2 Samuel 9:13 So Mephibosheth dwelled in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet. The story of Mephibosheth may be used as a little parable of the spiritual history of everyone who is restored to God. He was: 1. A prince. To you belongs a more than princely dignity; for you are all "the offspring of God," and bear on you traces of "the image and glory" of "the Father of spirits." 2. Lost. You belong to a sinful and fallen race; and your condition is one of deprivation, helplessness, obscurity, and misery. "A true religion ought to instruct man both in his greatness and his misery" (Pascal). 3. Sought. Infinite piety has sought and is still seeking every one of you, and employs many means to find and save you (Matthew 18:10-14; Luke 15.). 4. Found; unexpectedly to himself and to the joy of the seeker. So is it when the gracious message of the gospel comes to you, "not in word only, but in power." 5. Self-abased; in the presence of the king. When you see the height of Divine greatness and goodness, you also see the depth of your own unworthiness and shame. 6. Comforted. "Fear not; only believe." 7. Exated; endowed with more than had been lost; and adopted as "one of the king's sons" (ver. 11). The gifts of God are worthy of himself. When one, to whom Alexander gave a city, declined to accept it, on the, ground that it was unsuitable to his condition, he said, "I do not ask what is becoming in you to receive, but what is becoming in me to give" (Seneca, 'De Beneficiis'). - D. Parallel Verses KJV: So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king's table; and was lame on both his feet. |
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