The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1896-07-24

come to King David's palace, he trem
bled. The fact was that the grand
father of Mephibosheth had treatet
David most shockingly, and nov
Mephibosheth says to himself: ''Wha
does the king want of me? Isn't /
enough that. / am lame? Is he going
to destroy my life? Is he going II
wreak on me the vengeance which hs
holds toward my grandfather Saul'
It's too bad" But go to the palacs
Mephibosheth must. since the king ha:
commanded it. With staff and crutche.
and helped by his friends, l see Me
phibosheth going up the stairs of The
palace. i hear his staff and crutche:
rafting on the tessellated floor of the
throne room. No sooner have these
two persons confronted each other
Mephibosheth and David, the king
than Mephibosheth throws him
self fat on his face before the
king, and styles himself a dead
dog. In the east when man styles
himself a dog he utters the ut
most term of elf-abnegation. 1t is
not term so strong in this country,
where, if dog has fair chance, he
sometimes shows more nobility OF
character than some human specimens
that we wot of; but the NANCY ours
of the oriental cities, as / know by my
own observation, are utterly detesta-
bic. MephibOsbeth gives the utmost
term of self-lothing when he compares
himself to dog, and dead at that.
Consider the analogy. When the
command is given from the palace of
Heaven to the human soul to come, the
soul begins TO tremble. It says: what
is God going to do with me now? Is
He going to wreak His vengeance up
on me?" There is more than one Me-
phlbosheth trembling now, because
God has summoned him to the palace of
Divine grace? What are you trembling
about? God has no pleasure in the death
of a sinner. He does not send for Won
to hurt you. He sends for you to do
you good. A Scotch preacher had the
following circumstances brought I'M
der his observation: There was a poor
woman in the parish who was about to
be turned out because she could not
pay her rent. One night she heard
loud knocking at the door, and she
made no answer, and hid herself. The
rapping continued louder, louder,
louder, but she made no answer, and
continued to hide herself She was al
most frightened unto death. She said:
That's the officer of the law come to
throw me out of my home"
A few days after Christian philan-
thropist met her in the street, and
said: MY poor woman, where were
you the other night? Icame round to
your house to pay your rent. Why
didn't you let me in? We're you at
homer" why" she replied, twas that
your? YES, that was me; / came to
pay your rent" "NYhy," she said, IF
had had any idea it was you 1 would
have let you in. 1 thought it vas an
officer come to cast me out of my
home" o soul, that loud knocking at
thy gate to-day is not the sheriff come
to put you in Jail; it is the best friend
you eTer had come to be your secu-
rity. You shiver with terror because
you think it is wrath. 1t is mercy.
Why, then, tremble before the King of
Heaven and earth calls you to His pal
ace? Stop trembling and start right
away. "Oh, you say, 81 can't start.
have been SO famed by sin, and so
AIMED by evil habit, l can't start l am
anne in both feet" Ny friend, we
come out with our prayers and sympa-
,hies to help you up to the palace. If
you want to get to the palace you may
ret there. Start now. The Holy Spirit
will help you. All you have to do is
Just throw yourself on your face at the
'eet of the King, as Mephibosheth did.
Mephibosheth's caninal comparison
seems extravagant to the world, but
when a man has seen himself as he
'eally is, and seen he has been treat
ng the Lord, there is no term We
enough to express his self-con-
iemnation. The dead dog of Mephi-
1osheth's comparison fails to describe |
he mans utter loathing of himself.
posturing does not |
eem too PROSTATE. When a soul |
s convicted, first he prays up
light. Then the muscles of his |
leck relax, and he is able to bow his |
read. After awhile, by an almost SUI
,erhuman effort, he kneeIs down to |
'ray. After awhile, when he has seen |
rod and seen himself, he throws him
elf on his face at the feet of the King, |
ust like Mephibosheth. The fact is, if |
We could see ourselves as God sees us,
We would perish at the spectacle. You
would have no time to overhaul other |
'eople. Your cry would be; God be
nerciful to me, sinner"
And again: Mephibosheth in my text
lands for the disa bled human soul
aved for the sake of another. Mephi-
would never have got into the
'alace on his own account. Why did
David ransack the realm to find that
'oor man, and then bestow upon him
great fortune, and command a farm
r by the name of .Ziba to culture the
state and give to this invalid Me-
hibosheth half the proceeds every
ear? Why did King David make
UGH mighty stir about a poor fell
DIV who would never be of any use
o the throne of Israel? 1t was
or Jonathan's sake. 1t was what
,obert Burns calls for ''auld lang
yne." David could not forget what
onathan had done for him in other
avs. Three times this chapter has it
hat all this kindness on the part of
'avid TO Mephibosheth was for his
lther Jonathan's sake. The daughter
Peter Martyr, through the vice of
er husband, came down to penury,
nd the senate of Zurich took care of
er for her fathers sake. Sometimes
person has applied to you for
clip, and you have refused him;
ut when you found he was the SON or
rother of some one who had been