THE KINDNESS OF GOD
J. Munro
2 Samuel 9: 1–13; 19: 24–These are familiar passages of Scripture that have often been preached from, but can afford to be preached from again, because souls who have savoured what divine mercy and goodness are never tire of hearing the recounting of God’s ways with His people. We are told earlier on in the book that David waxed stronger and stronger but the house of Saul became continually weaker. We can be thankful when that
is so, for it means that Christ is having His place in our hearts and the flesh is having less place. It says in Galatians, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh”
(Galatians 5: 17). It does not say, ‘The Spirit lusts against the flesh’, because you cannot associate lust with the Spirit; but the Spirit is against the flesh. In that section we find what the works of the flesh are and what the fruit of the Spirit is, and there is a very sharp contrast.
So if the house of David is waxing stronger and stronger, we can rejoice, for it must necessarily be that the house of Saul must wax weaker and weaker.
So here was one of the house of Saul, and no doubt he would have his reflections as to the history. His father, Jonathan, had been a lover of David. Maybe, if Mephibosheth was old enough, his father would have spoken well to him of David. Heaven did not lose sight of the fact that Jonathan loved David. Heaven will never lose sight of the fact if there is any response, whatever it is, to divine acts of mercy and grace.
Mr. Raven said a remarkable thing: ‘If a man has the smallest appreciation of Christ—let it be as small as may be—that man is ‘made meet’’ (N.S. Vol.3. p.26). How that opens up what God is in His magnanimity and His power to treasure and carry through even the very slightest appreciation of Christ. God will let nothing of Christ fall to the ground; He will let nothing of Christ disappear; anything that is truly of Christ will be carried right through into the sphere where all that is of God will shine eternally. That is a matter of tremendous comfort to me. You think of persons who have been bright and who have fallen away. I am thinking of a man who was once a bright christian and fell away. He did not become a wicked man, but he stopped going to meetings and he had habits that are not becoming to a christian. Then he died very suddenly. Well, nothing of Christ that was in that man will ever be lost. This is not to put any premium on failure, or give any excuse for anyone to go away, but it is a wonderful thing that the Lord knows them that are His and He is able to bring through every little bit of the heart’s appreciation of Christ and of the goodness of God.
One of the subtle and dangerous things of the present time is that God seemingly has a recognition among certain people, but there is a passing by of Christ. Beware in what you read or listen to of anything that will exalt God and give Him a certain place but ignores Christ. Everything that is of value to God centres in Christ and if in anything He has not His rightful place let us beware of it. God has made Him both Lord and Christ and there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. If it is a matter of approach to the Father, Christ Himself said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father unless by me”, John 14: 6.
God is faithful; God remembers things. He remembers the best part of the history of Israel. In the prophets we are reminded that God remembered things for them, remembered when they went after Him in the wilderness. God never forgets the best times that we have had. So this fact that Mephibosheth’s father had loved David was an advantage to this man away down there in Lodebar, a name which means ‘no pasture, a dry place, a far-away place’. He might, as Jonathan’s son, have expected to be in the king’s house, having the best of everything, but he was in a place with no pasture, remote from the centre of blessing.
Yet God had His eye upon him and He used His beloved, His servant David, to express that. David had feelings sympathetic with those of God. He says, “I will certainly show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake”, but when he makes enquiry of Ziba he says, “If I may show the kindness of God to him”, the kindness of God. David was sympathetic with divine thoughts, he reflected the feelings of God, and he says, “Is there anybody?” Think of God looking around and saying, “Is there anybody?” I am sure that there will be recoveries and there will be movements of heart. Why? Maybe because of a link with the testimony that someone has. We sometimes find that; we hear that So-and-so’s son, or So-and-so’s widow, is interested. Why? In one sense because of their connections with the testimony, though God is able to work at any time, anywhere, with anyone—and let us be prepared for it.
So David sent for him—“Fetch him”. I can imagine this messenger coming to Mephibosheth. It may well have been that Mephibosheth trembled. ‘Is he going to do what he did to those other people? Am I to die? Why is he sending for me?’ Well, he soon found out. The very first thing that David did when Mephibosheth came, possibly trembling, into his presence was to set him at rest. “Fear not; for I will certainly shew 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”. David maintained in his ascendancy the grace that marked him in his rejection. The Lord is the same in glory as He was when here on earth; there is no change in His disposition, no change in His power to overcome by His grace; and His love is still the same—“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and to the ages to come”, Hebrews 13: 8. He is able and ready at all times to exhibit the perfection of the divine disposition of grace and mercy towards poor fallen man—the character of God.
There is coming a time when the ways of God will change. His character will not change; His attributes will not change; but there is a time of judgment coming. It must be so; the Scriptures give plain declaration of that. God is able with infinite accuracy to deal with every situation and every person in perfect righteousness. But it is wonderful to think of the way in which grace and forgiveness are now being extended to those who have not merited them.
So here is Mephibosheth; at a stroke his circumstances have changed; things have taken on another aspect altogether. That is just like conversion. You go through the gospels and you find how many people had just one transaction with the Lord and from that time things were completely different. We come to meetings and it very often takes a long time before we yield to divine grace. Nevertheless, that has not changed the way God has acted; it has not changed His patience; it only brings out and glorifies the way God in patience and in grace carries on with His work.
The passage in 2 Samuel 19 shows that Mephibosheth had been deceived by his servant Ziba who had conveyed to David that Mephibosheth was not grateful for David’s intervention (see 2 Samuel 16). Nevertheless Mephibosheth manifests the working of grace. He had received not only a place at David’s table which in his own mind no doubt was the greatest thing—but he had received Saul’s land. He had been given servants and these servants were commissioned to till the land and bring forth the fruits of it. So Mephibosheth in a certain sense was independent. But that was nothing compared with the grace that had
affected his soul in that he was to eat bread continually at the king’s table.
So David is mollified to a certain extent and says, “Thou and Ziba divide the land”.
Mephibosheth just got half his former possessions; he had his inheritance reduced. But Mephibosheth was not concerned about that. He would say, ‘Let him take the lot. As long as I have a place at your table the rest can go by the board’. The apostle Paul, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, says, “On account of whom I have suffered the loss of all”, Philippians 3: 8. Oh, a true Mephibosheth was the apostle, and naturally he had had a good deal to boast of.
He says, “I count also all things to be loss, on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”, Philippians 3: 8. Wonderful language!
Oh let us have hearts that are appreciative of the grace that has taken us up and given us a place at the King’s table. That is worth more than anything else, dear brethren; it is the fellowship of God’s Son Jesus Christ our Lord; that is one of the greatest privileges that we can have. If we lose everything else here, if we have that, it is something to rejoice in. Let us be more appreciative and able to discriminate as to what our true blessings are. Any loss that we might have does not count in comparison. There will be loss; there is loss, and there will possibly be more. Things are getting very difficult; we feel for the younger generation.
Things in the world are closing up, but we have this confidence, that God will make a way through and that as you esteem the Lord Jesus, and the testimony and the fellowship have the first place. God will see to the rest. We are not promised fortunes, we are not promised the best of everything, but if we have Christ, as one in poverty could say, ‘What want I more?’ It will be worth it, brethren;
it will be worth it, young people; make your resolution that whatever happens you will stay by David’s table, to appreciate the fellowship and appreciate the grace that has given you a place in the divine presence where there is peace and rest. Amen.
Substance of preaching at Airdrie
18 December 1977