We Receive the Kindness of God and Enjoy His Grace because of Christ who Died for Us

Though we have no ground to receive grace, we received kindness from God because of Christ, who died for us and made it possible for us to enjoy God in Christ as grace to meet all our needs; this is typified by David’s showing kindness to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan (2 Sam. 9).

This week in our morning revival we come to a very endearing and sweet crystal in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, David, Mephibosheth, and the Kindness of God (week 10).

The story in 2 Sam. 9 applies very much to us in our Christian experience, and it is a heartwarming, tender, pleasant, gentle, deeply moving and inspiring story.

Just like Mephibosheth, we had no ground or merit, but God showed His kindness toward us.

Rom. 2:4 speaks concerning the riches of His kindness; praise God for the surpassing riches of God’s kindness.

He has deep riches of kindness, forbearance, long-suffering, and exceeding patience, and these lead us to repentance.

It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance; it is not His wrath or the fear of His judgment but His kindness.

And God’s kindness is rich to the uttermost – it is inclusive, including so many things.

God’s kindness is displaying to the whole universe how good, how kind, and how affectionate our God is toward us, sinners.

We praise God for His mercy – it is so great and so profound; even in our weaknesses and failures, His mercy and kindness abounds.

In reality, we are like Mephibosheth, crippled and unable to do what God wants us to do, and every time we meet God we see our crippled feet; but His kindness is rich and inexhaustible.

His mercy abounds when nothing else will; where nothing else abounds, God’s mercy is still there. How we adore Him!

He even crowns us with His mercy, showing us kindness again and again.

May the Lord open our eyes and cause our hearts to melt before Him as we see His kindness, and the riches of His mercy toward us.

In Greek kindness means goodness, uprightness, and even gentleness and excellence.

This is what God’s heart and attitude are toward us. He is not a God who judges us or seeks to find our faults; He is forbearing and full of kindness.

He is sympathetic with us, forbearing and gentle and kind, and He is so pleasant toward us.

When we come to God, He is not quick to point out our obvious faults and mistakes; rather, He tenderly shines on us, warms us up, and is very affectionate toward us.

Every time we contact the Lord, we touch the kindness of God which reaches us in a surpassingly rich way.

May we be here enjoying God’s kindness and becoming the same as He is toward others, not being critical or quick to judge but rather, being as kind as He is, for we enjoy His kindness to the uttermost.

David’s showing Kindness to Mephibosheth being a type of the Kindness of God toward us

2 Sam. 9:1-13 is a record of how David showed kindness to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan.

One day, David asked if there was anyone left in the house of Saul so that he may show the kindness of God to him (v. 3) for Jonathan’s sake. Jonathan and David were companions, very good friends, and they loved one another very much.

When Jonathan realized that his father wanted to kill David, he cared for David and warned him and did many things to rescue David and help him escape.

While Jonathan was still alive, he made a covenant with David and asked him to show him and his house the lovingkindness of God that he may not die but preserve his seed alive.

David promised him this. And then there was that fateful battle when both Saul and his sons were killed, and it seemed that Saul’s house was cut off.

Even while Saul was alive, he wanted to kill David, and David had many opportunities to kill Saul but did not, for he feared God and was a person under authority.

And when Saul realized that David spared his life, he asked him to swear to him by Jehovah that he will not cut off Saul’s seed after him and not destroy his name from his father’s house; he was hoping that at least his seed would remain.

For these reasons, David was looking for that descendant to show him the kindness of God.

And Ziba, one of Saul’s servants, said that there is one more son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth, who was crippled in his feet; so David sent for him to be brought from Lo-debar.

Mephibosheth must have been quite afraid to come to David, for he thought that he would die.

When he was young and his father Jonathan died, his nurse ran with Mephibosheth to save him but he fell and became crippled.

When Mephibosheth came to the king, David’s attitude toward him was so affectionate and gentle, so full of care and kindness.

He told him not to be afraid, for he will show him kindness for the sake of Jonathan his father, and he will restore Mephibosheth to the land of his father Saul, and he will eat food at the king’s table continually (v. 7).

How sweet and kind David was. He not only spared Mephibosheth’s life but restored the land his father owned and made sure he was sitting at the king’s table.

Though Mephibosheth had no right but rather, was worthy only of death, David showed him the kindness of God and brought him to eat with him at the table.

This is a picture of the kindness of God; we are worthy of death, but God shows us mercy and kindness.

He not only brought us back to our rightful inheritance, restoring us to our allotted portion of the good land, but He also brought us to the table of the king to enjoy Christ.

We were like dead dogs in the face of the righteous and holy God, but now here we are, restored to our possessions and feasting with the king at his table.

Especially at the Lord’s table, as we enjoy the Lord with the saints and see the symbols on the table, may we be filled with adoration and love toward God, for He qualified us for a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light (Col. 1:12) and we can feast with God and with the saints.

At the Lord’s table, we are filled with peace, joy, love, and security; we are eating at the table of the king, and we are feasting on what Christ is, has, and has accomplished together with the saints enjoying the kindness of God.

