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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. I mentioned 
last week we're going to take some time in these summer months 
away from our study in the Gospel of Matthew. We're going to look 
at passages in the Old Testament where the grace of God is manifest. 
Last week we looked at his declaration in Exodus 34, 6 and 7 concerning 
his goodness, concerning his graciousness, his mercy, his 
willingness to forgive. And certainly, as we wander around 
the Old Testament looking for the grace of God, a stop at David's 
royal court is absolutely necessary. I'll just pick up reading in 
2 Samuel chapter 11 at verse 1. I know it's a bit of a lengthy 
reading. This morning, I would ask you to pay attention because 
much of what goes on in the coming moments reflect upon what is 
herein written in chapter 11 all the way up through chapter 
12 verse 15. It happened in the spring of 
the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David 
sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they 
destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David 
remained at Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening 
that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the 
king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the 
woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about 
the woman, And someone said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter 
of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Then David sent messengers 
and took her. And she came to him, and he lay 
with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity. And she returned 
to her house. And the woman conceived. So she 
sent and told David and said, I am with child. Then David sent 
to Joab saying, send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah 
to David. When Uriah had come to him, David 
asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and 
how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, go down 
to your house and wash your feet. So Uriah departed from the king's 
house and a gift of food from the king followed him. But Uriah 
slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of 
his lord and did not go down to his house. So when they told 
David saying Uriah did not go down to his house, David said 
to Uriah, did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go 
down to your house? And Uriah said to David, the 
ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my Lord 
Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. 
Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with 
my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this 
thing. And David said to Uriah, wait here today also, and tomorrow 
I will let you depart. So Uriah remained in Jerusalem 
that day and the next. Now when David called him, he 
ate and drank before him. and he made him drunk. And at 
evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of 
his lord, but he did not go down to his house. In the morning 
it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it 
by the hand of Uriah. And he wrote in the letter saying, 
set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retreat 
from him that he may be struck down and die. So it was while 
Joab besieged the city that he assigned Uriah to a place where 
he knew there were valiant men. Then the men of the city came 
out and fought with Joab, and some of the people of the servants 
of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab 
sent and told David all the things concerning the war and charged 
the messenger, saying, When you have finished telling the matters 
of the war to the king, If it happens that the king's wrath 
rises and he says to you, why did you approach so near to the 
city when you fought? Did you not know that they would 
shoot from the wall? Who struck Abimelech, the son 
of Jerubasheth? Was it not a woman who cast a 
piece of millstone on him from the wall so that he died in Thebes? Why did you go near the wall? 
Then you shall say, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. 
So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab 
had sent by him. And the messenger said to David, 
surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the 
field. Then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the 
gate. The archers shot from the wall at your servants, and some 
of the king's servants are dead, and your servant, Uriah the Hittite, 
is dead also. Then David said to the messenger, 
thus you shall say to Joab, Do not let this thing displease 
you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen 
your attack against the city and overthrow it. So encourage 
him. When the wife of Uriah heard 
that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband. 
And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to 
his house. And she became his wife and bore 
him a son. But the thing that David had 
done displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. 
And he came to him and said to him, there were two men in one 
city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly 
many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one 
little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished. And it 
grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of 
his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom. 
And it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to the 
rich man who refused to take from his own flock and from his 
own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to 
him. But he took the poor man's lamb 
and prepared it for the man who had come to him. So David's anger 
was greatly aroused against the man. And he said to Nathan, as 
the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die. And 
he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this 
thing and because he had no pity. Then Nathan said to David, you 
are the man. Thus says the Lord God of Israel. I anointed you king over Israel 
and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your 
master's house and your master's wives into your keeping and gave 
you the house of Israel in Judah. And if that had been too little, 
I also would have given you much more. Why have you despised the 
commandment of the Lord to do evil in His sight? You have killed 
Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be 
your wife and have killed him with the sword of the people 
of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your 
house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of 
Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, 
I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. And 
I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your 
neighbor. And he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this 
sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before 
all Israel, before the sun. So David said to Nathan, I have 
sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The 
Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. However, because 
by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the 
Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall 
surely die. The Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child 
that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we come 
to you now, and truly, as we read this passage of Scripture, 
our hearts are warmed and encouraged at your grace. We are also horrified 
at the sin of David, and we pray that you would just teach us 
many good lessons this morning. As well, Father, I pray for any 
that do not know you, those who are dead in their trespasses 
and sins. those who have not been forgiven. God, how I pray 
that your spirit would be at work in their hearts, that you 
would show them the gospel of your dear son, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who alone saves to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto 
God through him. And may you encourage your people 
here. May you encourage your sheep, 
who so often struggle with sin. Help us to see Your freeness 
and Your graciousness and Your kindness and Your mercy and Your 
love. Help us to appreciate afresh 
the power of Jesus' blood. And we pray in His most blessed 
name. Amen. I want to sort of set the 
context for what we find here in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and 12. 
