The Penn's Grove record., 1896-07-17
REV. DR.. TaLuaGE.
he Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon.
Subject: "Kindness FOR Another's
sake"

TEXT: SIS there yet any that is left Of the
house of Saul. that | may show him kind.
mss for Jonathan's snkeI . = SO Mrp.
hibrsheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did ent
continually at the kings table and was lame
CT both his feet III Samuel tx. l aud IL.
Was there ever anything more romantic
and chivaIrOus than the love OF David and
Jonathan At one time Jonathan was "
and David was down. Now David is Up and
Jonathan's family is down. As you have
often heard of two soldiers before going into
battle making a covenant that II one is shot
the survivor will take charge of the boiy,
the watch, the momentos and perhaps of the
bereft family of the one that dies, so David
and Jonathan had made a covenant, and
now that Jonathan sdead David is inquiring
about his family, that he. may show kind
meas unto them for their father Jonathan's
sake.
Careful search is made, and a son OF Jone.
than by the exceedingly honely name of
Mephibosheth Is found. His nurse, in his ill.,
fancy, had let him fall, and the fall had put
both MS ankles out OF place, and they had
never been set. This decrepit, poor man Is
brought into the palace OF King David.
David gazes upon him with melting tender
ness, no doubt seeing in his face a resem-
blancet to his old friend, the deceased Jona-
than. The whole bearing of King David
toward him seems to say: GLOW glad 1 am
to soc you Mephibosheth! How you remind
me OF your father, my old friend and bene-
factor! | made a bargain with your father u
good many. years ago, and / am going TO
keep 1t with you. What can | do for YOU,
Mephibosheth? Lam resolved what to do
/ will make you a rich man. l will restore to
yon the confiscated property of your grand
father Saul. and you shall be n guest of mine
as long as you live, and you shall be seated
at my table among the princes" 1t was too
much for Mephibosheth. and he cried out
against it, calling himself a dead dog. "Bs
still, " says David; ~ don't 10 this on sour
account; lido this for your father Jonathan's
sake. | can never forget his kindness. /
remember when | was bounded from place
to place how he befriended me. Can l ever
forget now he stripped himself of his
courtier apparel and gave it to me instead
OF my shepherds coat, and how he took off
his own swort and belt and gave t9pm to
me instead Of my sling? Oh, l can never
forget himl 1 feel as if couldn't do enough
for YOU, his son. l don't do it for your
sake; l 10 1t for your father Jonathan's
sake" So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusa-
lon, for he did eat continually at the kings
table and was anne on both his feet"
There is so much gospel in this quaint In.
eident that 1 am embarrassed to know where
to begin. Whom do Mephihosheth aud
David aud Jonathan make you think of
Mephibosheth, In the first place, stands for
the disabled human soul. Lord Byron de-
scribes sin as a charming recklessness, ms Il
%gallanlry, as a Don Juan; George and de-
5crihes sin as triumphant in many intricate
plot5i Gavarni, with his engraver's knife,
always shows sin as a great popularity; hut
the Bible presents itas a Meyhlbosheth, lame
on both feet. Sin, like the nurse in the con-
text, attempted to carry Us and let us fall.
and we have been disabled, and in our whole
moral nature we a o decrepit. Sometimes
theoiog,ans haggle about Il terhnicality.
They use the words total dcpravity," and
some people believe in the doctrine. AMI
some reject it. What do YOU mean by
total depravity? Do you mean that every
man is rs low rs ho can be? Then, / do
not believe it either. Bat do you meau
that sin has lot us fail; tnat it has scar
he 1 and wounded ami crippled our en-
tire moral nature until We cannut walk
straight and are lame in both feet2
Then l admit our proposition. There is
not so much difference in an African jungle
vi barking. bowling, kissing, tighinS
luhiruped and reptile. and paradise, with
its animals coming before Adam, when he
pRtted them and stroked them and gave
them names, 50 that the panther was as
tame ~ the COW and the condor aS tame as
the dovr-as there Is bet w-en he human sou
disabled and that soul rs God originally con.
structed 1t. l do not care what the senti.
uiohthilS'S VI lilt IjtlS SHY III TtSdTu 10 Sils
In the name of God l declare to you to-iHy
that sin is disorganization, disintegratiUn.
