2 Samuel 9:1-13

The facts are:

1 . David, remembering his love for Jonathan, inquires whether there were any survivors of the house of Saul; and being informed of the proximity of Ziba, an old servant, he sends for him.

2 . He is told that a son of Jonathan, lame of foot, is a sojourner in the house of Machir.

3 . Being sent for, Mephibosheth, on appearing before the king, falls on his face and pays reverence, but is spoken to kindly.

4 . Being assured by David that there was no need for fear, that kindness for his father's sake was in store, and that all his grandfather's property should be restored, he expresses by deed and word his sense of unworthiness.

5 . David informs Ziba of his decision as to the property, and orders him to act as steward for the benefit of Mephibosheth, who was to be henceforth a guest at the royal table.

6 . The arrangements are carried out, and so is explained the fact of Mephibosheth's residence in Jerusalem.

The power of hallowed associations.

Scripture, in common with all history, usually gives us the outward facts of life, leaving to be inferred the private mental and moral processes which must have lain in their rear. There is an abruptness in the transition of the historian from an account of David's victories and general administration to this record of an act of personal kindness. But if the laws of the human mind were the same then as now, we may be sure there was no such disconnection in the inner course of David's experience. During the few years of public activity in seeking the consolidation of his power, covered by the preceding chapters, there had often risen up in his mind memories of former days of trial, and of names of friends and foes now no longer among the living; and if thought breeds emotion, he would, on these occasions, experience feelings corresponding to the subject-matter of his thoughts. Among these thoughts, with their corresponding feeling, were doubtless those relating to his beloved Jonathan; and what the historian here places before us in the narrative concerning Mephibosheth is simply the ultimate welling up, from the depths of the memory, of the old associations clustering around the name of Jonathan in such strength as to issue in the deeds here recorded.

I. HALLOWED ASSOCIATIONS ARE A GREAT POWER IN LIFE . Human life is not determined in its condition or conduct at any particular hour by what is purely new in thought, in feeling, or in circumstance. The past furnishes the seed on which the present acts as new environment, and the nature of that past is a more potent element in determining the conduct than is the new environment. The chief clue to David's later character is to be sought in his earlier experiences. The mightiest inner forces that thus influence life are those which centre in strong and sacred associations. The memory of Jonathan's love worked unconsciously as a spell throughout David's career. Every man is subject to this law of life. As a rule, the early mental associations of our life give tone and colour to all that comes after. The power lying in the memory of a mother's love over even the vagaries of later years is proverbial. The mention of a name may suffice to flood the eyes with tears and break down the stoutest heart. David never knew how much of restraint, of tenderness, of noble aspiration, and of fidelity to truth and honour he owed to the associations carried in his memory with the name of his friend Jonathan. So to us the "Name that is above every name" is the centre of associations as powerful as they are blessed; and the more we can enrich our nature with kindred associations, the richer and more Christlike will our lives become.

II. THERE ARE OCCASIONS WHEN HALLOWED ASSOCIATIONS CAN EXERT THEIR PROPER INFLUENCE . During the first few years of his reign David seems to have been utterly absorbed with the work of restoring the civil and religious order of his kingdom, and of securing it against the pressure of surrounding foes. A consideration of the actual state of things consequent on the misgovernment of Saul, and of the enormous labours involved in an absolute monarchy when its obligations are faithfully carried out, will account for the apparent neglect of Jonathan's house till the present date. It is only reasonable to suppose that David had sometimes thought of this matter, and the manner in which it is introduced in 2 Samuel 9:1 suggests that now was the time to give effect to his own previously cherished desires. It might have been politically unwise, and to Saul's descendants personally injurious by placing them in the way of temptation to conspiracies, had he sought to reinstate any of them during the rebellion of Ishbosheth and immediately on his decease. The safe and full establishment of his authority was evidently the occasion for the old and piously cherished associations with the no, me of Jonathan to put forth their strength. We all have within us a reserve power in the hallowed associations we cherish. They are never without an unconscious influence; but there may come seasons when we may do well to open the doors and let them come forth in full force to sway our conduct. Thus at Easter and Christmas do Christians give free scope to blessed memories. Thus our family birthdays, and days sacred to the memory of those now more blessed than ourselves, are times when our nature becomes enriched with holy feelings, and our vows become more influential. Sometimes, apart from our will and special seasons, by the spontaneous force of mental laws, sacred memories pour forth into our barren experience streams of blessing; and if by pressure of secular business the channels of thought and emotion are clogged, it is well now and then to pause, and, by an effort in quiet solitude, to open some sacred spring within our nature, so that it shall send forth its blessed streams to quicken and beautify our spiritual life.

