2 Samuel 9:1-8

Yeah, okay, well, I don't know how much story you've received or haven't received, but Nathan was here this morning.

! He was trying really hard to push through and make it. As you know, he's stubborn like I am and a lot of other people, but he finally decided to tap out and go home and then make the 730 phone call to me, phone a friend to pick up the service.

And so, but I myself, some of you that know me well know I probably have some mild insomnia, so I'm not really fully awake this morning myself, but I was glad to help out.

So, I went upstairs and thankfully, my wife Kathleen made some oatmeal for me and some coffee and I slammed that down. No Red Bull or pre-workout is in the equation this morning.

I probably should have gone to some of that, but I thought it would make me too jittery.

So, I was upstairs just like, alright Lord, here we are. What in the world are we going to talk about this morning? What will you have your people here?

And for some reason, my mind was led to another time I was asked to preach short notice. I think it was like in 2010 probably or 11.

And just a story that illustrates just the simple gospel, one that we are prone to forget, one that we are prone to wander from.

And so, I was in doing some mission stuff, doing some ministry in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

And my best friend Mark, he was in charge of this ministry team.

And he said, so, you want to preach tonight? And that was like two hours away.

And I told him, are you serious? I kind of like laughed at first.

And then he's like, I'm not joking. I'm like, do you want to preach tonight?

And we were in inner city Belfast and at a church that was just sitting right in the middle of inner city Belfast.

And it was around the time of the year when there's a lot of conflict and rioting and fighting in Belfast.

There's a lot of tension between Irish Catholics and, quote, you know, British, Scottish Protestants who were there.

And there was a pretty big riot that year, actually.

And we were right near the place where the two neighborhoods kind of meet.

So, that's where all the stuff goes down.

Like, you know, Irish Catholics over here and the, I'm just saying, quote, Protestant, not real, probably, in a lot of ways.

But on this side of the street.

And I knew that a lot of them were going to be around that week.

A lot of them were going to come around and hear, like, what is this, what is going on at this gathering over here?

So, that's what my friend asked me to preach at.

And I told him, like, do you really want me to preach this short notice?

And he was like, you Americans, you rely so much on, like, preparation.

And he just started giving me a hard time about not being prepared to, like, just give a message.

And as you know, he's very sarcastic in a loving way.

And so, I don't know why, but I was led to 2 Samuel.

So, open your Bibles there.

And probably a big mouthful of Hebrew narrative is not the best thing to preach on in the morning when you're really tired.

But the Lord has pictured his gospel for us in so many ways.

We're blessed to have a Bible that comes to us in such an incredible form.

Where there's everything from law to historical accounts to poetry.

And different ways that God has sought to reveal himself to us.

And in our passage, we'll be in 2 Samuel chapter 9.

2 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

It's a wonderful story that depicts what God has done for us in Christ.

And as I thought about it, I don't think that, at least myself, I've never spoken on this before here.

And as many of you are aware, the Old Testament, what we call the Old Testament,

is all in many ways foreshadowing and pointing to a greater fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

So, God sovereignly was organizing and bringing about so many things to depict for us

what he would do one day for us in Christ.

And this is a story that really, really moves me.

And I hope it does the same for you.

But let's give you some context before we start getting into chapter 9.

Most of you know that King Saul was Israel's first king.

And he had wandered away from the Lord and he had sought very simple things out.

And God had judged him and said, basically, you will no longer be king over Israel.

And as time went by, Saul was killed by the Philistines,

along with his three sons, his three heirs.

And that included Jonathan, who was David's really close friend, if you remember that story.

Jonathan was one of David's close confidants, even though his father was seeking to kill David.

But Jonathan was killed as well in this battle with the Philistines.

And David, even before Saul was actually killed, was anointed king by Samuel.

God had told Samuel, go and find this one that I'm going to appoint to be king over Israel.

And he found him right out in the field, watching the sheep, and anointed him to be the king.

So David was really just waiting for God's timing and still trying to honor Saul,

because he had a great love for Saul, even though Saul was trying to kill him.

But after this disaster happened, and Saul was killed along with his three sons,

there was a civil war that erupted in the nation.

And under Saul, they had been united under one nation.

But after that, he was killed, it broke off back into the old ways of more like tribal rivalries

with all the different tribes kind of fighting each other.

But most of the tribes were connected to the house of Saul.

And they fought against David and his house, which was the house of Judah.

