Hymn 244
"That bright and blessed morn is near
when He, the bridegroom shall appear,
and call His bride away. . .”
"And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, 0 king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said unto him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that 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 let him go no more home to his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle."
Well, I'm sure that all of us are well acquainted with this story about David slaying the giant. I would like to speak of this and also of two other characters that we read of in Samuel. The first one here is Jonathan which perhaps we could connect with faith in a victorious Christ. Then the next one we'll come to will be Ittai in 2nd Samuel, and we'll see one who loved David and wanted to share his company in his rejection, telling us of how we have the privilege of sharing the Lord's rejection. Finally, we will look at Mephibosheth and how he had the hope of the return of that one who had been rejected. And isn't it true, beloved brethren, that those three things are so often linked together in the Word of God; faith, love, and hope. It tells us about the Thessalonians, that when Paul spoke of that little assembly he said; "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."(1 Thess. 1:33Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thessalonians 1:3)) How those things are often linked together and we need them. We need each one. We need faith for the pathway. We need to have our hearts' affections drawn out to that precious Savior so that we desire His company. Then, to cheer us in our pathway, we need the hope of His return. So we find in the 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians that they had lost the hope of the Lord's return and Paul could say about them; "Your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth."(2 Thess. 1:33We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; (2 Thessalonians 1:3)) But he didn't say anything about hope. They had lost that hope. They had been carried away with false teaching, so they had lost the hope of the return of the Lord Jesus. And then we find, when we turn over to Revelation chapter 2, a little assembly, wonderfully blest, given perhaps the most wonderful ministry that was ever given to any of the assemblies in the time of the Apostle Paul and that assembly when writing to it in Rev. 2 The Lord had to say; "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."(Rev. 2:44Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (Revelation 2:4)) And so we can see how easily we can lose the enjoyment of these precious things. I was just thinking that this afternoon is the beginning of another year and as we look about we don't know what is ahead of us in this world. We know that things are in a very confused state on every hand. We know that the hearts of men of the world are failing them for fear and looking after those things that are coming upon the earth. We know that even many of God's people are cast down and discouraged. Many are carried about with every wind of doctrine. But oh, I say, we have a sure resource in God. We have an unfailing supply in and through that precious One who has won a great victory for us. And how sad it is when we fall short of entering into and enjoying all that He has for us. We find here in the case of Jonathan that he was greatly touched and his heart was won by this victory that David had won but he wasn't prepared to go on with David in his rejection. So, it's easy for us to rejoice in the fact that the Lord Jesus has won a great victory for us at Calvary and yet not to walk in the enjoyment of His company, not to share His rejection.
Well, to go back in a little detail, we think of the condition that God's people were in here. How this Philistine, Goliath, who came out and he defied the armies of Israel and there wasn't a man who could go out and fight with him. Neither Saul nor any of his men were able to meet this giant. But, David came down, sent by his father. He came down to see how his brethren were and when he heard this challenge by Goliath we remember how he said; "This man has defied the armies of the living God." He said; "I'll go out and fight with him." Isn't it true that the precious Savior; that One who came down from glory, who left His throne on high, came down to see the well being of "His brethren", and yet He was despised and rejected, just as David's brethren laughed at him and said; "With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?"(1 Sam. 17:2828And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. (1 Samuel 17:28)). David just simply answered and said, "Is there not a cause?"(1 Sam. 17:2929And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? (1 Samuel 17:29)) Is there not a cause? He had come down for the blessing of his brethren. We notice too that David didn't try to go out and fight against the Philistine in the armor of Saul. He said, "I won't go in this armor, I haven't proved it." It's a beautiful little lesson for us. The "armor of Saul" is to meet difficulties in our own wisdom and strength. How often in the conflicts of faith we try the "armor of Saul". It doesn't work. It's a good thing when we learn before we try, that it's no use. Of course, David pictured to us the Lord Jesus. In His blessed pathway He did everything to please His Father. He never did one thing to please Himself. Everything the Lord Jesus did was to please His Father. But, alas, you and I sometimes try Saul's armor and we find it just brings defeat, doesn't it? Well, David went out with a stone and a sling and he was able to defeat the giant and completely win the victory. This great victory was for the deliverance of all the people of God. Surely we can look back to Calvary's cross and rejoice in that great victory that was won for us.
