. Just by reading it, you can tell that it's a picture of grace. Of course there are differences between the Old and the New Testament manifestation, but there are indeed continuities that one might recognize in that readily. The theme here is grace. And that grace comes by way of covenant. And that covenant comes by way of the kindness shown from David to the house of Saul. I want you to understand some of the differences, and I'm going to be brief about this. When you think about covenant, one of the things that you think about is who are the participants in the covenant? For instance, if you think about the covenant between Jonathan and David, which we will think about, that's called a dipluric covenant, which means that it's a covenant made by equals. We might say it's a parity covenant. It's a covenant between two equals. But this covenant that stands in the background of the covenant that we're going to look at tonight, this covenant that stands behind or is foreshadowed in the covenant that we're going to look at between David and Jonathan, that covenant, that covenant that stands in the background is what we might call a monoploric covenant. That is, it's a covenant from God made to us. That is, it's not a covenant between equals. It's a covenant that's initiated by God, it's established by God, it's carried to fruition by God, and its benefits are received because of God. That's what we think of when we think of a monopleric covenant, that covenant that stands behind the one that's teaching us tonight, that one that's between David and Jonathan. And so this story, is a depiction of bountiful grace. Again, there are differences, and I want us to make sure that we understand what those differences are. But there are some rich similarities, and we're going to spend most of our time thinking about the rich similarities. I want to do that by giving you this outline. We're going to think about covenant kindness by means of union. And you might say reunion, but I'm going to say union tonight because it fits theologically with what we're going to say. But after we look at covenantal union, we're going to look at covenant as removal. And that means removal of defilement. And then after looking at covenant as a means of union and covenant as a means of removal, we're gonna look at covenant as a means of restoration. And so union and removal and restoration. Tonight, let's first of all look at covenant as union. Now, I've been using the word covenant, but the word covenant does not appear in the text. I'll tell you what does appear in the text is the word chesed, and you know that word. It's a pregnant word. It's a word that's translated in various ways. It can be translated covenant faithfulness, loyal love, steadfast love, kindness. Steadfast kindness can be translated in any number of ways and is translated in any of those ways throughout the Old Testament. But I want you to know that those words are used synonymously. In other words, if you were to turn to a text like Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 12, you would find that that word is used synonymously. In 7.12 it says this, it says, I'll start at the beginning of the verse, and because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. Now that word steadfast love is chesed. Covenant and chesed are used interchangeably and used synonymously here. And what we find is in this text that we're looking at tonight, chapter 9 of 2 Samuel, the word chesed is used. It's kindness. It's steadfast love. It's faithfulness. All of those things, because it's such a rich and pregnant word. Now, the word covenant means this. It means something like this. To come together in an alliance or an agreement or in a pledge. And again, what stands behind this text is an agreement, a covenantal agreement that was made by David and Jonathan. And we're going to look at that text a little bit tonight, but I want you to initially go there. It's 1 Samuel chapter 20. And in 1 Samuel chapter 20, we see a text that tells us about the covenant between Jonathan and David. I want you to look with me at verse 14, although this is starting in the middle of it. But in 1 Samuel chapter 20, this is Jonathan speaking to David, and he says, if I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord. There's the chesed. Show me the steadfast love of the Lord that I may not die. And then this, and do not cut off your steadfast love, there's chesed again, from my house forever when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. And so here again, we find this idea of Chesed and covenant being used interchangeably. Here, David and Jonathan make a covenant. And when we went through 1 Samuel, we looked at that. Now here's the question that I have for you, and it may take some thinking for you to draw down on, but my question is, what was it that united David and Jonathan at that time? What was it that brought them together in this covenant? What was it? What were the reasons behind Jonathan saying to David, when the Lord puts all of your enemies underfoot, remember me and remember my house? Well, it was that very thing. What united them was the purpose of God. And that purpose of God was God was going to make David king. And you remember that David understood that and so too did Jonathan. And Jonathan was content with David being made king because he was content with the purpose of God. And so