And over time, David began winning more and more victories.

And the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

And there was one connection still to Saul.

His name was Ish-bosheth.

And he eventually was leading the forces that were fighting against David.

And at some point, somebody thought it would be a good idea to kill him and brutally kill him,

hoping to gain favor with David.

So he brought the head of this man to David.

And David was not happy.

He said, you have unjustly and cruelly murdered this man,

even though he was a connection to the house of Saul.

And so he executed that man.

And so after all this happened, the civil war was over.

Everyone began looking to David for leadership over the nation.

And that around the age of 30, he was crowned king of a united Israel and Judah.

So one nation again.

And in history, this was sort of the golden age in a lot of ways,

that they look back on the nation of Israel when David was the king.

And so here's what we pick up in our text.

We'll start at verse 1, chapter 9.

And David said,

All right.

All right.

So after he's crowned king, David steps back and he asks this question,

Is there anyone left in Saul's family at all that I may show kindness to him,

as God has shown kindness to me?

And so he learns about the son of Jonathan.

And why is this uncommon?

This is a very, very uncommon thing.

I could give you, I will spare you, probably spare myself too at this point.

But there are a ton of historical accounts of when someone takes over rule of a nation,

like an emperor or a king or whatever.

There's tons of this in Roman history.

They would make sure that there was no immediate threat to their position as ruler.

So they would have anyone related to the previous ruler just killed, executed,

to strengthen their own position.

So stepping back, there's a pretty amazing that David didn't do this

because if Saul had a direct descendant,

technically that could be argued that he was supposed to be the king and not David.

And then civil war could happen all over again.

But in 2 Samuel chapter 4,

2 Samuel 4 · chapter mention

this is actually a reference back,

going back to the son of Jonathan.

But 2 Samuel 4.4 says,

Jonathan, the son of Saul,

had a son who was crippled in his feet.

He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel.

And his nurse took him up and fled.

And as she fled in her haste,

he fell and became lame.

And his name was Mephibosheth.

So this descendant of Saul,

Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth,

he had been injured and he was lame.

Couldn't walk.

Had to be carried around everywhere.

And so David deliberately seeks out Mephibosheth,

not to do him harm like as would be expected,

but to do good to him.

So Mephibosheth had no part in this

and taking initiative to go and see David.

More than likely, he was fleeing for his life,

hoping David would not kill him.

He was afraid.

So, that was point number one, by the way.

Verses one through four.

Which is, if you want to write this down,

there's only three this morning,

but the first one is like,

moved by grace.

And that's seen in verses one through four.

Moved by grace.

David deliberately sought out this descendant of Saul

to show him kindness.

All right?

So then we will read on.

This goes into the second point,

which is a humble response.

A humble response.

And we'll see this in verses five through eight.

Then King David sent and brought him

from the house of Meshire,

and the son of Emiel at Lodabar.

And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan,

son of Saul, came to David,

fell on his face, and paid homage.

And David said, Mephibosheth.

And he answered,

Behold, I am your servant.

So he's just laying down like,

Please don't kill me.

I'm 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?

So we see a humble response

from Mephibosheth.

He came into the situation

expecting like I've been caught,

and now I'm going to be executed

by King David.

And he is mind blown.

He's probably just on his face

prostrated before King David

saying, I'm your servant.

I'm your humble servant.

Please don't.

Please don't kill me.

And David says,

Hey, listen,

I haven't brought you here to do this.

I'm bringing you here

because I want to show you kindness

for the sake of your father, Jonathan.

He still couldn't believe it.

He was shocked,

and then he responded,

Who am I?

He calls himself,

Why are you showing regard for me?

I'm like a dead dog.

I have no value at all.

So you've got to ask yourself,

What is David's motives

for showing kindness

towards Mephibosheth?

He, again, has nothing to offer.

He has no service he can offer to David

because he's lame.

He's physically unable to.

He has no case to plead before him.

No money to offer.

So he expected death.

So why did David do this?

And at least from our text,

we can pick up two reasons

why David chose to show

such kindness to this young guy.

The first one, it says,

Kindness for Jonathan's sake.

He desires to display

the love and the loyalty he had to Jonathan,

who was his best friend.

And a long time ago,

in 1 Samuel chapter 20,

1 Samuel 20 · chapter mention

Jonathan and David

make a covenant together

and basically say,

After all this is over,

will you swear before God

to take care of my family

and anyone that follows me?

