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.
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.
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,
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,
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
chapter 1.
Ephesians
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
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
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
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
what a
savior
we have
he's
so good
to us
so with
this
let's
close
in
prayer