"He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy." [Psa 147:10-11]
After becoming king, David desired to show kindness to someone for the sake of his friend, Jonathan. David spoke of their love, saying, “thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.” [2 Sam 1:26] When Jonathan died, it grieved David, for early in their relationship it is written for our remembrance, “the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.” [1 Sam 18:1] And so knit were their souls, so deep their love and friendship, that preceding David’s fleeing from Saul, they made a covenant. Jonathan spoke to David in the field, saying,
“And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of The LORD, that I die not: but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when The LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David…And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” [1 Sam 20:14-16, 17]
This covenant was not hastily made; even after Jonathan’s father, Saul, did much evil to David, yet after becoming king, David thought it well to do some kindness to Jonathan’s household, thus fulfilling that covenant. And so it came to pass that “David said, is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” [2 Sam 9:2] To this, Ziba, a servant in Saul’s house, answered and said, “Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.” [2 Sam 9:3] In response to this, “king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.” [2 Sam 9:5] What happens after this, when Jonathan’s Son, Mephibosheth, comes to David, is a glorious picture of Christ’s grace toward us. We therefore read,
“Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?” [2 Sam 9:6-8]
Notice first-of-all, the grace David bestows so freely on Mephibosheth, in saying, “fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness…and will restore thee all the land of Saul…and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.” No doubt, a descendent of David’s enemy, Mephibosheth had tremors of fear coursing through his heart and mind, for we read that when he drew near to David, “he fell on his face, and did reverence.” It was not uncommon, as we see through other scriptures, for evil kings to kill off the last king’s family; for it is written of Athaliah that wicked queen, “she arose and destroyed all the seed royal.” [2 Ki 11:1] But David was not a wicked king; he was just, “a man after [The LORD’s] own heart.” [Acts 13:22, 1 Sam 13:14] Though Mephibosheth may have had fear, yet David intended to do him no wrong; on the contrary – David wished to do him a kindness. And truly this represents to us the great love of God toward us through Christ. For “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us;” and again, “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son…” [Rom 5:8, 10] When we were enemies of God, sinners and ungodly men, walking “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,” [Eph 2:2] that is, satan, God’s enemy, our gracious Lord thought well to do us a great kindness in sending us Jesus Christ to die for our sin.
Moreover, David offered Mephibosheth, though he was lame, a continual supply of provision and land. He invited him into his home to eat and drink and take delight in all that was the king’s. In this, David shows us what God The Father has done for us through Christ. For notice too that David says, “I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake;” and in like manner, The Father blesses and loves us for the sake of Christ. Jesus tells us it is because of Him that we are loved of God. He says, “The Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and believed that I came out from God.” [Jn 16:27] And furthermore, it is written that not one thing can take away God’s love for us which is given to us in Jesus;
“…Neither death, nor life…nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come…shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Rom 8:38-39]
And,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.” [Eph 1:3]
And again,
“…[The Father] hath made us to be endowed with grace in the beloved [Son].” [Eph 1:6]
Just as David blessed Mephibosheth for the sake of Jonathan, so too God blesses and lavishes grace upon us for the sake of Jesus Christ, His Son. Even as it was with Israel, who did not receive God’s favor and election for their own good works, but because of God’s love. “The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people…but because The LORD loved you…” [Deut 7:7-8] In Christ we have been adopted into God’s family, thus making available to us every spiritual blessing; yes, and every promise too, for it is written, “all the promises of God in [Jesus] are yea, and in Him amen, unto the glory of God by us.” [2 Cor 1:20] Like Christ Jesus was told of God, “this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” [Mt 3:17] so too it is with us. For we “have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father;” [Rom 8:15] and indeed, in Christ we are true sons and daughters.
Truly though, the kindness that David showed Mephibosheth is as nothing in comparison to God’s kindness toward us. For The LORD’s compassion, mercy, grace, and love are not just overflowing for those in His Son, but everlasting as well. And let us notice one more glory regarding David: that he was aware of Mephibosheth’s lameness beforehand. Remember that the servant who told David of Mephibosheth said, “Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet.” David did not choose Mephibosheth to come into his house and enjoy the pleasures of his presence because Mephibosheth would be useful. It was not so that he might fight in the army, or till land, or help the servants; no, but it was purely out of love for Jonathan. In a very similar way, God’s love for us is not for anything that we might do for Him. He did not love us nor save us that we might work or repay Him in any fashion, or because he thought us strong and useful to His causes. No, but because of His great and abounding love which is found in Christ His Son, He loved us and saved us; He made us sons and daughters, kings and priests, objects of His grace and mercy. Yes, and Psalms agrees to this, showing us that we cannot nor are expected to repay God.
“What shall I render unto The LORD for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of The LORD.” [Psa 116:12-13]
This great quality of our God is found in our verse today, which reads again,
“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.” [Psa 147:10-11]
Even as David took no delight in Mephibosheth’s legs, them being lame, The LORD does not take pleasure and delight in us because of our legs: because of our usefulness to Him, because of works. No, but The LORD takes pleasure in those that simply, restfully, lovingly cling to Him in fellowship; in those that fear Him and hope in His mercy and other good qualities. The man that seeks to be useful for God, thinking himself to be strong or able, shall not give God much pleasure. But the man who abides in sweet, pure fellowship, hoping in and looking to God for mercy and love, this man gives God pleasure. For our God did not save us for our works, nor for anything we could do for Him; He saved us because He loved us and desired us. Praise be to our God who shows us such favor in His Son!
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