you remember he takes off his armor at that point as if to say, You are my king, and I bow before you as unto the Lord. Now, that's important because remember, when Saul found out, he said to his son Jonathan, he said, for as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. In other words, are you stupid? Do you not know that this David lays claim to your throne, and as long as he's here, you're not going to be king? But Jonathan was content with that, and so David and Jonathan enter into a covenant, and Jonathan simply says to David, when the Lord brings about his promise, remember me with kindness, and remember my house with kindness. And so here we find that is all coming to fruition. And this union between David and Jonathan brings blessing. And we see that in 1 Samuel 20 verses 14 and following. I want you to understand all of this because when David asked the simple question, is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? It is that covenant that drives him, that motivates him to ask that question. And then after some investigation, we find that Ziba, who was a servant in the house of David, he says, yes, there is still a son of Jonathan. And that takes us to the removal of defilement. Covenant as a means of removal of defilement. You know, it's interesting to think about what we're told about Mephibosheth. Ziba defines him as a son of Jonathan, but he defines him by his infirmity, doesn't he? He said, yes, there is still a son of Jonathan who is infirm, lame in his feet. It's interesting that he is described that way both at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story. It's something that obviously marks him. I want you to think about how Mephibosheth describes himself. After he hears the wonderful words of David spoken to him that we'll consider in just a minute, he describes himself. He describes himself as a dead dog. Who am I? But a dead dog. Now you think about this. This isn't the dog that you and I have in our house. This isn't the dog we love. This isn't the dog that's part of the family. This is the dog of the ancient Near East. This is the dog that was a nuisance, that was unclean, dirty, defiled. You wanted him out of your sight. A living dog was better than a dead dog because at least when you kicked it, it would get out of the way. But a dead dog, a dead dog, now that's a problem because a dead dog, even when you kick it, it doesn't get out of the way. And Mephibosheth says, I'm a dead dog. But there's something else. Not only is he described by his infirmity, not only does he see himself as a dead dog, but Mephibosheth seems to be a nickname. And we know that, or at least we have suspicions that that's the case, because in 1 Chronicles 8.34 and then 9.40, we're told that Mephibosheth's name is actually Meribbal. But here we're told that his name is Mephibosheth. Now, what Mephibosheth means is sort of difficult to determine, and scholars have tried to work it out. But one of the things that most scholars see in the name is shame or dishonor. And some have said something like, Mephibosheth means a shameful thing. Others have said something like, Mephibosheth means seething dishonor or seething shame. I think any one of them could capture Mephibosheth. Here is a person who lost his honor, lost his dignity, lost his respect. And here's the striking thing, it was all due to David. It was all due to David. After reports came back to the house of Saul that Saul was dead, then there were reports that raiding parties from David were coming to finish the job. And so Mephibosheth's nurse picked up five-year-old Mephibosheth and started to flee. And when she fled, she fell. And when she fell, both of Mephibosheth's ankles were broken. The nurse grabbed him and carried him off to Lodabar, which interestingly means no pasture. One wonders why, but there he doesn't mend well. And he's infirm, lame in his feet, can't walk. Now think about that. I want you to just think about that for a few minutes. You see someone in a wheelchair today, and obviously, if they've been in it a while, they can handle it pretty well. For instance, there are anti-tippers on the back of wheelchairs that most wheelchair users take off after a time, and then they do wheelies around like it's nothing. They have a balance that you or I don't have in a wheelchair. Or think about the people you see on fancy crutches that are able to swing through or able to alternate gate. Or think about the chairs that you see that go up and down staircases. Or the people movers that you see in airports that accommodate people that can't walk as fast. None of that, none of that was available to Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was a dead dog. He was infirm and in the worst of all places to be infirm. And here he was, pulled out of his proverbial hole and carried off to stand before the man who had killed his grandfather or so was rumored. And as he stood before him, he had nothing to compare David with, except his own grandfather, who was paranoid, erratic, godless, and here he stands before what he presumes is his enemy, and David says this, verse seven, listen to this, this must have been incredible. Do not fear. For I will show you kindness for the sake of your Father Jonathan. Think about that. Do not fear. For I will show you covenant faithfulness. I will show you steadfast love. I will show you covenant loyalty for the