91 And David saith, 'Is there yet any left to the house of Saul, and I do with him kindness because of Jonathan?' 2 And the house of Saul hath a servant, and his name 'is' Ziba, and they call for him unto David; and the king saith unto him, 'Art thou Ziba?' and he saith, 'Thy servant.' 3 And the king saith, 'Is there not yet a man to the house of Saul, and I do with him the kindness of God?' And Ziba saith unto the king, 'Jonathan hath yet a son—lame.' 4 And the king saith to him, 'Where 'is' he?' and Ziba saith unto the king, 'Lo, he 'is' in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel, in Lo-Debar.' 5 And king David sendeth, and taketh him out of the house of Machir son of Ammiel, of Lo-Debar, 6 and Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, son of Saul, cometh unto David, and falleth on his face, and doth obeisance, and David saith, 'Mephibosheth;' and he saith, 'Lo, thy servant.' 7 And David saith to him, 'Be not afraid; for I certainly do with thee kindness because of Jonathan thy father, and have given back to thee all the field of Saul thy father, and thou dost eat bread at my table continually.' 8 And he boweth himself, and saith, 'What 'is' thy servant, that thou hast turned unto the dead dog—such as I?'
9 And the king calleth unto Ziba servant of Saul, and saith unto him, 'All that was to Saul and to all his house, I have given to the son of thy lord, 10 and thou hast served for him the land, thou and thy sons, and thy servants, and hast brought in, and there hath been to the son of thy lord bread, and he hath eaten it; and Mephibosheth son of thy lord doth eat continually bread at my table;' and Ziba hath fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 And Ziba saith unto the king, 'According to all that my lord the king commandeth his servant, so doth thy servant;' as to Mephibosheth, 'he is eating at my table ('saith the king') as one of the sons of the king.' 12 And Mephibosheth hath a young son, and his name 'is' Micha, and every one dwelling in the house of Ziba 'are' servants to Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth is dwelling in Jerusalem, for at the table of the king he is eating continually, and he 'is' lame of his two feet.
101 And it cometh to pass afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth in his stead, 2 and David saith, 'I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon. 3 And the heads of the Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, 'Is David honouring thy father in thine eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?' 4 And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off their long robes in the midst—unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away; 5 and they declare 'it' to David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king saith, 'Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up—then ye have returned.'
6 And the Bene-Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah 'with' a thousand men, and Ish-Tob 'with' twelve thousand men; 7 and David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host—the mighty men. 8 And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, 'are' by themselves in the field; 9 and Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram, 10 and the rest of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to meet the Bene-Ammon. 11 And he saith, 'If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee; 12 be strong and strengthen thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.' 13 And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who 'are' with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence; 14 and the Bene-Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to Jerusalem.
15 And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together; 16 and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which 'is' beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer 'is' before them. 17 And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him; 18 and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there. 19 And all the kings—servants of Hadadezer—see that they have been smitten before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the Bene-Ammon.
111 And it cometh to pass, at the revolution of the year—at the time of the going out of the messengers—that David sendeth Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroy the Bene-Ammon, and lay siege against Rabbah. And David is dwelling in Jerusalem, 2 and it cometh to pass, at evening-time, that David riseth from off his couch, and walketh up and down on the roof of the king's house, and seeth from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman 'is' of very good appearance, 3 and David sendeth and inquireth about the woman, and saith, 'Is not this Bath-Sheba, daughter of Eliam, wife of Uriah the Hittite?' 4 And David sendeth messengers, and taketh her, and she cometh unto him, and he lieth with her—and she is purifying herself from her uncleanness—and she turneth back unto her house; 5 and the woman conceiveth, and sendeth, and declareth to David, and saith, 'I 'am' conceiving.'