And they both promised each other that.

If something happens to the other,

they would see to it

that they looked after their family.

So he made that covenant with David

before God.

And this was him being faithful

to that covenant.

The second thing

that we also see in our text,

it says,

That I may show the kindness

of the Lord to you.

David could love his enemies

because he had experienced

being loved as an enemy

by God.

He was very, very mindful

that his own sin

and his own rebellion

against God

deserved death as well.

But now he wanted to display

the kindness

and forgiveness of God

in how he treated Mephibosheth.

There's only a couple of places

for you to look today

outside of our main text,

but hold your hand there.

But go to Psalm 25.

Psalm 25 and verse 6.

And this is a psalm of David.

He's pouring his heart out

to the Lord.

So David wrote this.

And just to kind of give you

a glimpse into his heart

and his relationship with God,

that he was very aware

that he himself

had received mercy from God.

So look at verse 6.

He says,

Remember your mercy, O Lord,

and your steadfast love.

For they have been

from of old.

Remember not

the sins of my youth

or my transgressions.

According to your steadfast love,

remember me

for the sake of your goodness,

O Lord.

Good and upright

is the Lord.

Therefore,

he instructs sinners

in the way.

He leads the humble

in what is right

and teaches the humble

his way.

All the paths of the Lord

are steadfast love

and faithfulness

for those who keep

his covenant

and his testimonies.

For your name's sake,

O Lord,

pardon my guilt

for it is great.

Really remember

verse 11 particularly.

For your name's sake,

O Lord,

pardon my guilt

for it is great.

So David is a man

who is very aware

of his own sin

and his own rebellion

against the holy God

and that God has

shown him mercy,

shown him his goodness

and his steadfast love.

And so,

all of us know

that if you actually

have been touched

and saved

and born again,

you can't look at

other people around you,

including your enemies,

the same way anymore.

You are transformed

by the grace of God.

And so,

this is David's motivation.

He wants to keep

his covenant

that he made

to his loyal

and best friend,

Jonathan,

but also to display

the kindness

and forgiveness

of the Lord.

So you can go back

to 2 Samuel.

And this brings us

to our third point.

Point number three

is accepted

and blessed

by the king.

All right.

So verse 9.

It says,

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 bread

to eat.

But Mephibosheth,

your master's grandson

shall always eat

at my table.

Now Ziba

had 15 sons

and 20 servants.

And Ziba

said to the king,

According to all

that my lord

the king

commands

his servant,

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 Mekah.

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.

So,

not only

does David

just spare his life,

he could have said,

I brought you here

just so you would

be aware

that I could

execute you,

but I'm just

going to get rid

of you instead.

Just disappear.

Get out of my sight.

I don't want

to see you again.

He could have said that

and that would have

actually still

been merciful.

That actually

still would have

been a crazy act

to the people

around him.

Like,

why aren't you

killing this guy?

But,

he not only

just shows him

mercy,

but he blesses

him with land

and servants

that came

from the house

of Saul.

So,

you see that

greed was not

really in David's.

He didn't really

care about all

of that.

He gave it

to Mephibosheth

so that he would

have somewhere

to go

and people

to help him

because of his

condition.

And so,

not only

he just stops

there,

it goes even

further.

One more step.

Not just spares

his life,

not just gives

him land

and servants.

But then he

says,

hey,

I want you

to know

that you

always have

the right

to come

and eat

here with

me,

the king.

You're

always welcome

at my

table.

And said,

join this

fellowship

and join

friendship

with me

and come

and eat

with me.

At best,

right?

He could have

just said,

get out of

the knowledge,

but he said,

I don't want

to just stop

there.

I want you

to really

see the

mercy and

grace of

God.

So I

want you

to come

and actually

dine with

me as if

you were

one of

my own

sons.

I mean,

so mind

blowing.

And I

love the

emphasis in

our text.

It kind

of reminds

you at

the end

of verse

13.

Now he

was lame

on both

feet.

Just,

you know,

most of you

who are,

he's repeating

himself by

saying just

the emphasis

is that this

man had

nothing to

offer the

king at

all.

And the

king accepted

him, forgave

him, and

blessed him,

and made him

a part of

his own

family.

So what

is some

application then

for us,

if we haven't

gotten some

of that

already?

A few

things.