You'll remember that David is the king that God chose. according 
to 1 Samuel 16 verses 1 to 13. David is a man after God's own 
heart, according to 1 Samuel 13 verse 14. In 2 Samuel, David is anointed 
king over Judah in 2 Samuel chapter 2. He consolidates the kingdom. That means both Israel and Judah 
are under his reign, under his rule, according to 2 Samuel chapter 
5. In 2 Samuel 5 we learn as well 
that Jerusalem is made the political capital. It is from thence that 
the king of Israel would rule, from his royal throne. And then 
in 2 Samuel 6, the ark is brought to Jerusalem, and therefore it 
is the place, or it is the central place, or it is the religious 
capital in Jerusalem also. You'll remember 2 Samuel 7, God 
makes the Davidic covenant. He makes a promise to David that 
from his seed one would be raised up that would rule and his kingdom 
would have no end. That is, of course, a prophecy 
concerning David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Samuel 
9, we see David engaged in showing kindness. It's very interesting. He wants 
to show kindness to the former royal family and he finds this 
man Mephibosheth and he pours out mercy and grace and kindness 
upon this man in 2 Samuel 9. And then at the death of Nahash, 
the leader of the Ammonites, David sends diplomatically, of 
course, representatives to make peace and to pass on their condolences 
to Hanun, the king of Ammon. So David is seeking to extend 
grace, kindness, and mercy, not only to the former royal family, 
but in his foreign relationships also. Of course, they reject 
that overture. There is a war with the Ammonites, 
and that's the backdrop to what we find here. in 2 Samuel 11. It will resume at the end of 
2 Samuel 12. But the author wants to take 
some time to leave the battlefield, to leave the war between Israel 
and the Ammonites, and to show us what goes on in the royal 
chamber. He wants us to see David's fall. He wants us to appreciate David's 
God. He wants us to understand just 
how great a grace we have in the God of Israel. So I want 
to look at four considerations as we look at the narrative this 
morning. First, we'll notice the sin of David, verses 1 to 
5, the attempted cover-up, which takes the bulk of the narrative, 
verses 6 to 25, and then thirdly, the divine comment in verse 27, 
and then the Lord's response to this situation in chapter 
12, verses 1 to 15. So there's a bit of a road map 
for where we are going this morning. Notice first the setting. I've 
already sketched that for you. David is ruling as a king and 
Israel ought to rule. David is doing all those things 
that are requisite upon the king of Israel. In this particular 
instance, however, instead of going to battle, instead of going 
as kings were accustomed to, David stays behind in Jerusalem 
and he dispatches Joab and the armies of Israel to Rabbah so 
that they can engage the Ammonites and destroy them. Of course, 
we know what David is then found doing. He's probably had an after-dinner 
nap. He's awake now, and he wants 
to stroll upon his roof. Mustn't be dark all the way, 
or he wouldn't have viewed Bathsheba. So he goes up on his roof. He's 
starting to look about, and there he sees Bathsheba. And the text 
is direct. The text is very brief. The text 
conveys specifically what David saw. From the roof, he saw a 
woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. David should have stopped, David 
should have left his roof, and David should have went and found 
either one of his wives, or he should have went and taken a 
cold shower. But no, David begins this progression of sin. And this is a horrible progression. This is generally how it begins. This is why you need to be careful 
about what you put in the eye gate. This is why you need to 
be careful about what you listen to. It is important that you 
take heed to the reality that you're not that strong. If the 
man, after God's own heart, could be enticed, then certainly us 
lesser men can be as well. We ought to be careful. We ought 
to be guarded. We ought to watch and pray. We 
ought to realize the power of temptation and the tendency, 
the unfortunately dark tendency of our heart to search out those 
things which are evil and ungodly. The text again is very brief. 
The text again is very clear. Verse 3, David sent and inquired 
about the woman after they reported who she was. Verse 4 says, then 
David sent messengers and took her and she came to him and he 
lay with her for she was cleansed from her impurity. The irony 
is dripping, isn't it? She is ceremonially clean. She has purified herself from 
her customary impurity. And all the while, David is taking 
the moral law of God and engaging in abject wickedness and defilement. And then notice what the text 
says. She returned to her house. She's not Bathsheba. She is the 
woman. The woman conceived. So she sent 
and told David and said, I am with child. Therein lies the 
conflict. Therein lies the tension. If 
she had not been impregnated, David would have committed this 
particular deed and it would have been over. But the surprise 
in the royal court is simply this. Bathsheba is now with child, 
and so that causes David not to repent, not to own, not to 
confess, not to come clean, but to cover up. Isn't this the way 
that sinners operate? When Adam and Eve rebel against 
God, what do they do? They make fig leaves to cover 
their private parts, and they hide among the trees that the 
Lord God made. When Achan sees and he covets 
and he steals, he hides that stuff and he shuts up about it. 