We think of the precious Savior and how He accomplished redemption for us and we can say; "His conquest was our own."(L.F. #4a) That victory was for us. So David returned with the head of the Philistine in his arms. There he carried it back and he had cut off the head of that Philistine with the Philistine's own sword. It's a picture to us, of course of how the Lord Jesus defeated Satan by the very thing that Satan had been the instrument to bring into this world. Satan had brought in death, but the Lord Jesus went into Satan's stronghold, as it tells us in Heb. 2; "That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."(Heb. 2:14-1514Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14‑15)) So here was a great victory won. David returns and Saul sees him and he said; "Whose son is this?" He should have known who he was. Actually, David had played in his presence before. He had played the harp. He had been in the court of Saul for some time previous to this. And we may wonder why it is that Saul didn't know him. Well, you know, the world may know God as the One who sends the sunshine. They know God as the One, perhaps, who provides many temporal blessings, but they don't know Him as Redeemer. They don't know Him as the One who gave His Son to die for us on Calvary's cross. And if there should be one here today who is unsaved; perhaps you say, "Well I believe in God." You may believe that He was the creator. You may believe that He is the one who sends all the good things that we enjoy in life, but do you believe that the victory that was won at Calvary's cross was won for you? Can you look to Calvary and say; "He was bearing my sins in His own body on the tree. It was for me that He won that victory." Then that cross of Calvary will mean everything to you for time and for all eternity. Oh, if there's one here this afternoon who is a stranger to His grace, may I point you to that cross of Calvary. Not just to occupy you with all the good things that God sends in a temporal way, but do you know Him as the One who has accomplished redemption? Think of Saul after all the times that David had been in his court, and yet he said, "Whose son is this?" Well, we who are saved know Him, I say, as that precious Savior, as the eternal Son of God; that One who has come down, who has won such a great victory for us.
Well, it begins in the 18th chapter; "And it came to pass when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." Yes, we see here that Jonathan appreciated this victory. Jonathan's heart went out to the one who had won this victory. Where there is real living faith, there's always affection too. It says in 1' Corinthians 16; "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha."(1 Cor. 16:2222If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. (1 Corinthians 16:22)) That is, "Let him be accursed, the Lord cometh." You may profess to believe, but is the Lord Jesus precious to you? If you were walking down the street tomorrow and someone came up and tapped you on the shoulder and said, "Do you love the Lord Jesus?" would your heart go out in affection to that person. Would you feel a response or is it just another name to you? Oh, if you really know Him as the One who accomplished redemption for you, I'm sure it would bring joy to your heart. Those of us who know the Lord can say that some of the happiest moments in our lives have been when we have been in a strange place and someone unexpectedly has spoken to us about the Lord Jesus or when we entered into conversation we found they loved Him. So, we find here that Jonathan listened to this conversation between Saul and David. It didn't touch any chords in the heart of Saul at all. It didn't change his heart one bit. He heard about the victory. He saw the evidence of the victory because, as I remarked, David had the head of Goliath in his hand. But didn't touch any chord in his heart and Jonathan was just standing there listening. The conversation was actually between David and Saul. But when the conversation was done the heart of Jonathan was won. His heart had gone out. He said, "This victory is for me. This deliverance is mine." So his heart went out and his soul was knit to the soul of David and he loved him as his own soul. Oh, surely we can say, "We love Him because He first loved us."(1 John 4:1919We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)) His love has won our hearts. So, from this moment on we could say that Jonathan has faith in this man. Jonathan has faith. It's true, as we remarked, he didn't follow him as he should. He didn't follow him into the path of rejection. But we can at least say that he had faith in David. Even when he failed to accompany David into the cave of Adullam we find him, on occasion, going and talking to David and telling him; "David you're going to b the next one on the throne." That faith in David was never shaken. You know, when one is saved, he's eternally saved. We may fail in following the precious Savior, and alas, we often do. But, He never fails. He's the same yesterday, and today, and forever. He'll never let one of His own go. He delights to have us in the enjoyment of all that He has won for us and to know that the cross of Calvary has given us a perfect standing and forever.