One is,

just as the

house of

David and

the house

of Saul

were at

war with

each other,

we also,

apart from

Christ,

are at

war with

God.

All of

us have

shown great

rebellion and

great hostility

to God

himself.

Unimaginable

hostility between

God and

man.

All of us

have done

this,

all of us.

In Romans

6, 23,

a well-known

verse, it

says,

for the wages

of sin is

death.

God is

of such

great value,

such unimaginable

beauty and

greatness and

perfection,

that for us

just to look

at him and

say, you

are no longer

God, but I'm

going to rule

my own life

and do what

I want to

do, isn't

just a trivial

thing, it's

treason of

the worst

kind.

And so,

all of us

have exchanged

the truth

about God

for a lie,

and we

worship the

things in

this world

rather than

the creator

himself.

All of us

are at war

with God,

and by

right, if

he desires

so, God

could destroy

us without

showing us

any mercy.

But another

connection to

our story is

the pursuit

of God.

As David

pursued

Mephibosheth,

he had

nothing to

do with

that.

He didn't

initiate

anything with

David at

all.

He was on

the run.

He was

hiding,

hoping he

wouldn't be

caught by

David like

a fugitive.

But David

intentionally,

deliberately

sought this

man out and

pursued him.

And the

connection is

that God

has intentionally,

not by

accident,

not because

he came up

with a new

plan,

but God

has

intentionally

pursued us

by sending

Christ.

He has

sought us

out.

Have you

ever taken

note of that

in your own

life?

Have you ever

stood back

and been like,

if I really

am careful and

I look at my

life, I can

see the pursuit

of God on

my life.

People that he

put in my

life, the

place where I

grew up, the

fact that there

are so many

gospel things

that are out

there for us

to hear, some

bad stuff too,

but so many

Bibles that

are around,

God seeks

us out.

He's not just

sitting back very

passively on his

throne saying,

I hope they

figure it out

and I hope they

know I'm here.

If you read

the scripture,

God hunts

people down.

He finds

them and he

knocks them

off their

horses and he

says, you're

mine.

I'm choosing

to show you

mercy.

And if you

really are

careful to go

back over your

life, you'll

see God at

work.

You'll see his

handprints

everywhere.

And he

didn't have to

do that.

He's not

required to.

Like, like

Mephibosheth,

we have no

case to

plead with

God.

We have no

righteousness or

goodness of

ourselves to

offer to God

at all.

He does not

need us.

We are all

guilty without

exception.

The psalm that

David read

earlier, Psalm

14, is

quoted in

Romans 3

where Paul

says, all

are guilty.

None are

righteous.

No, not

one.

No one

understands and

no one

seeks God.

Our lost

condition is

so beyond

our imagination.

If you

really step

back and

look at what

God's word

says about

us, then

look at your

own life.

You'll see

these things.

That we

were slaves.

Jesus says

those who

commit sin

are slaves

to sin.

He also

says, this

one really

bothers people

and it

scares me.

He says, if

you're not

in me, you

don't belong

to me.

You don't

belong to

my father,

but your

father is

your, you

belong to

the devil.

He said, you

are of your

father, the

devil, and

you want to

do the will

of your

father.

All of us

have hearts

and minds

that are

corrupted by

sin and

evil.

We're not

just, you

know, morally

off and need a

little bit of

help, need a

little bit of

guidance from a

therapist.

We're not

just sick in

bed, we

don't need a

doctor.

We need a

complete miracle

worker who

can bring us

back from

spiritual death

to life.

And that's

the depiction.

That's why we

need to be born

again is because

we are dead

in our

trespasses

and sin.

So we have

nothing.

We have nothing

to go before

God just the

way that

Mephibosheth

had no case

to plead.

And as we

look,

we saw

David's

motives for

why he

chose to

show mercy

to Mephibosheth.

But what

are God's

motives?

Why does

God do

this?

He's not

under any

obligation to.

Well, the

second place I

want you to

look is

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

This is,

there are

many more,

but the two

main motives

I'm just going

to connect

to our

story is

that God

chose to

show us

mercy and

grace for

the sake of

his own

glory to

display how

great he

is and how

forgiving he

is.

Look at

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:6

verse 6.

It's talking

about our

salvation in

Christ.

It says,

to the praise

of his

glorious grace

with which

he has

blessed us

in the

beloved.

In him

we have

redemption

through his

blood and

the forgiveness

of our

trespasses

according to

the riches

of his

grace which

he lavished

upon us in

all wisdom

and insight.

