Text:

And David said, “Is thee still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1).

Context, Context, Context: David was now king. He was the one God chose. He had a heart for God. Saul had been a disaster. Saul had served as a judgment against the nation for their idolatry. The ark of the covenant had been brought back in the midst of the people. And David’s star was again on the rise. But David, unlike Saul, was not in love with himself; David loved the Lord. And David longed to show kindness.

Illustration: One of the framed quotes I have on one of my office walls is below. It’s a quote from Dickens, one of my favorite writers of whose writing I never tire. It reads, “Do all the good you can & make as little fuss about it as possible.”

That’s one of the characteristics that sets David apart as a man after God’s own heart.

Encouragement: Look at how this is an abbreviation of the gospel, dear ones. The king, the one persecuted, though he was a good man (at least in comparison to wicked Saul), showed kindness to the family of his (David’s and God’s) former enemies. Don’t miss that–the kindness of God’s king towards enemies. Sound like the gospel? It should . . . because it is.