I can't tell you what a delight it is to be here. It's been, I was here last year because I got COVID in Lexington and I had to delay my flight for a week. So I was planning to come down and have a cup of coffee with Gabe and move on. And we ended up staying for days. I'm thankful for COVID. I'm thankful for the God who rules and reigns over all things. And I'm thankful to all of you for being here. It is just a delight. What a feast we had last night and what a glorious God we have. I just do have to thank some people. Sam and Angel have been amazing putting up with me and being over and above normal kindness. So I appreciate it. I don't know where they are. I appreciate you very much. Thank you. And thank you, Gabe and Hannah and Isabella and Sophie. They're gonna be putting up with me for another couple of days. So it's just lovely. It's just such a treat to be here, isn't it? are here gathered because a great God gathers his people and we're practicing for our time in heaven, aren't we? And it'll be a far more glorious time than this, but this is just a foretaste of wonderful things to come. And I bring greetings from our friends back in the church in Australia and we just, we love your pastor. And people look at pastors and they do, they're incredibly significant in the purpose of God. But Gabe's a pastor here because there's a congregation here. And I'm here because there's a congregation back in Nauru. And we so often esteem men and we shouldn't. We should esteem the God that puts men in their places. We have a treasure. We have a treasure. The treasure is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the treasure is in a vessel of clay. I'd like you all to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 9 with me, and I want to give you my biography. If anyone ever wants to know what's the story of Angus Fisher, here it is, written by God 3,000 years ago. And it's the glorious story of all of God's children. This is your story, this is my story. And I've entitled this message, Accomplished Kindness. And the verse that I wanted us to ponder is verse three, is, is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And that word show, I don't know how to pronounce it properly, but it's S-H-E-W. And it means to execute and accomplish. It's all very well knowing that there's kindness there, isn't there? But this is kindness that's accomplished kindness. It's kindness that reaches to the Mephibosheths of this world. So let's read this glorious chapter about our great King and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 one of the house of Saul, a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, art thou Ziba? And he said, thy servant is he. And the king said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan has yet 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 Makar, the son of Ammiel in Lodabar. Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Makar, the son of Ammiel of Lodabar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face. and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant. And David said unto him, Fear not, 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 shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am?' Then 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. Thou, therefore, and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him, and thou shall bring in the fruit that thy master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, 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 servant, So shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, Said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah, and all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at the king's table, and was lame on both his feet. May the Lord bless his word. This is a story of the kindness of God. We lost sight, didn't we, in our fall in our father, and we lost sight of so much of the glory of God, that we lost sight of the kindness of God to his people. And I love the fact that this is a kindness that's accomplished kindness. This is a kindness, this is an executed kindness. This is a kindness that gathers God's people to himself. And we've been sitting at the king's table. gazing upon the king being fed by the king what a feast what a feast we have as i said this is my biography but i want you to contemplate some things with me as we go through this story briefly this morning i want us to look at a great king of kindness i want to look at a covenant promising kindness and a covenant that performs kindness. I wanted to look at the natural objects of kindness, the natural home of the objects of kindness. And I want to look at the power of the King's kindness in bringing his people to himself. And I want to see a sinner drawn to the King of kindness. And I want us to look at a called sinner living on the King's kindness. We have a great and glorious God and I came to this passage of scripture because we've been going through John's gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ makes a great promise in John 12. He says, when I'm lifted up, when I'm lifted up, I'll draw all, all of his sheep will be drawn to him. Only a lifted up saviour, only a lifted up king is the one that draws. So let's begin. I want us to begin with the first word of our sentence and it's and I want us to talk about a glorious king of kindness, this glorious king. And, and refers to everything that went before, it's a conjunction. If you read the previous chapters, you'll see that God was with David as a shepherd boy. God was with David before Goliath. God was with David subduing