Then it tells us in the 3rd verse; "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul." Now Jonathan showed the reality of this. "Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him." Yes, he was the king's son. I expect he had a robe that spoke of royalty. He had clothing that spoke of the dignity of his position being the king's son. So he took off this and he said, "David, I am identified with you. This garment belongs to you. You have won a great victory." So he stripped himself of the robe that was on him. Could we apply this to ourselves? Perhaps we think something of our own importance and position. Perhaps we think something of the honors that we have in this world. Perhaps you belong to a good and an influential family and you don't like to strip off that robe. You don't like to give the Lord the praise. How many there are who would like to be saved but they don't want to give up honors and position in this world. How many of us who belong to the Lord still want to retain certain honors in this world. Well, Jonathan stripped himself of the robe and gave it to David. And then his garments, that came still a little nearer, those things that were still closer to him. He took off his garments. He gave them to David. He gave his sword and his bow. It seems to me this speaks of his protection. He said, "David I won't need any protection of my own any longer because you can look after my interests. If you can slay the giant, why then, I can be sure that you will look after the rest of my interests." Oh, if there is one here who perhaps has some situation facing you, some difficulty, something that you say, "I don't know how I'm going to get through this and I don't have the means or the ability to straighten out this matter." Oh isn't it lovely to just put your sword and your bow into the hands of that "Great Victor". You know, it reminds me of a story of a little girl. She was walking along a country road carrying a heavy parcel and a man came along in some type of conveyance and he picked her up and put her on the seat beside him. When she got in she put her bundle on her knee and they started to move along. "Well," he said, "You might as well set your bundle down on the floor, you don't have to carry it." "Well," she said, "I thought if you were kind enough to give me a ride that I could at least carry my bundle on my knee." Well, aren't we like that too? Why he was carrying her, bundle and all. When the Lord Jesus picked us up in His grace, He picked us up in all our cares. He picked us up in all our problems and He just delights to have us commit everything to Him. So, it seems to me that in Jonathan giving his sword and his bow it speaks of that which he could have used for his own self-defense. He said, "Why I can give all that to David. He'll look after my interests from now on." And then it says, "And his girdle." Well that comes still a little closer. That's the this that touches your skin, as it were. So this came very very close. He gave everything he had to David, except the fact, as it's often been remarked, he didn't follow David. It doesn't say that he gave "his shoes". He didn't follow David in the pathway of rejection. However, I'd like to make a few comments about the fact that Jonathan did try to be a testimony for David in the court of Saul. When Saul spoke unkindly of him, you remember how Jonathan spoke up publicly right in the very court of Saul, and spoke well of David. He tried his best to be a testimony for him in the court. There are some Christians who say, "I don't like to take the outside place, but, you know, I can be a testimony for the Lord where I am and I believe the Lord wants me to be a testimony just in the place that I am." But, don't you feel that Jonathan missed something? Jonathan didn't have the privilege of sharing the throne with David later on because he was slain before David came to the throne. You know, the Lord values every bit of devotedness that there is in our hearts, every bit of desire that there is within us to follow Him, to please Him, to speak for Him. David, I'm sure, valued the fact that Jonathan was willing to confess his name publicly there in the court of Saul, and even have a javelin thrown at him for doing it. One rejoices at the fact that there are those who seek to bear a testimony for the Lord Jesus in Christendom. But, I say, Jonathan missed something. I say that Jonathan missed a wonderful privilege. Yet, there is something else that has struck me very much. When the parting time did come and when Jonathan went back to the court of Saul and David went out in rejection to the cave of Adullam that they kissed one another and they wept but David didn't ask Jonathan to accompany him to the cave of Adullam. Doesn't that strike you? Why didn't David ask Jonathan to accompany him? He didn't breathe one word and say, "Well Jonathan how can you choose the court of Saul in preference to my company, if you really loved me?" Well, to me it seems like this: David wanted Jonathan to follow him out of love, not because he felt he was sort of forced into it, not because he felt he must do it, but because he wanted to be there with David out of love. In fact, we don't find David asking anyone to go the cave of Adullam. Those that went there and identified themselves with David, they came there for one reason only. They came there because they wanted his company. I say, that I don't intend to say one word here this afternoon to try to force someone into a path that you're not prepared to take because of love for the Lord Jesus. I am quite sure that if Jonathan didn't have