So,

God sent

his son,

Jesus Christ,

to come here

and bear the

punishment of

our sin,

to die in

our stead.

Unlike

David,

God can't

just pardon

a crime

and then not

punish it.

He has to

punish it.

He must

punish it.

All of us

are outraged

when we hear

about a

case in

our country

where clearly

someone committed

a crime,

a really

heinous crime,

and then

they're

pardoned.

And I

think none

of us would

be in that

position if

we heard

a judge

who really

committed a

really bad

crime.

A judge

just say

to someone,

you promise

not to do

it again?

I know you

had a really

rough upbringing.

You promise?

Okay,

go free then.

Just don't

do it again.

God cannot

do that

and will

not do

that.

He has

to punish

sin.

And so

either you're

going to

bear your

own punishment

or Christ

is going to

bear it for

you.

God.

And that's

what we

read here

is that

in Christ

God did

this to

the praise

of his

own glory

so that we

would look

at him

and be

like this

is an

amazing,

forgiving,

glorious

God.

So that's

one motive

to the

praise of

his glory.

The second

motive is

God's love

and his

mercy towards

us.

Just jump

ahead one

chapter in

Ephesians

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

In verse

4 it

says,

But God,

being rich

in mercy

because of

the great

love with

which he

loved us,

even when

we were

dead and

our trespasses,

made us

alive together

with Christ.

By grace

you have

been saved.

So we

see that

God didn't

just,

he's not

just really

tight with

his mercy,

he loves

to show

mercy to

those who

were coming

to him

for forgiveness.

And it

says there

that we

were dead

but we

were made

alive with

Christ.

And,

you know,

of course in

the Bible

belt,

you hear

from everybody

they are

saved.

But if you

ask many of

them,

what are you

saved from,

they don't

really know

how to say,

they don't

really know.

But we

are saved

from the

holy,

just

wrath of

God.

The judgment

of God.

You were

delivered from

that in

Christ.

And so

God's mercy

is so

great.

Got a

couple

quotes.

Our man

Spurgeon,

he said,

God's mercy

is so

great that

you may

sooner drain

the sea

of water

or deprive

the sun

of its

light or

make space

narrow.

than to

diminish

the great

mercy of

God.

The

Lord's

mercy

is a

sea

which

cannot

be

filled

though

mountains

of sin

be cast

into its

midst.

It is

like Noah's

flood which

covers all

and drowns

even the

mountaintops

of heaven

defying

sins.

God's

mercy

is so

beyond us

as

fallen

creatures.

We have

no

comprehension

in and

of

ourselves

of

grace

of

mercy.

It is

not

within us

to think

that way

at all.

We want

justice

when we

see wrong

being done

except when

we are

the one

who has

committed

the crime.

Then we

want

mercy.

It is

always

twisted

but God's

mercy

is so

pure,

rich,

and

great.

So

how are

we to be

made right

with God

then?

This is

just going

back over

our story

a little

bit.

And if

you remember

what I

read to

you earlier

out of

the Psalms

about how

David was

aware of

the forgiveness

that he

had in

Psalm 25,

for your

name's sake,

O Lord,

pardon my

sin and

my guilt

for it is

great.

So just

kind of

unpacking

that a

little bit,

we can

receive the

mercy of

God only

through

Jesus

Christ,

and we

must have

it that

way.

So if

you're

here this

morning without

Christ,

hear these

words,

and if

you are,

just rejoice,

be happy,

be glad that

God has made

you aware of

these things.

These points

actually came

from Jonathan

Edwards.

He said

about being

right with

God,

you must

see the

misery and

feel the

weight of

your sin.

Do you

have broken

God's

law and

his wrath

abides on

us?

Are you

conscious?

Are you

aware of

the sin

in your

life?

Those of

us who

have come

to know

Christ,

we're very

aware.

So beyond

perfection,

so beyond

just,

you know,

it's a saying

in our

culture,

whenever

someone wants

to kind of

get out of

trouble,

like they've

done something

wrong,

this is kind

of their

phrase they

always throw

out there,

I mean,

nobody's

perfect,

they have

no idea

the seriousness

of what

they're saying,

no one

is,

and we

are all

guilty

before God,

so if you

are aware

of that,

that's the

first thing

we have to

recognize.