his enemies. God was with David in all of those terrible years when Saul pursued him like a dog around Israel and the countries around. God was with him. to make him a great king. And David was a king who honoured the covenant. There was nothing he would do to Saul or the house of Saul, because Saul was God's anointed. God was with him in preserving him from Saul. God was with him in making him to be king, not only over Judah, over all of Israel at Hebron. And God was with him in the previous couple of chapters. In chapter seven, he's making the most remarkable promises to David, isn't he? You'll have a house forever. You'll have a house forever. He is a great king. David had the Lord of hosts with him and he could seek counsel from the Lord and act on that counsel. He was a man after God's own heart. David was a man who had God with him, but the Lord Jesus Christ whom David is a picture of was God himself. And this God is a God who has power over all flesh. He has power over all events. Don't you love what Isaiah 42 says about our great king? He shall not fail. Write it down, brothers and sisters. He shall not fail. When he is kind, the kindness is received. We don't speak of common grace and common kindness, we're speaking of a kindness that reaches to the hearts of Mephibosheth like us. He has power. And David said, all that David said was law in Israel. All that David said will come to pass, as it is with our great God. David said in verse one, is there yet any left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness? The kindness is his to bestow. It's his to bestow. And if you're a recipient of that kindness, you delight in the fact that God doesn't just offer anything at all. He actually performs, our great God. What kindness, a reigning king and reigning for the glory of God. He's an absolute sovereign, he's a glorious sovereign. He pictures the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son that was to come from that house that was a house that's going to last forever, an eternal house. But also as an absolute sovereign, he is a tender shepherd to his people. What tenderness is in the heart of our God towards his people. He carries his lambs in his arms close to his heart, doesn't he? He's a great shepherd, a great king. And he is a king of covenant. The covenant is a covenant of kindness, isn't it? He said, is there any that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Turn with me back to 1 Samuel 18, and let's read a few verses here. And it came to pass, chapter 18, verse one, it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, 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 and would not let him go no more to home to his father. And Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. There's a love between the brethren in this world, isn't there? There is. It's very real and very, very sweet. And I love the acknowledgement. Jonathan was a rightful heir to the throne of Israel, but listen to... What Jonathan did here, and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him, that royal robe, and gave it unto David and his garments, even to his sword and his bow and his girdle. What kindness, what kindness there is in this covenant and how it makes the object of that kindness just so willing to bow before the rightful king. It's a covenant. We can read about it a little bit more if you turn over a page in chapter 20, verse 14 and 15. And it says, and thou shalt not only, while yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord that I die not. but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord cut off the enemies of David and everyone from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with David, with the house of David saying, the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. We're here because of an eternal covenant. David died, rested his head on his pillow at the end of the life and he says, God has made with me a covenant. It's an everlasting covenant, it's eternal, it's secure and it's in every detail. It's all his salvation, it's all his delight. It's an eternal covenant and this is a picture of the eternal covenant. It was made between the king and the son of the king. That's the covenant, isn't it? It's a glorious thing to think of what happened before the foundation of the world. Our salvation's a very, very old salvation, brothers and sisters. And our salvation's a very secure salvation, isn't it? God the Father took a people and gave them as a bride promise to his son. And his son embraced them and knew every single one of them and everything that would ever happen to them. and said, I'll bring them home. I'll bring them. We're going to be in this house, sitting at this king's table forever. Jonathan knew that David would have an eternal house. God has a house in the heavens prepared for his people. And we're in that covenant because we're in the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father and God the Son promised. And don't you love the fact that the children of God were saved from the foundation of the world? I'm sure you know it well, but just turn with me to 2 Timothy 1. It's just so good to hear these words of God again about this covenant, because the covenant is the issue here. And the covenant reflects the glory of the King of kindness, and the covenant ensures that all of what the covenant promised is going to be delivered to all the children of God. Verse nine, this is the power of God who has saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. And what are we doing here today? What are we doing as we gather? But is now made