2 Sam 9:3, And the king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." 
	Today we see the result of the heart after God that indwelled King David. There was a conscious effort exerted to make good on the promise that David had made to Jonathan. As well, David was not the type of newly crowned regent who wanted to destroy all the family of the former king who might have a claim upon the throne. This was a much too common practice throughout the times of kings with those who would usurp the thrones through power or deceit or any other form of subterfuge. Those newly crowned monarchs would habitually try to eliminate anyone who might have the slightest claim upon the throne. Not so with David.
	We find in this new king the continual manner of honoring even the descendents of King Saul. He was not trying to root out and destroy because he was still honoring the fact that Saul had been the first, anointed king over the nation through God’s choosing. As such, as was evident in those times when David or his men could have easily killed, Saul, David utterly refused to put forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed. David rather chose to withdraw and to avoid any confrontation with this divinely appointed Sovereign. 
As such, David was also loath to do any harm to the descendents of Saul, especially through the lineage of Jonathan. Such was that heart after God who would rather honor Jehovah than try to cement David’s earthly rule over the nation.
	The heart of David evidenced the very heart of God in the display of His love for His people. We can turn back to the declaration of this great love as proclaimed before the people by Moses in Deut 4:37-39.
	Deut 4:37-39, Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 
	The Lord God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth showed His tremendous compassion and mercy and grace in the fact that He personally, by His great and awesome Omnipotence and Omniscience and Omnipresence, brought forth the Children of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. He caused them to become a nation unto Himself through the might and the miracles with which He sustained and guided them in the wilderness and then leading them into the Promised Land. He went before them and He surrounded them with His protection and His provision and His loving kindness. 
	Moses continued to highlight the manner of God’s great and manifested love to the nation of Israel in Deut 10:15-20. In this detailed description of the compassion that Jehovah always shows to His children, we see the manner in which we are to deal with those in our lives. 
	Deut 10:15-20, Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
	Notice the care and compassion that is to be evident in the heart of the people of God as they more and more learn to express how He deals with those in need. This was the heart that was so expressed by King David in the course of dealing with the remaining family of Saul. There was displayed that recognition that there should be no retribution against the descendents of the one who tried to kill David and prevent him from becoming the next king. God would not have honored such a dastardly action on the part of David. 
	It was because of this that David chose rather to express his love and commitment to both God and to the promise that was given to Jonathan long before David ascended to the throne. There was a love between these two that was built on the honor and the dedication to the Lord. Jonathan knew that David was to take the throne instead of him, and he was also aware of what could happen in that regal ascension. Therefore, he sought the assurance from David that there would be no retribution against his family in the course of David’s coronation as king. Please refer back to 1 Sam 20:14-17.
	1 Sam 20:14-17, And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the Lord, that I may not die? "And you shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord require it at the hands of David's enemies." And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life.
	David was more than willing to assure Jonathon that he had no intention of doing anything other than that which would bring glory to God and be absolutely honoring to their friendship. The heart of the love of God was shared between these two as they become brothers after the Lord. This was a commitment that would stand the test of time as David would work to bring forth every effort to honor God in the way that he honored his promise to Jonathan.
	Consider how David even made evident his gracious kindheartedness to those who had risked their lives to honor Saul and Jonathan by gathering their dead corpses and bringing them back and burying them in the land of Israel. This action was in the face of the jeopardy that the Philistines would attack and decimate those brave warriors who showed such honor to their deceased sovereign. As recorded in 2 Sam 2:5-7, King David expressed his gratitude and admiration to the action of these men. 
2 Sam 2:5-7, And David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, "May you be blessed of the Lord because you have shown this kindness to Saul your lord, and have buried him. And now may the Lord show lovingkindness and truth to you; and I also will show this goodness to you, because you have done this thing. Now therefore, let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
	According to this heart to so manifest his faithful veneration of the promise that was made to Jonathan, David, we have in this morning’s text, wanted to locate and show loving kindness to any who might remain of the household of Saul. He was told about Mephibosheth the only surviving son of Jonathan. The history of this son was very much tied to the fear of the elimination of any possible heir to the throne by some person of the original kingly line.
	If you will remember, as recorded in 2 Sam 4:4, we have the account of what happened to cripple this young man. The one, who was caring for him, was very much afraid that this boy, then five years old, would be hunted down and killed by the new king. As a result of the fear that gripped her, she swiftly tried to hide away in a place of safety, but the boy fell and was severely injured in that panicked rush. 
	2 Sam 4:4, Now Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. 
	When this young man was brought to David that fear of being put to death was probably at the forefront of his thoughts. There must have been a dread and trembling within him that his life was soon to be forfeit as this new King of Israel was solidifying his base of power over the nation. That fear was soon set aside in the reception that Mephibosheth received from King David as recounted in this morning’s reading, 2 Sam 9:7.
2 Sam 9:7, And David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." 
	Rather than being killed, Mephibosheth received the loving kindness of David’s heart after his father, Jonathan. David was doing everything he could to make this young man know the manifested heart of love that was unto the Lord. He was brought into the very household of David and treated with respect and compassion and care, just as God takes care of all those in need, the orphan, the widow, the outcasts, and the weak. This brought forth a love in Mephibosheth for the king. Rather than seeking to overthrow him and take the throne for his own, this young man was committed to David for his gentle care for one such as he was. 
	Moving ahead, we read, in 2 Sam 19:24-30, how the son of Jonathan would not even care for himself in his concern for the welfare of David during the revolt of David’s own son, Absalom. He was more anxious about David’s welfare and his safe return to Jerusalem, than he was about his own well-being. This was expressed at the king’s return with the rejoicing in the safety of the king.
	2 Sam 19:24-30, Then Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; and he had neither cared for his feet, nor trimmed his mustache, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. And it was when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, "Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?" So he answered, "O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, 'I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,' because your servant is lame. Moreover, he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. For all my father's household was nothing but dead men before my lord the king; yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should complain anymore to the king?" So the king said to him, "Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have decided, 'You and Ziba shall divide the land.'" And Mephibosheth said to the king, "Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house." 
	We move ahead now to the encouragement that we receive from Our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matt 5:43-48, Jesus speaks to the manner of our hearts in dealing with those who would be considered our enemies. Even in the same terms as David did not take his revenge upon the household of Saul, so are we not to take revenge upon anyone. We are to express that heart of love that came forth from David to Mephibosheth, and from Christ to all those who hated Him. 
	Matt 5:43-48, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? "And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 
	Then in Luke 6:27-36, we have an even deeper accounting of how we are to express love instead of hatred or anger or animosity to those who persecute and abuse us. We are to treat everyone, regardless of their attitude toward us, with the love of God.
	Luke 6:27-36, "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
	The Apostle Paul then wraps up this morning’s consideration with the expressed detailing of how that heart after God that was shown by King David, and lived forth by Jesus should be the manner of our dealings with one another. Please open to Titus 3:1-9, as we will conclude with this passage.
	Titus 3:1-9, Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law; for they are unprofitable and worthless. 
	We have no excuse to do otherwise in the lives that we live on this earth. Our entire focus of being is to show the love of God, livingly and compassionately and joyously unto those who are in such need of this loving kindness and grace and mercy. So be it and amen.

This morning’s benediction is Ps 72:18+19. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders. And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.