It's where

David says,

pardon my

sin,

because it

is great,

he's very

aware.

The second

thing is

that we

have to be

sensible that

we are not

worthy that

God should

save us.

He says

that we

come as

beggars and

rags and

not as

creditors.

And connecting

that to our

story,

we're in the

same position

that Mephibosheth

was in.

We live in

such an

entitled

culture now

where we

think that we

deserve good

things,

like we

expect it

even.

And if

someone doesn't

show us

that,

we are very

angry about

it.

God's

But that

is not so

with God.

I had a

friend in

college when

I was up

here in

North Georgia,

and he

was a

Gulf War

vet.

He was an

old ranger

guy.

He was a

demolition

guy.

He always

said,

I always

got blue

stuff up.

He didn't

say stuff

though,

he said

other

things.

And I

always tried

to share

the gospel

with him

constantly.

I had

like five

classes with

this guy,

and he

always just

told me,

hey man,

me and God

were cool.

We've

worked

something

out.

Like we

have an

understanding.

And I

just kept

saying,

no you

don't.

You

don't have

an

understanding.

It's

come to

God,

God's

way,

or not

at all.

You

can't

work out

an

agreement.

And we

don't

deserve

this

mercy.

There's

a story

of Napoleon

Bonaparte,

who had

someone

commit a

serious

crime

against

him,

and

against

just the

nation

of

France.

And this

man was

under the

sentence of

death,

and this

man's

mother came

to plead

with Napoleon

to just

forgive her

son.

And she

said,

you know,

your

highness,

please show

mercy to

my son.

And Napoleon

said,

I can't do

that.

And she

said it

again,

please,

my emperor,

please show

mercy to my

son.

And Napoleon

said,

your son

does not

deserve

mercy.

And her

response

was,

my emperor,

if he

deserved

mercy,

I wouldn't

be asking

for this.

I know

he doesn't

deserve.

If he

was entitled,

if he

deserved it,

then I

would not

be having

this

conversation

with you.

And then

Napoleon

agreed,

okay,

you're

right.

Mercy

is only

given to

those who

don't

deserve

it.

So he

was

correcting

himself.

And so

he

pardoned

her

son.

We

must

come to

God

for

mercy

in and

through

Jesus

Christ

alone.

There

is no

other

way.

We

remain

enemies

of God

until we

come to

God

on his

terms

and not

our

own.

And

the

beauty

of this

guys

is that

God

is not

up there

just

being

stingy

and

angry.

He

wants

to show

grace

to

sinners.

It's a

part

of who

he

is.

in

Isaiah

Isaiah 30 · chapter mention

chapter

30

it

says

therefore

the

Lord

waits

to

be

gracious

to

you.

Therefore

he

exalts

himself

to

show

mercy

to

you.

For

the

Lord

is a

God

of

justice

but

blessed

are

all

those

who

wait

for

him.

And

all

of

us

I

am

I've

had

a

chance

lately

just

the

Lord

has

just

reminded

me

of

so

much

of

the

sin

that

he

has

saved

me

from

and

the

sin

that's

still

in

my

life

and

in

my

heart

I

have

to

have

mercy

I

have

to

have

grace

there's

no

other

way

and

that's

the

beauty

of

the

gospel

that

Jesus

came

to

die

poor

sinners

we

are

undeserving

we are

just

like

dead

dogs

we

are

like

lame

in

both

feet

we

have

nothing

to

bring

to

the

king

we're

at

his

disposal

but

he

is

ready

to

pity

us

and

show

us

mercy

and

to

lift

us

up

and

not

only

God

could

have

done

the

same

thing

that

a lot

of

people

have

done

he

could

have

said

I'm

going

to

not

destroy

you

I'm

not

going

to

judge

you

just

go

and

be

free

but

he

didn't

do

that

he

saved

us

gave

us

the

perfect

righteousness

of

Christ

and

brought

us

into

his

family

in

the

same

way

that

Mephibosheth

was brought

into the

family of

David

and

we

are

welcome

at

his

table

because

of

Christ

and

accepted

in

the

beloved

so

I

pray

that

you

actually

ponder

the

great

mercy

of

God

don't

forget

it

always

keep

it

very

near

that

you

are

not

worthy

of

anything

good

that

you

have

especially

redemption

in

Christ

and

may that

lead you

to

rejoice

in

God's

salvation

and

may that

lead you

to

obedience

in

Christ