enough love to go with David into the cave of Adullam that if someone had taken him by the hand and brought him there, he would have just said, "Well I don't like this motley crowd. I don't like these people. What a crowd of people they are; discontented, in debt, distressed. What a crowd." Oh, he would have said, "I don't relish this kind of company." No, but if he had had sufficient affection for David to follow him into that path then he wouldn't have looked at the crowd. His eye would have been upon David. He would have desired his company so much that he would say, "Well, even if I am sometimes disappointed in this crowd, I'll not be disappointed in David. He's done everything for me." So we see that in Jonathan there was faith in one who had won such a great victory but there was not sufficient love to follow him into the path of rejection.(Heb. 13:1313Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. (Hebrews 13:13))
Before I go on, I say again, is there someone here and you really have put your trust in the Lord Jesus. You know Him as your Savior and you have realized that in His word there's a path marked out, a path where we can gather to the name of the Lord Jesus and yet, you realize if you take that path that you'll be despised. It's not hard to say I belong to such and such a church, but it takes courage to say, "I am gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ." When people press us for some other name just to say, "Well it's His Name only." Perhaps you might look at the people and you say, "Well there are not very many and we have our difficulties too." Yes, that's true. But those people that went out to David, went there because David was there. But, Jonathan was not prepared for that. But, there was much that was commendable about him and God has been pleased to record it. If you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, God delights in the measure of affection that you have for Him. But, I trust that you won't stop at just knowing Him as your Savior. I hope you'll desire His company at His table because He wants yours. The Lord Jesus not only died to save us from hell, He desired to have our company. In the 14th chapter of John it says in the beginning of the chapter; "In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." Then further on in the chapter it says; "If a man love Me he will keep My words and My Father will love him. And We will come unto him and make Our abode with him." That word that is translated in the first part of the chapter as 'mansions' is the very same word that is translated `abode' in the other portion further on in the chapter. It shows that the Lord Jesus has an abode up there for us. But, He said; "You don't have to wait until you get there. If you walk to please Me I'll come and make My abode in your heart now." Oh, isn't that lovely! You like to talk about the mansions up there and sing about them I'm sure. But, the Lord says, "You don't have to wait until that day." He says, "If a man love Me he will keep My sayings." And He says, "We will come and make Our abode with him." Oh beloved brethren, are we so delighting in His company that we are seeking to walk to please Him just to have His company. He wants ours. His heart is going to be satisfied forever in the company of His redeemed. I like to think of Jonathan as representing faith in a victorious Savior.
Now, let us turn over to 2 Sam. 15. 2 Sam. 15 and verse 19. "Then said the king to Ittai the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? Return to thy place, and abide with the king: for thou art a stranger, and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee. And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.
And David said to Ittai, Go and pass over. And Ittai the Gittite passed over, and all his men, and all the little ones that were with him. And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness."
Well, here we find one who had love for David in his rejection. Here we find one who had love, I say, for David. We notice too that David surely didn't ask this man to come with him. In fact, when this man said he would like to go with him, David said "why you better return, you better return." In the 194 verse the king said to Ittai, "Wherefore goest thou also with us?" Well isn't that a question that might be asked to each one of us who seek to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus? "Wherefore goest thou also with us?" I'd like each one of us, and myself too, to ask ourselves this question. Why are we in the place that we are? Is it because of the people? Is it because of the fact that there is great activity? Is it because of anything, perhaps even to please loved ones? Why if there's anything like that, God is sooner or later going to put us to the test about this. He is going to test us about whether we're there, gathered to His precious Name for any other reason than Christ. I've sometimes mentioned that in the end of the 6th chapter of John many of the disciples went back and walked no more with the Lord Jesus. And so the Lord turned to the 12 disciples and He said, "Will ye also go away?" And Peter's answer was; "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life."(John 6:67-6867Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? 68Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (John 6:67‑68)) Well, you know, when I read that I was puzzled by the Lord's answer to Peter on that occasion. The Lord replied to Peter and said, "Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil."(John 6:7070Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? (John 6:70)) You know, I thought if I had been there and I had heard Peter say such a nice thing as he did, I would have said, "Well that's a lovely remark, Peter. That's lovely to think that you're really seeking the company of the Lord." But isn't it remarkable that when Peter made such a lovely remark; "Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life" that the Lord should have answered him in that way. Well I meditated upon that for awhile and it struck me like this, that the Lord was really saying to Peter, "Well Peter if you're here because you want to be in My company, then don't look at the crowd because there's another disappointment ahead." This is something for us to bear in mind. If we have faced some disappointment, for many had just gone back and would walk no more with the Lord, why we might think, "Well at least we've got over this difficulty." Well I don't want to make any promise for tomorrow. The Lord didn't to Peter. He said, "Peter, there's another difficulty ahead for you. There's one in this crowd who's actually going to betray me." Oh what an important thing for us to learn. It's so easy to get our eyes upon others instead of upon the Lord Jesus. So David said to Ittai, "Wherefore goest thou also with us?" As though he should say, "Are you coming here because of comforts? Are you coming here because you expect to share some glory with me? Why,", he said, "I can't promise you anything just now." He was just telling Ittai what he could expect. He said,
"Return to thy place and abide with the king, for thou art a stranger and also an exile. Whereas thou camest but yesterday." He said, as it were, "Why Ittai, you don't know what these people are like here. You don't know what disappointments are ahead of you. You don't know what troubles are ahead if you attempt to follow us here. We're a despised company. We're cast out." And he said, "You're not acquainted with this." You know, sometimes when people ask to remember the Lord they wonder why we ask them to wait. Well don't you think it answers something to what David did with Ittai? He said, "Return. Don't try to come along with a group like this. It's going to be too difficult." And you know sometimes when a person is asked to wait it's just to test them whether they really want to be there because the Lord is there. It reminds me of a young brother whom I know and who is very dear to me. He asked to remember the Lord back in eastern Canada and he said they asked him to wait. He said, "I got very discouraged. I waited quite a while." And he said, "I was almost at the point of giving up and going someplace else. And then it just came to me. 'Why if this is the place where the Lord has put His Name then I ought to be content to wait because I want to be where the Lord is.'" "Then," he said, "The very next Lord's Day they received me. They didn't know what was going on in my heart." Well, don't you think that's something like Ittai here? David said, "You might as well go back. You're a stranger and an exile and you just came yesterday. You don't realize what problems there are in this company here. You don't realize the difficulties." But listen to what Ittai said. "And Ittai answered the king and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth surely in what place my lord the king shall be whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be." He said, "It's not the people. It's not a question of whether it's an easy path." He said, "David, I just want to be where you are. Whether it's in life or whether it's in death, I want to be with you." Oh, what a happy decision this was. This was truly love for the king in his rejection. With Jonathan we see faith in one who had accomplished a great victory. With Jonathan we see one who showed great devotedness to David personally. But he was not really willing to give his shoes, not willing to accompany David. But, here we see something of a different character. We see one who had love for David in his rejection and one who was content to go on with this company where there were tears and sorrow. For if you notice in the 23rd verse, "And all the country wept with a loud voice." There were tears. There were troubles. There were sorrows. There were disappointments. There were frustrations. But, just to be in the company of David satisfied the heart of Ittai. So, David's answer to Ittai was, "Go, and pass over." Oh how beautiful this is. As though he should say, "Well, Ittai your request is granted. If you seek my company, if you desire it above everything else, then you shall have my company." And oh, beloved brethren, I'm sure that we can say that there's nothing sweeter to go through this world than to go through it in the company of the Lord Jesus. I believe the special target of the enemy's attack is those who are gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus. I believe that that's the very spearhead. That's what he's against. If you and I would look up to the Lord and seek grace, oh how we'll thank Him afterward that He kept us in the path, that He gave us grace to continue. I'm sure some who are a little bit older here can look back to problems and difficulties that have arisen among the gathered saints, and perhaps we have to confess there were times we got discouraged. When the enemy whispered in the ear and said, "Oh what's the use of going on? It's too difficult a path." But, oh as we look back aren't we thankful that the Lord kept us? Aren't we thankful for His preserving grace? And you'll be thankful too. Ask Him for grace to continue. David said to Ittai, "Go and pass over."