CHASTITY di5iguration. hobbliuG deformiiy.
Your modern the0loRian tells you that
man Is a little out OF sorts; he sometimes
thinks wrong; he sometimes acts wrong: in
deed, his nature needs n little moral surgery,
an outside splint, a $ light compress, II little
rectiiication. r 'liGion is "A good timing TO
have; 1t might some day CONF into use. Man
Is partially wrong, not all wrong. He is
lame in one foot. Bring the salys of divine
grace and the ointment and the pain eXtrac-
tor, 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, his affections, his Judgment No.
There is an old book that says: ''Ihe who,r
head is sick and the whole heart faint
Mephibosheth lame In both feet. Our brliei
OF the fact that sin has scarIfiei and defOrmei
nur souls increases as we 20 on in wears.
When you started life you thought that man
was 4 little marred by sin aud he wag about
one tenth wrong. By the time you had gone
through the early experience OF your
trade or occupation or profession you he
lieve that man was about half wrong. by
the time you can't to midlife you believed
that man was t~hree-tourths wrong. Fut
within these past few years, since You have
been so lied about and swindled and cheated,
you have come to the conclusion that man
10 otObSNhtA "AphbH "hNA nv" Npu NtiI say
with the prayer book and the Bible, ''rhrre
is no health in u.s." Now you believe with
the prophet, "Ihe heart is deceItfnl, above
all things, II desperately wicked" What
eyer you may have believed before, now YOU
believe that Mephibosheth is lame on both
,eet.
Again, Mephibosheth in the text stands for
the disabled human sou. humUled aud re-
stored. When this invalid Of my text got a
command to come to King David's palace he
irenbled. The TACT WIS iha' the grandfu her
Of Mephibosheth had treated Davit most
shockingiy. and now MephibOsheth says To
himself; "What does the king want Of me?
Isn't it enough that / am lamey Is ne going
to destroy my life3 Is he going to wreak on
me the vengeance which he holds toward my
grandfather, SAUL It's too bad" But go
70 the palace Mephibosheth must, since the
king has commanded 1t. With staff and
,rutches and helped by his friends. l
SEQ Mrphibosheth going up the stairs OF
he palace. | hear his staff and crutchrs
rattlinG on the tesseliatei tioor of TIE
:hrOneroom. No SOONER have these two
persons confronted each other-Mephib
and David, the king-than Msp.
throws himself flat on his face be-
fore the king and styles himself a dead dog.
In the east when n man styles himself a dog
he utters the utmost term of seil-abnegatiOn.
IL is not Il term 50 strong in this country,
where. ifa dog has a fair chance, he some
shows more nobility Of character than
some human specimens that We wOt Of, hut
the NANCY curs OF the oriental cities, Hs |
by nay own observation. are utIerl,
M~erhibosheth gives the utmost
term OF self-loathing when he compares him
self to Il dog. and dead at that.
Consider the analogy. When the CON
mand is given from the palace of h, avun 10
the human soul to conn, the soul begins to
treInble. 1t says: ''What is God going To
30 with me now2 Is He going TO destroy me-?
Is He going 10 wreck His vengeance upon
mr2' There is more than one Me%phibosheth
trembling now because Col has summoned
him to thu "a lace OF divine grace. What are
you trembling abOut2 God has no pIeasur,
in the death Of a sinner. lie does not seiu'
for you to hurt you He sends for yOuiodo
you good. A Scotch preacher hat the tui
lowing circumstances brought under his oh
servation: There was a poor woman in the
parish who was about to be turned out be-
cause she could not pay her rent. One night
she heard a oud knocking at the door, and
she made no answer and hid herself. The