III. A TRUE HEART WILL SEINE OCCASION FOR REVIVING THE POWER OF HALLOWED ASSOCIATIONS . The occasion arose in the course of David's public life, and because his heart was still true to God and man, he seized it. The cares of official life and the attractions of exalted position had not yet done him spiritual damage. The David that swore love and fidelity to his friend ( 1 Samuel 20:13-17 , 1 Samuel 20:42 ) was still alive. The man was not lost in the king. There are sad instances of the reverse. Old friends, former vows, are forgotten in the satiety of wealth or power, or, if not entirely forgotten, no occasion is sought to let the love of former days assert itself. Much of our power over our future lies in the use we are disposed to make of the fountains of holy thought and feeling which have been formed within by the experiences of former days. The pressure of business may cause them to lie unnoticed for months and years; but now and then opportunities will occur which an uncorrupted heart will gladly use for bringing them into the current of daily life. There may be an abuse of "days and seasons;" but a well regulated life will not, on that account, be hindered from taking pains to sweeten and subdue the present, and prepare for a better future, by a distinct and deliberate revival of the most sacred and tender experiences of the past.

IV. THIS DELIBERATE USE OF HALLOWED ASSOCIATIONS SECURES A CONTINUITY OF GOODNESS . There was a native force in David's generous sentiments toward Jonathan in early days which would tend to their continuous assertion. The main elements of a man's moral life will abide in spite of counteracting evils. Yet as limbs maintain their muscular power by exertion, so the special qualities of David's character, as seen in his early friendship for Jonathan, would form a continuous feature of his life only in so far as he availed himself of passing opportunities for reviving the sentiments associated with the name of his departed friend. To this habit of allowing the feelings peculiar to such associations to act again and again, as occasion permitted, upon his life, in combination, of course, with other forms and methods of spiritual culture, we may ascribe the freshness and force of the kindly, generous sentiments which were a distinctive feature of his character to the very end. The characters of some men are disjointed. The main qualities of one part of their life are not conspicuous later on. The good has been overlaid, crushed down, by an enormous pressure of thought and sentiment of an adverse kind, and no care has been taken to give new force to latent memories. Their later good qualities are not of the same order as their earlier. This is not true growth. The true continuity of goodness is that seen in David's case, and is promoted by the same careful use of the power that lies in the best associations of our earlier life.

GENERAL LESSONS .

1 . Let us see to the storing of the mind in early years with facts and experiences that will be as fountains of blessing to freshen life amidst the carking cares of a busy life.

2 . We should be careful to east out low thoughts, lest they occupy, in the mental and moral area, ground on which holy and generous feelings may take root and flourish.

3 . It is desirable to make seasons when the best memories of the past are allowed to exercise their full power over us. This seems to be one reason, at least, for the institution of the Lord's Supper.

4 . It is by cultivating the memories of departed friends, and cherishing the sentiments associated with their name, that the communion of the saints on earth and in heaven is promoted.

5 . It is by the deliberate cultivation of sacred memories that we shall be able to conserve the more gentle virtues of life, and so give tone and purity to the otherwise hard and unsympathetic life of the world.

6 . It behoves us to consider well what sacred vows of our earlier years are yet waiting to be redeemed.

7 . In the remembrance of former friendships we may do well to inquire whether there are any in trouble and need on whom the spirit of the old friendship may exercise itself.

A spiritual parallel.