manifest by the appearing of our saviour, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. It's an eternal covenant. The covenant is Christ himself. All the blessings of the covenant are him. All of the blessings of the covenant are in him. No wonder the scriptures go on to say this is the sure mercies of David. That's another word that can describe this kindness, this loving kindness, this mercy, the sure mercies of David, the sure mercies promised The sure mercy is procured and the sure mercy is possessed of all the children of God. I love what Paul said when he wrote to Philemon. He said, anything he owes, you put it on my account. That was the covenant, wasn't it? Everything they owe, everything they owe God in perfect righteousness. Perfect obedience, perfect love to God and neighbour, perfectly glorifying him, you put it on my account. And all of their sins, you put it on my account. You put it on my account. I'm responsible. I'm responsible. The great shepherd takes responsibility for his sheep. The terms of this covenant are really clear in the scriptures, aren't they? They're governed by two words, aren't they? Two phrases, I will, and they shall, and he shall not fail. I will, and they shall. My sheep will hear my voice. They'll know me, and they'll know my kindness. I will be their God, and they will be my people, and they will know me. the glory of what Mephibosheth and my story and your story, brothers and sisters in Christ, is, is that there was a covenant made before Mephibosheth knew about it. And possibly before he was even born, the covenant was ordered and sure in every detail. But let's go on and look at what Mephibosheth shows us. of man in his natural state. If you go back to 2 Samuel chapter 4, there's a description of what happened to Mephibosheth to put him in this particular state. And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel. And his nurse took him up and fled, and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. He's lame in both feet from a fall. And he fell when another fell. And no doubt the nurse of Mephibosheth fell when she heard that news, that David is now on the throne. The life of all of Saul's family is forfeit. And she fled. And as she fled, maybe she fell down some stairs, but she broke the feet of Mephibosheth. And this was a lifelong infirmity. We fell in our Father Adam. We spoke about it last night. We fell so grievously in our Father Adam. We fell in him, we fell with him, and we were there in the garden. We sinned. We sinned. He had legs but couldn't walk and they could never be healed. He was, from this moment on, completely dependent to the circumstances around him, completely captive and he was at the mercy of others for the rest of his days. He had no ability to heal his problem. He was in a fixed state when we were, what does Romans 5 say? Without strength, no ability whatsoever. This fall, as I said, was a rush to escape the presence of the king. There was common practice, wasn't it? When a new king took over, anyone that wasn't of that family, their life was forfeit. Did Mephibosheth have any desire to be in the presence of the king? This kind king, this good king, he knew nothing of the kindness of the king. He had no desire to be in his presence. Did he have any knowledge of the kindness of the king? No. Did he have any knowledge of the covenant that the king had made with his father? He had no idea. He was hiding. That's what we are, aren't we? That's how Adam was in the garden and that's how the Lord finds all of his people. We're running from God. As far and as fast and as quickly and as passionately as we possibly can. I did it for 20 years, brothers and sisters. I did it for 20 years to my great shame and I was running from God because I was so troubled about what he might demand of me. And I had absolutely no notion that he was a great God who'd come to give. Has that been your story? Spiritually dead in every faculty of a being. Not sick, but dead. It seems like that's the most easy thing and most understandable thing you could possibly imagine. And yet, in religion, it never ever accounts for... Dead is dead. It's as simple as that, isn't it? Dead is dead. We have a heart, but no love for God. We have a mind, but no true thoughts of God and no understanding of God. We have eyes and we can't see. We have feet, but we have no ability to walk to God or walk in God's ways. We just love darkness. Love darkness rather than the light. We can talk about sin and total depravity all day long, but until you see the Saviour on that cross with those wounds, until you see that your sin cost the Lord Jesus Christ and cost his Father, Everything is vanity. There is no cure. There's no cure without a knowledge of the disease. And where do these people live? Where did I live? Where did you live? In Lodabar. Lodabar simply means no pasture. It's a wilderness land of starvation and death. There's no water or life from heaven. It's a land of want and need. It's a land of unfulfilled and unsatisfied desires. That's this world, isn't it? It's Lodabar. Living on the husks of this world. And Lodabar, according to the scholars, is in Gilead. And Gilead's across the Jordan. It's about as far away as you can get from the temple of God and the worship of God and the fellowship of God's people. It's a place, it seemed to Mephibosheth and his nurse and others around him, a place of safety. from David. All of us, all of us come into this world and we're busy building, building, building and we're building refuges and the refuges are refuges of lies and only an overwhelming flood from