The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-07-23
|IALAMGE,9 SERMON.

rs there yet any that is left of the house
of Saul, that may shew him kindness for
JOnathans sake? .. So Mephiboseth
dwelt i'll Jerusalem; for he did eat contin-
ually at the kings table; and was lame on
both his feet. Ill. Samuel, tx, 1 and u.
Was the ever anything more roman
tic and chiyalroHs than the love Of
David and Jonathan? At one time
Jonathan was up and David was
down. Nov, David is MP and Jona-
than's family is down. AS YOU have
often heard of two soldiers before
going into battle making a covenant
that if one is shot the survivor will
take charge Of the body, the watch,
the mementoes and perhaps of the be-
reft family OF the one that dies. So
Da:id and Jonathan had made a COW
enant, and now that Jonathan is dead,
David is inquiring about his family,
that he may show kindness unto them
for their father Jonathan's sake. Care
fill search is made, and Il son OF JOna-
allan by the dreadfully homely name
of Mephibosheth is found. Ills nurse
In his infancy, had let him fall, and
the fall had put both his ankles out Of
place, and they had never been set.
This decrepit, poor man is brought into
the palace Of King David. David looks
upon him with melting tenderness, no
doubt seeing in his face a resemblance
ito his old friend, the deceased JOna-
than. The whole bearing of King Da-
vid toward him seems to say: How
glad am to see you, Mephibosheth
How, you remind me of your father,
my old friend and benefactor. 1 made
q bargain with your father a good
many years ago, and I am going to
keep it with you. What can I do for
YOU, Mephibosheth? 1 am resolved
what to do; will make you a rich
man; I will restore to you the confis-
Saul, and you shall be a guest Of mine
seated at my table among the princes"
1t was too much for Mephibosheth,
and he cried out against it, calling
himself a dead dog. 'Be STILL" said
David, 81 don't do this on your own
account; I do this for your father JON
=athan's sake. I can never forget his
kindness. I remember when l was
Alounded from place to place how he
befriended me. Can I ever forget how
he stripped himself of his courtier ap-
parel and gave it to me instead Of my
shepherds coat, and how he took off
Ais own sword and belt and gave them
to me instead of my sling? Oh, I can
never forget him. 1 feel as if I could
not do enough for you, his son. I
don't do it for your sake; do it for
your father iona thams sake $50
Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem; for
ne did eat continually at the kings
table; and was lame on both his feet"
There is so much Gospel in this
quaint incident THAT am embarrassed
to know where to begin. Whom do
ibosheth and David and Jonathan
make you think Of?
Mephibosheth, in the first place,
stands for the disabled human soul.
Lord Byron describes sin as a charm
ing recklessness, as a gallantry, as a
Don Juan; George Sand describes sin
as q triumph in many intricate plots;
'Gayarni, with his engraver's knife, al
ways shows, sin as great popularity;
but the Bible presents it as a Mephi-
f1bosheth, lame on both feet. Sin, like
the nurse in the context, attempted to
carry us, and let us fall. and we have
been disabled, and in our whole moral
mature we are decrepit. Sometimes
theologians haggle about 4 technicality.
They use the words total depravity,"
and some people believe in the doctrine
and some reject it. What do you mean
= by tota: dep"avity? DO you mean that
every man is as bad as he can be?
Then l do not believe it either. But
do you mean that sin has let us fall,
that it has scarified and disabled, and
q. crippled our entire moral nature, Until
we cannot walk straight and are lame
in beth feet! Then I admit your prop
e osition. There is not so much differ
ence in an African jungle, With bark
Ing, bowling, Kissing. fighting quadru-
ped and reptile and Paradise with it's
animals coming before Adam when he
patted them and stroked them and
gave them names, so that the panther
was as tame as the COW, and the con-
dor as tame as the dove, as there is
between the human soul disa bled and
that soul as God originally construct
ed it. I do not care what the Senti-
mentalists or the poets say in regard
to sin; in the name of God l declare
TO you to-day that sin Is disorganiza-
rtion, disintegration, CHASTITY diSfigura-
etion hobbling deformity. s..
Your modern theOlogian tells you
that man is a little out of sorts; he
sometimes thinks wrong; he sometimes
does wrong; indeed, his nature needs
a little moral surgery, an outside splint,
Il slight compress a little rectitication
Religion is a good thing to have; it
might some day come into USE Man
IS partially wrong, not all wrong. He
is lame in one foot. Bring the salve
of divine grace and the ointment and
the pain extractor, and we will have
his one foot cured. Man is only half
wrong, not altogether wrong In what
Is mans nature right? In his will?
bis affections? his Judgment? No.
There is an old book that says: "The
whole head is sick. and the whole
heart faint" Mephibosheth lame in
both feet. Our belief of the fact that
sin has sCaritied and deformed our
souls increases as we go on in years.
When You started life you thought
that man was a little marred by sin,
and he was about one-tenth wrong.
! BY the time you had gone through the
early experience Of your trade or oc-
ca2ation or profession you believed
that man was about half wrong. BY
IhH time Won came TO nid-life Won he-