When we see this, when we realize how kind God is toward us and taste the kindness of God, we will just tell Him,

Thank You, Lord, for Your kindness toward us. Though we were dead in sins and offenses, far away from God and strangers from the commonwealth of Israel, You reached us in Your kindness. Thank You, Lord, for qualifying us to partake of the allotted portion of the all-inclusive Christ together with the saints. Thank You for the kindness of God shown toward us. We come to You, Lord, and we enjoy You in love, with joy, and under Your kindness. Hallelujah, we have the right to partake of the riches of Christ and we can feast with God at the table He spread for us with the saints. What a joy it is to be in the presence of the King, feasting with Him day by day! Thank You, Lord, for the kindness of God shown toward us!

We Receive the Kindness of God and Enjoy Grace because of Christ who Died for Us

Mephibosheth had no ground to receive grace, yet he received it; he was more than unqualified – he was even an enemy of the king, and he and his whole household should have been put to death because of what Saul did, but he was shown the kindness of God.

The same is true with regard to us and God. By birth, simply by being born in that family and not necessarily for doing anything wrong, Mephibosheth was worthy to be put to death. It is the same with us: simply by being born in Adam, we are worthy to be put to death.

Just as David showed Mephibosheth kindness because of Jonathan, so God shows us kindness because of Christ, the One who loved us and came to die for us.

As descendants of Adam, simply by our birth, we have no ground or position to receive grace; but because of Christ, we are shown the kindness of God and we can enjoy grace.

We need to realize that God’s heart toward us is full of love and kindness.

Because of our fallen state, we may have devious thoughts concerning God, and we may think that God thinks the same way toward us.

Mephibosheth might have thought that David hates him and wants him to be put to death, but David’s heart was full of kindness toward him.

Sinners may think that God hates them and there’s no love in Him for them, but it is not true; though we have no ground to receive grace and kindness, because of Christ, we can enjoy the grace and receive the kindness of God.

God today is asking as David did in the old, Is there any that is left of Adam, that I may show him mercy and grace for the sake of Christ?

May we not make the mistake of thinking that God hates man; may we not give in to Satan’s accusing thoughts to think that, because we did this or said that, God hates us.

It is only Satan that God hates; He loves man and wants to show the kindness of God to man.

For the sake of Christ who loved us and died for us, we can receive the kindness of God and we can enjoy grace.

We receive kindness not because of ourselves, no matter how good we think we are.

God is not expecting us to improve ourselves first, do a lot of good works, and then we are qualified to receive grace and be reconciled to God.

He does not regard our efforts to please God, nor does He want us to struggle and strive to do many good works to make Him happy.

He is happy with Christ, and because of Christ, we can come to God to receive the kindness of God and enjoy grace.

Jesus is our real Jonathan; because of Him, we are saved and recovered back to our possession, and because of Him, we can enjoy the kindness of God.

Thank the Lord for dying for us on the cross; because He died, we now live.

Because He was cursed and took all our sins upon Him, bearing them on the tree, today we are blessed with eternal life. It is because of His stripes that we are healed (Isa. 53).

We can taste the eternal life, the divine life, in the kindness of God, because of Jesus Christ who loved us and died for us (John 3:16).

God is love, and because He loved us, He gave His only begotten Son to come and die for us; now because of the sacrifice of His Son, we are qualified to be in God’s presence, and we can enjoy the all-inclusive Christ, and our portion is to feast at the table of the king.

May this realization fill us and cause us to simply thank Him and praise Him,

Lord Jesus, we love You! Thank You for loving us and giving Yourself up for us to qualify us to be at the table of the King enjoying grace. Hallelujah, God loves us and does not hate us! God’s thoughts toward us are full of peace and love. Thank You, Lord, for qualifying us to receive the kindness of God and enjoy the grace of God with the saints. Thank You for taking our sins upon You on the tree. Thank You for drinking the cup of God’s wrath so that we may enjoy the cup of blessing. We come to You, Lord, and we just want to enjoy You and partake of You, for we are no longer cursed sinners but sons of God enjoying the riches of Christ in the house of God!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 18, pp. 279-281, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 10, entitled, David, Mephibosheth, and the Kindness of God.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God, we praise Thee for Thy mercy, / ’Tis so great and so profound! / In our weakness and our failures; / With its greatness it abounds. / We adore Thee! we adore Thee! / With such mercy we’ve been crowned! (Hymns #26)
  – All that we were—our sin, our guilt, / Our death—was all our own: / All that we are we owe to Thee, / Thou God of grace alone. / Thy mercy found us in our sins, / And gave us to believe; / Then, in believing, peace we found, / And in Thy Christ we live. (Hymns #31)
  – He left His Father’s throne above, / So free, so infinite His grace; / Emptied Himself of all but love, / And bled for Adam’s helpless race: / ’Tis mercy all, immense and free; / For, O my God, it found out me. / ’Tis mercy all, immense and free; / For, O my God, it found out me. (Hymns #296)