the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit revealing him to us can sweep away that refuge of lies. It'll be swept away, won't it? It'll be swept away in this life for the children of God. It'll be swept away when those who are not his children meet him at the end of their journey here. Mephibosheth was there in that land always with the constant knowledge that my life is in the king's hands. My life is forfeit. There was kindness already promised, but he was a stranger to it. There might be some here today that are strangers to it. And when does, when does a man come? When does one of these fallen Mephibosheths come? Listen to what David says. He says, then King David sent and fetched him. Fetched him. David called these people together and called Ziba and said, is there anyone? Is there anyone? This is a glorious picture, isn't it, of the power of the King's word. This is the power of the king's word, the power of the king's kindness being revealed. It's the king's word that's remembering a covenant of love and a covenant of promise. Mephibosheth could not and would not come to the king. In fact, when all Israel gathered together and made David king, Mephibosheth no doubt heard about it, and he wasn't there. He wasn't there to honour this king at all. David sent and fetched him. It's a command from God, brothers and sisters. The Gospel comes as a command from God. A command that will be obeyed because it has all the power of God Almighty. A command with the power to perform the command. The great command, isn't it? I will and they shall. I'll call them. I'll call them. And they'll come. They'll hear me speak their name personally with power to them. And they will come. They are the blessed people, aren't they? I do love Psalm 65, verse 4. The Lord said, blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. We preach never knowing where that word is going, but we also preach with the greatest confidence, brothers and sisters. This word is not my word, these are God's words going out. And his words will come with power into the hearts of his people. So how did Mephibosheth come to this great and merciful and kind king? Imagine what his journey was. If he was in Lodabar, he would have had two days of being carried into the presence of the king. What was he thinking? What was he thinking on that journey? Verse six of our text. Now, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, He fell on his face and did reverence. He fell on his face and did reverence. Paul on the Damascus road is a pattern, brothers and sisters. There's no need to reverence a God who loves everyone. and sent his son to die for everyone, and he's trying to save everyone, and he's a beggar at the heart's door of humanity. Our God is on a throne. You see him as he is, you'll reverence him. You'll see him as he is, you will fall down before him. You will reverence him. And listen to what Mephibosheth says, Thy servant. He hears David speak his name and he says, behold, thy servant. Why me? Amazed at grace, amazed at being called into the presence of God. And here we have David's words of kindness. Fear not. Fear not. That's what the Lord Jesus said to those disciples, isn't he, on that night, that glorious night after the resurrection. Fear not. Fear not. Fear not because of something Mephibosheth could do. Or would do? No, listen to what David goes on to say. I, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake. This is amazing rags to riches story, isn't it? And I will return unto thee all the land of Saul thy father. It's amazing grace. And thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. There's one word missing from our understanding of things and the religious world's understanding of things, isn't there? There is no if, brothers and sisters. There is no if of our performance and our activities in the covenant of grace. There is no if. Thou shalt, I will, and thou shalt. Mephibosheth fell on his face and did reverence and he bowed himself and said in verse 8, what is thy servant that thou should look upon a dead dog such as I? I love that story of the Syrophoenician woman. It's not right to take the king's bread and cast it to the dogs. Truth, Lord. Truth, Lord. You came for a particular people to save a particular people. Truth, Lord. But can I take a place, take the place of a dog and just get a crumb from your table? Truth, Lord. This is a picture of a sinner living on the kindness of God, on the mercies of God, the loving kindness of God. How did Mephibosheth get to the king's table for each meal? He was carried there. What did Mephibosheth ever do to earn the king's mercy? Nothing. What could he do? What could he do? What did Mephibosheth do to bring glory to the King? You sit, eat and enjoy. Our God, brothers and sisters in Christ, delights in mercy. And all of we Mephibosheths delight in receiving mercy. What shall I render? Psalm 116, what shall I render unto the Lord? For all his benefits toward me, I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Why is it this way? Why is salvation this way? Who gets all the glory? And if God gets all the glory, the children of God are at most at peace. And what a feast it was at that table. And I can't help but think that when David looked across that table and saw Mephibosheth, he saw something of Jonathan in Mephibosheth and that love and that covenant. And such it is with us, brothers and sisters. God sees us. He knows us by name. We sit at the king's table, delighting in the bread of life and the water of life, the sustenance for guilty souls. And what did David mean to Mephibosheth? He