6 And David sendeth unto Joab, 'Send unto me Uriah the Hittite,' and Joab sendeth Uriah unto David; 7 and Uriah cometh unto him, and David asketh of the prosperity of Joab, and of the prosperity of the people, and of the prosperity of the war. 8 And David saith to Uriah, 'Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet;' and Uriah goeth out of the king's house, and there goeth out after him a gift from the king, 9 and Uriah lieth down at the opening of the king's house, with all the servants of his lord, and hath not gone down unto his house. 10 And they declare to David, saying, 'Uriah hath not gone down unto his house;' and David saith unto Uriah, 'Hast thou not come from a journey? wherefore hast thou not gone down unto thy house?' 11 And Uriah saith unto David, 'The ark, and Israel, and Judah, are abiding in booths, and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, on the face of the field are encamping; and I—I go in unto my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife!—thy life, and the life of thy soul—if I do this thing.' 12 And David saith unto Uriah, 'Abide in this 'place' also to-day, and to-morrow I send thee away;' and Uriah abideth in Jerusalem, on that day, and on the morrow, 13 and David calleth for him, and he eateth before him, and drinketh, and he causeth him to drink, and he goeth out in the evening to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, and unto his house he hath not gone down.
14 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that David writeth a letter unto Joab, and sendeth by the hand of Uriah; 15 and he writeth in the letter, saying, 'Place ye Uriah over-against the front of the severest battle, and ye have turned back from after him, and he hath been smitten, and hath died.' 16 And it cometh to pass in Joab's watching of the city, that he appointeth Uriah unto the place where he knew that valiant men 'are'; 17 and the men of the city go out and fight with Joab, and there fall 'some' of the people, of the servants of David; and there dieth also Uriah the Hittite. 18 And Joab sendeth and declareth to David all the matters of the war, 19 and commandeth the messenger, saying, 'At thy finishing all the matters of the war to speak unto the king, 20 then, it hath been, if the king's fury ascend, and he hath said to thee, Wherefore did ye draw nigh unto the city to fight? did ye not know that they shoot from off the wall? 21 Who smote Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast on him a piece of a rider from the wall, and he dieth in Thebez? why drew ye nigh unto the wall? that thou hast said, Also thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.' 22 And the messenger goeth, and cometh in, and declareth to David all that with which Joab sent him, 23 and the messenger saith unto David, 'Surely the men have been mighty against us, and come out unto us into the field, and we are upon them unto the opening of the gate, 24 and those shooting shoot at thy servants from off the wall, and 'some' of the servants of the king are dead, and also, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead. 25 And David saith unto the messenger, 'Thus dost thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing be evil in thine eyes; for thus and thus doth the sword devour; strengthen thy warfare against the city, and throw it down—and strengthen thou him.' 26 And the wife of Uriah heareth that Uriah her husband 'is' dead, and lamenteth for her lord; 27 and the mourning passeth by, and David sendeth and gathereth her unto his house, and she is to him for a wife, and beareth to him a son; and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah.
11 And he said, 'A certain man had two sons, 12 and the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the portion of the substance falling to 'me', and he divided to them the living. 13 'And not many days after, having gathered all together, the younger son went abroad to a far country, and there he scattered his substance, living riotously; 14 and he having spent all, there came a mighty famine on that country, and himself began to be in want; 15 and having gone on, he joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him to the fields to feed swine, 16 and he was desirous to fill his belly from the husks that the swine were eating, and no one was giving to him. 17 'And having come to himself, he said, How many hirelings of my father have a superabundance of bread, and I here with hunger am perishing! 18 having risen, I will go on unto my father, and will say to him, Father, I did sin—to the heaven, and before thee, 19 and no more am I worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hirelings. 20 'And having risen, he went unto his own father, and he being yet far distant, his father saw him, and was moved with compassion, and having ran he fell upon his neck and kissed him; 21 and the son said to him, Father, I did sin—to the heaven, and before thee, and no more am I worthy to be called thy son. 22 'And the father said unto his servants, Bring forth the first robe, and clothe him, and give a ring for his hand, and sandals for the feet; 23 and having brought the fatted calf, kill 'it', and having eaten, we may be merry, 24 because this my son was dead, and did live again, and he was lost, and was found; and they began to be merry. 25 'And his elder son was in a field, and as, coming, he drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing, 26 and having called near one of the young men, he was inquiring what these things might be, 27 and he said to him—Thy brother is arrived, and thy father did kill the fatted calf, because in health he did receive him back. 28 'And he was angry, and would not go in, therefore his father, having come forth, was entreating him; 29 and he answering said to the father, Lo, so many years I do serve thee, and never thy command did I transgress, and to me thou didst never give a kid, that with my friends I might make merry; 30 but when thy son—this one who did devour thy living with harlots—came, thou didst kill to him the fatted calf. 31 'And he said to him, Child, thou art always with me, and all my things are thine; 32 but to be merry, and to be glad, it was needful, because this thy brother was dead, and did live again, he was lost, and was found.'