We were noticing the other day, when Moses got discouraged when the people complained and blamed him, the Lord said to Moses, "Go on before the people."(Ex. 17:55And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. (Exodus 17:5)) "Don't give up," He said, "Go on before the people." And so we know Moses did go on. "And Ittai the Gittite passed over and all his men." And now here's a nice little thought too. "And all the little ones that were with him." Last night we spoke a little bit about those 2 1/2 tribes. They left theirs wives and families in a sheltered place while they themselves went over to fight the battles of the Lord in the land of Canaan. But not so here with Ittai. He didn't leave his little ones in a place of ease. You know, sometimes when difficulties arise I've heard parents say, "Well I don't mind so much for myself but it discourages my children. They get bothered and upset by things they hear. How can I explain things like this to them?" But, here isn't it lovely to see that Ittai made this decision, not only for himself whatever the path might be, he took his men, all his men and all the little ones that were with him. Oh how beautiful this is. He wanted his little ones, even although it was a hard path, although it might mean following David into situations they had never encountered before, he wasn't going to leave his little ones back in a place of comfort and ease. He took them on. Perhaps we could say that when these difficulties arise in the assembly of God and we see our children and young people being discouraged, that we should just tell them that God is testing them. He's putting us to the test as to whether we're really there because the Lord is there. That's the great thing for us to learn and our children have to learn it too. People sometimes say to some of us who have been brought up in the Truth, who have been brought up in the meeting; "Well, it's different for you. You never had to buy it. You didn't have to come out of system." Well, perhaps that's true and one thanks God over and over again for a Christian father and mother who sought to bring us up in the truth, but I believe this from the bottom of my heart, that I don't care whether you're brought up in the Truth or not, someday you're going to have to buy it. The Lord is going to test you sooner or later about why you're there. He is going to bring you to the point where you realize that there is only one reason to be there and that is because the Lord is there. Because He is the One who is in the midst. So we find here with Ittai; this decision was not only for himself, but for all his men and for his family. May the Lord grant that we too may not be afraid to face these difficulties in affection for the Lord Jesus and to count upon Him to sustain our families. Because there's nothing that will so discourage our children as to see their parents discouraged. When you see your parents victorious in the midst of difficulties, when you see your parents have sufficient love for the Lord and for His people to go on why there's a great testimony to you. I can remember as a boy, when difficulties arose, I watched to see if my father had the courage for them. We have to face these things and the Lord can give us courage. So, may I say to those that are parents, don't let your children see that you're discouraged, let them see that you value the precious privilege of being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm sure that they'll look back and remember this and value it. So I believe we could say that we see in Ittai a man who had sufficient love for David that he wanted to be with him in life or in death. We could speak of that as love for Christ in His rejection.
Now let us turn over to 2 Sam. 19 and verse 24. "And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me Mephibosheth? And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame. And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes. For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet thou didst set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said Thou and Ziba divide the land. And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house."
Well, perhaps we could speak of the attitude of Mephibosheth while David was away as an attitude of hope, an attitude of waiting for the return of David. There were many things that would have disappointed poor Mephibosheth, but there was one thing that was always in Mephibosheth's heart and that is, "everything's going to be right when David returns. Everything is going to be straightened out then." And so how lovely it is when it speaks in Pt Thessalonians 1, which we mentioned before, of the patience of hope. The world speaks quite a bit of having patience, but, in scripture, patience is connected with hope. The world has patience up to a point, then, as they say, "My patience becomes exhausted." They see no way of things being set right and then they lose their patience. What is it that will keep us patient amid the problems that seem to be such that there is no solution? Well the thing that really gives patience is the hope that when the Lord comes everything is going to be set right. Everything is going to be set right. There isn't a wrong that we have ever known in the world, in families, or in the assembly of God that is not going to be satisfactorily explained and we're going to be perfectly happy with the way the Lord has ordered everything when we get home and see His blessed face. So we find, I believe, in Mephibosheth, that patience. Mephibosheth you know, was lame on both his feet. But David had brought him into his court. He had given him a place at his table. He had given him servants. Why he had done everything that love could do for that poor lame boy. Isn't that what the Lord has done for us? If Mephibosheth could speak of being like a dead dog, well surely we can say that we were dead in trespasses and sins. We were lame on both our feet. We didn't have anything to stand upon. And yet didn't He bring us and give us a place at his table? Didn't He bring us from such a great distance and bring us into such a wonderful place of nearness? So I'm sure that we can say that Mephibosheth's case is but a picture of our own.