Great mischief may arise from the endeavour to trace spiritual analogies in the ordinary historical narratives of Scripture, in consequence of the licence of an overactive imagination. It is not a safe canon of interpretation to say that sacred history is throughout an allegory. That an apostle saw an allegory in one or two cases is not proof of a general rule ( Galatians 4:24 ). But, under limitations, we are warranted in tracing parallels between the temporal and spiritual, the earthly and the heavenly: the one may exhibit features which serve to illustrate the other. Much of our Saviour's teaching partook of this character. In this lies the essence of parable. In this light we may regard the story of David's conduct toward Mephibosheth: it serves to illustrate the bearing and action of the true King of Zion toward the weak and lowly, Naaman's cleansing and Mephibesheth's elevation are historic facts shedding light on spiritual realities. Note—

I. A PLEDGE TO BE KEPT . The events here recorded have their root in the free pledge given by David many years before that he would care for the seed of Jonathan ( 1 Samuel 20:15 ). He had undertaken to bless when need should arise. In a deeper sense the whole merciful transactions recorded in New Testament history are the outcome of a "covenant ordered in all things." Christ's interposition on behalf of the fallen was not a casual act called forth by a passing incident in human history. Before the mountains were set fast his "delights were with the sons of men." The purpose and, speaking in human phrase, the. plan of redemption were in the original order; and hence Christ's coming was, as it were, to redeem his own pledge, to keep his own vow, to fulfil the covenant. "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me." Virtually he was "slain before the foundation of the world;" for all that happened was consequent on "the eternal purpose" ( Ephesians 3:11 ), though not in violation of human freedom ( Acts 2:23 ).

II. A DEFERRED FULFILMENT . We have seen that some years elapsed, not only after the vow, before any ostensible steps were taken to fulfil it, but also after David came to the kingdom. In this there is no cause for reflection on his sincerity. Providence has many things to bring about in a monarch's wise policy, and he may have to wait till events are ripe for certain lines of action. Here, on a small scale, we have an illustration of the apparently deferred fulfilment of the merciful undertaking of our Saviour. Generations passed ere the set time had come when he could, consistently with the working out of other issues, subordinate or coordinate, come to "perform the mercy promised" in the past ( Luke 2:1-52 :72). Now that we have the complete history of David, we can see the propriety of his not taking measures for the elevation of the seed of Jonathan while his work of consolidation was incomplete; and so now that we have the full record of the Old and New Testaments, we can see the wisdom of the manifestation of the covenanted grace being deferred till the "fulness of time" ( Galatians 4:4 ). Many threads were being woven by the hand of Providence to meet in the revelation of Christ.

III. A SEARCH FOR THE FALLEN . David inquired after the seed of Jonathan and Saul. The sons of the distinguished were in obscurity and, in a social and political point of view, lost. As compared with the position once held by their father and grandfather, they were indeed degraded and outcast. Their splendid inheritance had vanished. They had to be sought out. How truly their relative social condition represents our spiritual condition is obvious. We have fallen far below the original state of our great ancestor. The effect of sin on man, in so far as it touches his relative social position in the enduring spiritual world, is to lower him, to render him inferior to the holy beings who constitute the members of the eternal kingdom of God. "Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity" ( Hosea 14:1 ). The mission of Christ, in one aspect of it, is said to be a search for that which is lest—an effort to find and rescue from degradation and shame those who are living below their proper position in the spiritual life ( Luke 15:3-10 , Luke 15:32 ; Luke 19:10 ). This is true of the race; and his work considered as "finished" on Calvary is an effort to find out and save mankind. It is also true of us as individuals that Christ does, like the good shepherd ( John 10:16 ; cf. Luke 15:4 ), search for us. He follows us in our wanderings, comes near to our loneliness, and calls us by his Word, his providence, and his Spirit.

IV. A YEARNING COMPASSION . "Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?" (verse. 3). How this reveals the deep longings of the heart! David is not satisfied with the desire to show ordinary attentions to the fallen house; he must show such kindness as God would show. The thought of Jonathan evidently brought up again the old love; and it must, if possible, pour itself forth in some unwonted form. There can be no question that, in the regal and better qualities of his life, David illustrates the more perfect King who comes to reign in righteousness and save the poor and needy. This strong yearning compassion was conspicuous in our Lord in the days of his flesh, when he was seeking a lost race. In this he is unapproachable. It appears in his deeply pathetic tone whenever referring to sin and sorrow, in his patient unwearying toil, in his pleadings with the weary and heavy laden, in his looking with compassion on the people as sheep without a shepherd, in his tears over Jerusalem, and in the sweet and gentle submission with which he drank the cup in Gethsemane, and poured out his life on the cross. Overflowing love! And he is the same now ( Hebrews 13:8 ). His life, suffering, and death were the revelation of a permanent character, and therefore of an ever-yearning compassion for the fallen.