was now the king's son. Listen to what verse 9 says. Thy master's son shall eat, this is what he said to Ziba, thy master's son shall eat always at my table. He goes on to repeat it, he shall eat bread always at my table as one of the king's sons. As one of the king's sons. Sons, sons of God. O what manner of love, O what manner of love, O what manner of mercy and kindness. Sinners saved by mercy just never get over it and we're continually reminded we need to be carried to the King's table again and again and again by the sovereign hand of a merciful and kind God. And not only was he there, but Mephibosheth was to be served by servants. He was, and he still was, lame in both his feet. In the few minutes that I want to finish with, I want to finish with a couple of postscripts, but I want us to be amazed. I was amazed when I looked up Mephibosheth's name. It means exterminating idols. Isn't that a remarkable name that God gave to this man? What a remarkable picture, isn't it? The story of Mephibosheth and the covenant, the covenant of kindness and the covenant of love. It exterminates all the idols of false religion. It exterminates all the idols for the children of God, of all the false notions that we have, that we think we have to do something to get into the presence of God and we do have to do something to stay in the presence and the favour of God. This is in eternal covenant, underneath our everlasting arms, brothers and sisters. You can rest your head on your pillow and your dying pillow. We receive grace for grace. Of his fullness have we all received. Grace for grace. Grace begins. Grace builds and grace continues. And grace is the shouting of the headstone. There are a couple of quick, I won't read the passages for you. As you, we know Mephibosheth was there and the servants were looking after him and David's troubles with Abbaselon came and David was to flee from Jerusalem and Mephibosheth organised all of All of these in verse 16, 2 Samuel 16, one, Mephibosheth organized for the asses to be saddled and upon them 200 loaves of bread and 100 bunches of raisins and 100 summer fruits and a bottle of wine. And Mephibosheth arranged all this to be sent with David as he left. And Ziba the servant went to David and betrayed him in the most appalling way. the most appalling way. He betrayed the one who had bestowed so much kindness on him. He betrayed the one for whom he owed all of the kindness that he had. You've been betrayed. You've been hurt. You will be. It's part of the journey. It shouldn't be. And it shouldn't be us. But it is. In chapter 19, David finally wins a victory and he is grieved, so deeply grieved over the death of Absalom, but he's restored to the kingship. What's to happen to Mephibosheth? In the eyes of David, what he'd been told by Ziba, Mephibosheth had betrayed him that he might take the throne for himself. And it was all a lie. And Mephibosheth, when David comes, just listen to, turn with me to 2 Samuel 19, 24. And Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king. And during this time, however many months it was, you can imagine the state of this man who had so few people to look after him. But he'd neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes from the day the King departed until he came again in peace. And when it came to pass, and it came to pass, and when he's come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, wherefore wentest thou not with me, Mephibosheth? And he says, I've been deceived. My life is forfeit again. And David is saddened by that and he says in verse 29, I just don't want to speak about this anymore. And Mephibosheth said, David had promised Ziba all of what Mephibosheth had. And Mephibosheth said in verse 30, and this is glorious, said unto the king, let him take it all. Let him take it all. Let the people of this world have it all. I just want to be at your feet. I just want to be at your table. To have you is to have life. To have the Lord Jesus Christ is to have everything, brothers and sisters. Nothing lacking. So often, In the trials of this world, we must feel as if we come to the king, like Mephibosheth, don't we? Dressed in rags and filthy. Unwashed. Unkept. Unloved. But what did Mephibosheth do? He came. He came down. He came down. And our great God, our great God, our great and kind God said, you come back at the table. One of the king's sons dressed and fit to be in the presence of the king again and enjoying his company. There's just one last event in Miss Fibbersheff's life. Excuse me. There were three years of famine, and David inquired of the Lord as to why that famine was. And it was a famine in the land because Saul had betrayed a covenant, a covenant that was made a long time ago with the Gibeonites not to slay them. And there was a three-year famine, and the Gibeonites are asked, what will it cost? What will it cost? What's needed to appease you? Seven of Saul's sons. Seven of Saul's sons. Read with me in verse seven of chapter 21 of 2 Samuel. Seven to die, seven to be hung. And here we have the glorious word of the gospel, isn't it? But the king spared Mephibosheth. The king spared Mephibosheth. That's my biography. If anyone ever wants to know about the story of Angus Fisher, there you have it. kindness accomplished by a glorious king, a glorious king. He took all of our sins upon himself and he's now robed us in the very righteousness of God. And here we are having a foretaste of what it is to be at the king's table, feasting upon that broken body and that shed blood. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you. Amen. Thank you.