But, now a sad disappointment came for Mephibosheth. David was rejected by his own son and he went off into captivity. Now poor Mephibosheth, he couldn't follow him.
You know we have to remain here in this world. Our precious Savior is up there, but He's still the rejected One. What was Mephibosheth's attitude during the absence of the king? Of necessity, he was left there in Jerusalem. Of necessity, he was left surrounded by all the people that had no love for David whatsoever. Now the question was, was he going to try and make himself attractive to these people? Was he going to seek a place for himself and make the best of the situation during the absence of David? Ziba slandered Mephibosheth and said that he was just hoping to get back the kingdom while David was away. But, as far as Mephibosheth was concerned, he wasn't concerned at all with all the glory of Absalom. He wasn't concerned with all that was going on in Jerusalem when David was not there. And that's why it tells us in this 24th verse; "he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes." Was there anything wrong with Mephibosheth dressing his feet and trimming his beard and washing his clothes? No, there wasn't anything wrong. That was a normal thing for him to do. Why didn't he do it? Well, I say again, he wasn't trying to make himself attractive to the people in Jerusalem. He wasn't trying to make an appeal to Absalom. He wanted it to be seen that his heart was with a person who was not there. So, Mephibosheth didn't try to attract any attention to himself during the absence of the king. Well it seems to me that this is a very touching word to our hearts in connection with worldliness. You know, I remember a remark made by Mr. Darby. He said, "The moment we do anything to meet the eye of the world, worldliness begins." Many of us are acquainted with that verse in Romans chapter 12. It's often quoted when there seems to be a tendency toward worldliness. It says in Rom. 12:11I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1), "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." So, we speak of presenting our bodies to the Lord and of not being conformed to the world. And we would normally expect in reading on in Rom. 12 That we would have found some exhortations there about not being worldly in our dress, and in our manner, and in our ways. If you and I had been writing it I suppose we would have put exhortations there about modest clothes and things like this because we would have considered that that was being conformed to the world. But doesn't it somewhat strike you that there's not a mention in that whole chapter about anything that we would call worldliness. Doesn't that strike you as being rather strange? Why is it? Well, as soon as he speaks about not being conformed to the world, he follows by saying, "not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly."(Rom. 12:33For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)) Doesn't that show what worldliness really is, what conformity to the world really is? Why did I buy those clothes? Did I want to attract attention to myself? Did I want people to have a very good opinion of me, and my good taste, and all about me? Or did I buy those clothes so that people would say, "Well, I'm sure that person is a Christian. There's something neat and tidy and yet simplicity about them. I think that person belongs to the Lord Jesus." So instead of giving exhortations in connection with such things as that, it simply says, "Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think." Why did I buy that car? Did I buy it to make my neighbors think I was getting along pretty well, just as well as they were and that I wanted to impress them that I was successful in my work or business? Well if that was the motive it was a worldly motive and having that car is worldliness. It doesn't matter what kind of a car it is either, if that was my motive, that's worldliness. And those clothes, if my motive was to try to attract attention to myself and make the world take notice of me, that's worldliness. Why did I buy that home? Did I buy it so I could use it for the glory of God, so I could honor the Lord in it or did I buy it in order to show that I was a little bit in the upper class? Well you see how the Spirit of God, in this exhortation, doesn't do what you or I would have done. He doesn't speak about things, He speaks about the heart. What kind of an opinion do we have about ourselves? Is our whole object and desire in life to attract attention to the Lord Jesus, to honor Him, to exalt Him? Well, if you read the chapter through carefully, you'll find out that the whole chapter is taken up with living our life for the glory of God and for the good of others, both saved and unsaved. So the whole principle of Christian life is not to be conformed to the world's idea. The world says, "Always do things so that people will take notice of you." So the whole principle that the world operates on, even it's philanthropy, everything it does, is always to attract attention to self and to make one feel very important. But God has given us a new life and our thinking is not to be conformed to the world. Our thinking is to exalt the Lord Jesus, to walk through this world in such a way that everything I do, and everything that I possess would speak the fact that I belong to Christ. I believe that's what is brought before us here in connection with Mephibosheth. There was nothing wrong with him dressing his feet or trimming his beard or washing his clothes, but the whole point was that he was not trying to attract the attention of the people in Jerusalem to himself. He wanted to be, in spirit and in ways, a waiting man. Waiting for the return of the one who was most dear to his heart. One who had done everything for him. May I just pass on this little comment to each one of us, whatever we buy, whatever we do, let us ask ourselves are we doing it as those who recognize the fact that we're not our own, that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, that we belong to Christ. "I am His and He is mine, forever and forever."