V. A GRACIOUS BEARING . Mephibosheth trembled in the presence of David, and was overcome by the sense of his own unworthiness ( 2 Samuel 9:6-8 ). No doubt he was surprised at such wondrous conduct on the part of the king as to send for him. But the king in a tone which no written words can indicate, said, "Mephibosheth!" We all know what volumes of meaning may be conveyed by addressing an individual by his name in a certain tone. And, lest this should not suffice, there came the words, "Fear not!" As a brother and friend, on the same level, he speaks to the heart of the weak and troubled one. Foreshadow is this of him who was "meek and lowly in heart;" who would not "break the bruised reed or quench the smoking flax;" who touched the outcast leper and inspired the fallen one with hope. No reproach, no coldness of heart, no imposition of impossible burdens, but the gentleness and grace that banish fear and cause the poor outcast to feel that in him there is a tender, loving Friend!

VI. AN ELEVATION TO HONOUR . David would be content with nothing less than that Mephibosheth should be a free and constant guest at his table. He was to be raised from social degradation and obscurity to a position of greatest distinction. No mere pension, no formal expression of personal interest, no delegation to others of attention to be paid to him would suit the largeness of the king's heart. His idea of the "kindness of God" ( 2 Samuel 9:3 ) far transcended the best human conceptions of generosity, and this unwonted elevation to honour was but the index of it. What a marvellous change in the condition of this poor, feeble outcast! How contrary to all the usages of monarchs, to the offspring of the fallen, was this overflow of "the kindness of God"! Than this there is not in the Bible a more apt illustration of the exceeding grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, who condescends to our low estate, seeks us out, bows us down in wondering submission by his matchless gentleness, and then raises us to the honour of being members of his household, of free access to his Person and closest fellowship with himself and those most dear to him. "Neither do I condemn thee" ( John 8:11 ; cf. Romans 8:1 ). He gives "power to become the sons of God" ( John 1:12 , John 1:16 ; 1 John 3:1 , 1 John 3:2 ). The "far off" are made "nigh" ( Ephesians 2:13 ), and are called "friends" ( John 15:15 ), blessed with constant fellowship ( 1 John 1:3 ), and even made heirs of "the glory" given to himself ( John 17:22-24 ). It is in the Antitype alone that we find the full and true expression of "the kindness of God" ( 2 Samuel 9:3 ). "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" ( 1 Corinthians 2:9 ).

VII. A PERSONAL GUARANTEE . A personal guarantee, involving the king's honour, and backed by all the resources at his command, was given that Mephibesheth should henceforth be regarded "as one of the king's sons" ( 2 Samuel 9:11 ), and that ample provision should be made for all his wants ( 2 Samuel 9:10 ). Whatever demands came on him for the sustenance of his dependents, they were met by the arrangement, under royal warrant, with Ziba. Thus all his interests, present and future, personal and relative, social and material, were provided for. The king guaranteed all. Now, this is beautifully illustrative of what Christ does for those whom he raises from degradation to be his friends. He cares for all their interests. He so orders providence that they shall "want no good thing." It is said of them, "All things are yours" ( 1 Corinthians 3:22 ); and, to scatter all fear and afford abundant consolation, the King has said, "Because I live, ye shall live also" ( John 14:19 ). Mephibosheth rested under the care of a faithful David. All the power and all the high moral qualities of David were pledged to secure to him all his life long the blessings now enjoyed; so all the power and all the ineffable qualities of Christ are pledged to secure to us the possession and enjoyment of glorious heritage as Christians as long as we live, i.e. forever.

GENERAL LESSONS .

1 . It becomes us to follow the example of David and of Christ, and seek out those who may be in need of blessing, and who may have a special claim on our sympathy.

2 . We should make the Divine character and conduct the model of our bearing towards those in trouble. "The kindness of God" is the ideal to be converted into the realities of our life.

3 . The lowly and despised may take encouragement from all that is recorded of Christ's gracious bearing and deeds of kindness.

4 . We may trace, in every instance of Christ's mercy to the fallen, the permanently elevating tendency of Christianity. It is the one element which alone lastingly raises mankind in material and social good.

5 . The resources of Christ for securing the fulfilment of his promises are so vast as to remove all fear. He is more to the universe at large than David was to his kingdom.

6 . We see the dignity of bearing that becomes those who are honoured with the royal friendship of Christ.

HOMILIES BY B. DALE