sake of your Father Jonathan. In other words, here is shame being removed. Here is defilement being carried away. We might say here is a picture of sin being forgiven. And all you have to do is go to the New Testament to see pictures like this. Peter cowering in the boat after the storm, after the storm was calmed. And Jesus Christ saying, do not fear. Or think about Jairus who went to Jesus. His daughter had died and it was whispered to him. Jesus overheard and Jesus said to him, do not fear, only believe. Or think about the paralytic let down through the roof of Peter's mother-in-law's house. And Jesus saying, son, your sins are forgiven you. Or think about the woman who has the issue of blood. who just wants to touch Jesus. And she touches him, and she recedes back into the crowd, and Jesus pauses and says, who touched me? And the woman was afraid to come forward. And you can imagine why she was afraid to come forward. Here, she was a woman who had an issue of blood. She was defiling everyone she touched. And the place was crowded. Not only that, she had defiled Jesus. But she knew that something had changed in her. And Jesus summoned her forward, summoned her courage forward, and she came forward. And Jesus said, daughter, your faith has made you well. All of these are pictures that are bound up, gathered up in this little story about Mephibosheth. Do not fear, because your shame is now lifted. Defilement is taken away. But not only that, covenant means restoration. I want you to think about, again, Mephibosheth living a life of dishonor, embittered and low to bar. But David not only removed the defilement, he restored him. And now this is striking. Look at this. Again, it's in verse seven of our text. Do not fearful, I will show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father. Now listen to this. And you shall eat at my table always. You shall eat at my table always. Verse 11, we see something of the same kind as for Mephibosheth said the king, he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons. This was a table he had no right to eat from. And yet David made him a son. It's as if David adopted him. He ate at the king's table like one of David's sons. It's a beautiful picture of adoption. Can you imagine this? I don't know what kind of man Mephibosheth was. I don't know if he was the kind of man that one had carried around, or if he was the kind of man that would have moved himself around. But here, each time, you see him coming to the king's table, right? And you can imagine a new servant saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, beggars are outside. No, no, no, this is the king's son. And as he pulls himself up to the table, dragging himself all the way, or having help from friends, He pulls himself up to the table and he eats as one who is entitled to eat at the table. You know, I want you to think about this for a minute. It's really a picture, I think it's really in some ways a picture of what we talked about at different times as we've looked at the story of David. It's really a picture between the first Adam and the second Adam. And remember, we made this parallel with Saul being the first Adam and David being the second Adam. And here again, we see that Saul is mentioned. Saul is mentioned. All that Saul had is restored to Mephibosheth. Why? Not because of Saul's faithfulness, but because of David's faithfulness, the second Adam's faithfulness. And so we see here this beautiful picture, theologically rich picture of the restoration of this sinner. And the narrative ends with the same affirmation. I love the way the narrative ends. The narrative ends with two things. It says, for he ate always at the king's table. He was the king's son who was entitled to eat at the table. But then this, now he was lame in both his feet. He had no right to eat at that table. He was at that table because of David's covenant faithfulness for Jonathan's sake. You know, tonight you come. You come to a table that you have no right to eat from. You have absolutely no right to be at this table. Except for the fact that you stand in Jesus Christ. That you've been the recipient of covenant faithfulness. That your sins are forgiven and that you've had righteousness restored. the imputed righteousness of Christ. You are at this table because you are sons and daughters of the king. But never forget the way the story ends. He ate at the king's table always as if he were entitled and he was because he was a son of the king. But he was lame in both his feet. Never forget that you're here by grace because you were lame in your feet, in your whole person, as it were. You were infirm, sinful, unable to bring yourself to the table. In fact, you were dead in your sins. And it was by grace that you've been resurrected and made alive and sat down at this table that you might eat and be satisfied. I I'm so glad that that ended on a song that just so fit right like the high point maybe something a little kind of happier but but it's so appropriate. So let's let's pray. Thank you Lord for the blessing of life in Christ for your son the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for our position in him. And Lord, as we come to the table this evening, we ask that your hand would be upon us for good and that you would indeed bless us and remind us of the blessing that we have in the Lord Jesus. So we pray in his name. Amen.