(Read Luke 15:11-16)
The parable of the prodigal son shows the nature of repentance, and the Lord's readiness to welcome and bless all who return to him. It fully sets forth the riches of gospel grace; and it has been, and will be, while the world stands, of unspeakable use to poor sinners, to direct and to encourage them in repenting and returning to God. It is bad, and the beginning of worse, when men look upon God's gifts as debts due to them. The great folly of sinners, and that which ruins them, is, being content in their life-time to receive their good things. Our first parents ruined themselves and all their race, by a foolish ambition to be independent, and this is at the bottom of sinners' persisting in their sin. We may all discern some features of our own characters in that of the prodigal son. A sinful state is of departure and distance from God. A sinful state is a spending state: wilful sinners misemploy their thoughts and the powers of their souls, mispend their time and all their opportunities. A sinful state is a wanting state. Sinners want necessaries for their souls; they have neither food nor raiment for them, nor any provision for hereafter. A sinful state is a vile, slavish state. The business of the devil's servants is to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, and that is no better than feeding swine. A sinful state is a state constant discontent. The wealth of the world and the pleasures of the senses will not even satisfy our bodies; but what are they to precious souls! A sinful state is a state which cannot look for relief from any creature. In vain do we cry to the world and to the flesh; they have that which will poison a soul, but have nothing to give which will feed and nourish it. A sinful state is a state of death. A sinner is dead in trespasses and sins, destitute of spiritual life. A sinful state is a lost state. Souls that are separated from God, if his mercy prevent not, will soon be lost for ever. The prodigal's wretched state, only faintly shadows forth the awful ruin of man by sin. Yet how few are sensible of their own state and character!
(Read Luke 15:17-24)
Having viewed the prodigal in his abject state of misery, we are next to consider his recovery from it. This begins by his coming to himself. That is a turning point in the sinner's conversion. The Lord opens his eyes, and convinces him of sin; then he views himself and every object, in a different light from what he did before. Thus the convinced sinner perceives that the meanest servant of God is happier than he is. To look unto God as a Father, and our Father, will be of great use in our repentance and return to him. The prodigal arose, nor stopped till he reached his home. Thus the repenting sinner resolutely quits the bondage of Satan and his lusts, and returns to God by prayer, notwithstanding fears and discouragements. The Lord meets him with unexpected tokens of his forgiving love. Again; the reception of the humbled sinner is like that of the prodigal. He is clothed in the robe of the Redeemer's righteousness, made partaker of the Spirit of adoption, prepared by peace of conscience and gospel grace to walk in the ways of holiness, and feasted with Divine consolations. Principles of grace and holiness are wrought in him, to do, as well as to will.
(Read Luke 15:25-32)
In the latter part of this parable we have the character of the Pharisees, though not of them alone. It sets forth the kindness of the Lord, and the proud manner in which his gracious kindness is often received. The Jews, in general, showed the same spirit towards the converted Gentiles; and numbers in every age object to the gospel and its preachers, on the same ground. What must that temper be, which stirs up a man to despise and abhor those for whom the Saviour shed his precious blood, who are objects of the Father's choice, and temples of the Holy Ghost! This springs from pride, self-preference, and ignorance of a man's own heart. The mercy and grace of our God in Christ, shine almost as bright in his tender and gentle bearing with peevish saints, as his receiving prodigal sinners upon their repentance. It is the unspeakable happiness of all the children of God, who keep close to their Father's house, that they are, and shall be ever with him. Happy will it be for those who thankfully accept Christ's invitation.