Well now, it tells us here that something else very disheartening and sad had happened in connection with Mephibosheth and that was that this man Ziba had slandered him. He had said, as I remarked before, he had actually come and told David that Mephibosheth was waiting there hoping that perhaps the kingdom would come back into his hands. He was just waiting the opportunity to get the kingdom back because he was the son of Saul. This was a slander. It was absolutely untrue. There wasn't one bit of truth in it. What did Mephibosheth do? Did Mephibosheth try to set this thing right? No, he just left it all. Why did he leave it all? Well, he said, "When David returns everything's going to be set right." There's a little poem that perhaps is known to most of us that has been often quoted; "Self vindication shunned, if in the right what gainest thou by taking from God's hand thy cause. If wrong what dost thou but invite Satan himself thy friend in need to stand. Leave all with God. If right he'll prove thee so, if not he'll pardon. Therefore to Him go."
And so I believe we could say that two particular things characterize Mephibosheth. First of all, his lack of concern about whether his appearance was pleasing to those who were the enemies of David. Secondly, that he was content to leave all that was said about him, the slander of Ziba and all these things that must have been very hard to bear and the harder still to bear because his heart really was true to David, and he was content to leave this until David returned. And then when David returned he said, "Well you and Ziba can divide the land."
Mephibosheth said, "I don't deserve anything." He said, "I don't deserve a single thing because I and my house were like dead men." He said, "David I don't deserve anything at all. Everything you've ever given me is only sovereign grace." So he said, "Let Ziba have it all. That doesn't matter because it's not things that I want. It's your company that I want David. It's your company." Oh how beautiful this is. Oh, are you and I, by the grace of God, content in these situations? Brethren, they do arise. There are things that try our patience and there are going to be more things that try our patience. There are going to be difficulties and problems. We see those two things that are so characteristic here, the lack of concern to be like the world and, secondly, leaving everything for David's return. May the Lord grant that in all the problems that may arise and difficulties that may come that we'll be content to leave it and be like Mephibosheth here. He said in the 30th verse, "Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house." He said, "Ziba can have everything. Let him have it." Because to have his place at the table of the king, to be rejoicing in the presence of the king was everything to Mephibosheth. Well, surely we could say this was hope in the return of David. For us it answers to that hope that ought to rise in our hearts. The Lord is coming. Oh brethren, everything about us in the world points to the near return of our precious Savior. The Christian can look out, and instead of being discouraged by the increasing darkness, and the coldness and indifference, and by Satan's great onslaughts against the gathered saints, instead of being discouraged about all these things, let us look up with brightening eyes. It says, "When ye see these things begin to come to pass, look up, lift up your heads for your redemption draws nigh."(Luke 21:2828And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)) A dear sister was in deep trial in her pathway. Everything seemed most discouraging. Her husband was unsaved and given to drink. It looked as if they were going to lose all their possessions. Everything looked terribly dark and sad for her. Someone went to visit her and she said, "My outlook never was darker, but my uplook never was brighter." Oh how beautiful. Brethren, the outlook in this world may be dark. It may be that more difficult days than we have seen are ahead. But let us look up. Our redemption draws nigh. It's all bright above. The precious Savior is going to return again. Well, may God grant that these things may characterize us; faith, love, and hope. Faith because of the great victory that has been won for us. Love that is content to share the Lord Jesus' company in His rejection, and the company of those that are in that place of rejection. Then, hope in the midst of all the difficulties and increasing worldliness and increasing tendency, perhaps, to misunderstandings and all that sort of thing, let us have that hope like Mephibosheth did that is content to leave all until we see His blessed face. Like the little poem says, "With endless love in that home above all shall be righted there."
Hymn 130.
"With Christ our theme begins.
The Lord of truth and love..."