This is the nature of man. Instead of bringing our sin to 
God Most High who meets us with grace, forgiveness and mercy, 
we try and cover it and this is precisely what David does. 
So let's look at this attempted cover-up under two broad considerations. First, David and Uriah, and then 
David and Joab. And if this seems to be a bit 
redundant, because after all we just read the text, again, 
I think it's absolutely crucial before we appreciate the emphasis 
in chapter 12, verses 1 to 15, we have to see how far David 
has fallen. We have to see how mucky his 
life has become. We have to see that God, the 
Gracious One, recovers us even when we've been into the depths 
of distressing sin. Notice, David and Uriah. David calls for Uriah to come 
to him. He exchanges some pleasantries 
in verse 7. How are things? What's going 
on? How's the battle raging? A little bit of nicety, a little 
bit of discussion, a little bit of greasing the palm with Uriah, 
and then he gets into his particular plan. He says, why don't you 
wash your feet, why don't you go home, and why don't you enjoy 
a bit of R&R? This is a command from the king, 
verse 8. David instructs him to go home. 
You know what David is thinking, of course, that Uriah is going 
to lie with his wife, so that when it is known that she is 
pregnant, everybody will assume that the daddy is Uriah and not 
the king of Israel. What does Uriah do? Uriah disobeys 
the king. And when we first read that, 
we might be a bit incensed. There's some Jewish tradition 
that says that Uriah had what was coming to him for this very 
reason, that he defied the king. Nothing could be further from 
the truth. Why does Uriah defy the king? Uriah, at least in 
the depiction of the writer here, is the only faithful Israelite 
in the entire narrative. He says, how in the world could 
I go and lie with my wife when the Ark of the Covenant is out 
in the battlefield? That primary symbol of Israel's 
covenant is what Uriah the Hittite is actually concerned about. 
And as well, Israel and Judah are on the battlefield. My Lord 
Joab, he's out on the battlefield. Uriah takes this oath seriously. As you live, Lord, or as you 
live, David, I will not go to visit my wife. The man has integrity. One lady, one commentator, rather, 
says David had expected and hoped that Uriah would prove to be 
like himself. Instead, he proved to be a man 
of integrity, whose first loyalty was to the king's interests rather 
than to his own pleasure. Did you notice that he sent a 
gift of food, too? You think there's any accident 
in this? What do you do on your anniversary? 
You go for a nice meal, don't you? There's something nice about 
the ambience of some candlelight, of a good steak. If you don't 
like steak, you should learn, because it's delicious. David 
understands that a good meal, perhaps a glass of wine, will 
grace the wheels of romance. David wants off the hook. David 
is horrible in this passage. David is behaving like a thug. The title of this morning's sermon 
is a rebellious king and a gracious God. We're not dealing with the 
king of the Jebusites. We're not dealing with the king 
of the Canaanites. We're not dealing with the king 
of the Hivites. We're dealing with the king of 
Israel, a man after God's own heart. David's plan fails. Uriah proves to be a man of integrity. So David says, carry in the city 
one more night. And David eats and drinks and 
then gets Uriah drunk. Again, what's the supposition? 
That Uriah's gonna stagger home and look for some lovin' from 
his wife Bathsheba. But you see, the alcohol did 
not destroy his integrity. Uriah may have staggered because 
he was drunk, but he staggered right back to the servants, and 
he lay with them. He's a man of integrity. He's 
a man of decency. He is a man who values the God 
of Israel, His covenant, His ark, and His people. David has 
met a worthy foe in this particular man. David wants nothing more 
than to cover up this sin so that he can resume his political 
dealings and his machinations and never be found out for this 
deed or misdeed with Bathsheba. And then notice, David and Joab, 
verses 14 to 25. You talk about despicable. You 
know, this passage, I don't know how many times I've read it and 
even preached on it. It just chokes me up every time. 
It's hard for me to understand how a man after God's own heart 
can do the things that he's doing in this passage. He sketches 
out a note. He writes it to Joab, he tells 
in the note his plan for Uriah's murder. He then hands the note 
to Uriah and Uriah dutifully takes it into the battle and 
hands it to Joab. Joab reads the note, and then 
Joab executes the plan. Joab launches an assault upon 
the city. Joab makes sure that Uriah is 
right up in front where there's valiant men, because he knows 
that is the way to carry out the king's order to exterminate, 
to eliminate, to liquidate, and to get rid of David's problem. And note the dialogue. Joab assumes 
that David is the type of military commander that likes to protect 
his troops. Joab assumes that the way David 
rules and operates in terms of battle plan is not to put innocent 
men in harm's way. That's that whole extended dialogue 
that Joab has with the messenger. If the king's wrath rises and 
he says, why did you go near the city gates? Don't you know 
the archers will be able to take out our men? Make sure you punctuate 
this story. Make sure you punctuate this 
report with that juicy bit of morsel, with that sweet morsel 
that will take the sting out of this otherwise horrible story. 
Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Do you see how many times that's 
emphasized in the passage? How many times you read 2 Samuel 
11 and you read that Uriah the Hittite is dead? Uriah the Hittite 
is dead. Uriah the Hittite is dead. Uriah 
the Hittite is dead. What does this tell us? David 
is sinning. David is despising the commandment 
of Yahweh, and in so doing, he's despising Yahweh himself. So 
of course, the messenger comes to David, the messenger reports 
what's happened in the battle, and look at David's response. 
It's terrible! If I sound like I'm being hard 
on David, David could be equally hard on me for my sins. We're 
looking at him this morning. Notice in verse 22, so the messenger 
went and came and told David all that Joab had sent by him. 
And the messenger said to David, surely the men prevailed against 
us and came out to us in the field. Then we drove them back 
as far as the entrance of the gate. The archers shot from the 
wall at your servants and some of the king's servants are dead. 
Again, the former speech by Joab seems to assume that David didn't 
like this policy. David didn't like to send men 
in harm's way. David didn't want these men, 
his soldiers, to die. But, David, here's the encouraging 
bit, Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Notice David's response. Well, you know, you win some 
and you lose some. That's what he says. It's just 
the price of doing business with the Ammonites. It's just the 
way these sorts of things go. We might even put it this way, 
if you want to make an omelet, sometimes you have to break a 
few eggs. Well, not sometimes, you always have to break a few 
eggs. Look at David's report. Thus you shall say to Joab, do 
not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one 
as well as another. strengthen your attack against 
the city and overthrow it, so encourage him. Go back and tell 
Joab to keep fighting, to keep marching on valiantly, and to 
do what it is you're supposed to do. As far as David is concerned, 
it's over. And just so that the author of 
our narrative can try and convince us of that, we find verse 26. 
When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was 
dead, she mourned for her husband. And when her mourning was over, 
David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his 
wife and bore him a son." Now, even for us, what's the word 
I'm looking for? Physiologically challenged individuals. Those of us who didn't do well 
in science. Most of us in this room, I hope, 
know that the gestation period for a human being is nine months. 
You ever take a couple of weeks? Sometimes the ladies at the end 
like for a shorter gestation period. What's the text telling us? David 
buried the sin for nine months. Israel's king is acting worse 
than the heathen. Israel's king is rejecting Israel's 
God. For nine months, at the minimum, 
he has put adultery out of his head, he has put murder out of 
his head. As far as David is concerned, 
he has committed the perfect crime. He left no incriminating 
evidence at the crime scene. Oh, perhaps a few of the court 
servants saw what was going on. They saw Bathsheba delivered 
to his door. They probably surmised what was 
going on behind closed doors, but nobody knew for certain. 
In David's mind, he was a free man. In David's mind, he had 
done it. In David's mind, he had committed 
adultery, and he had, in fact, committed murder, and now he's 
got a new wife to add to his harem. As far as David is concerned, 
this whole situation, this whole affair, has worked out quite 
favorably for the King of Israel. Notice 27b. But the thing that David did 
was evil in the Lord's eyes. It's the same language that David 
employs previous. Verse 25, thus you shall say 
to Joab, do not let this thing be evil in your eyes. God Almighty sees. Remember last 
week when we looked at Exodus 32-34. Moses is up on the mount 
with God Almighty. Israel is down dancing before 
a golden calf. Israel is down ascribing redemptive 
power to a golden calf. God the Lord says to Moses, get 
down there. Deal with your people. Deal with 
the ones you let out of Egypt. You see, what's the implication? 
Loud and clearly, God sees what men are doing. God sees when 
they're dancing before the golden calf. God saw the royal bedroom. God saw this situation with David 
and Bathsheba. God knew the inner workings of 
David's heart. God knew the plan with Uriah. 
God knew the plan with Joab. God knew most certainly. And that's where I suspect that 
many of you, or at least some of you, do fail. You think you 
can sit and get away with it. You think that as long as mom 
or dad or wife or husband don't see what I'm doing, then everything's 
okay. As long as I don't get arrested, 
as long as I don't end up in a jail cell, as long as my reputation 
is not destroyed, as long as I can continue to run for political 
office, as long as I still get this paycheck, as long as I can 
at least keep up all appearances, it really doesn't matter what 
I do. I mean, after all, David, the king of Israel, is probably 
doing what every other king would do in his place. In fact, David, 
the king of Israel, is probably doing what any red-blooded, normal 
man would do. The thing that David did was 
evil in Yahweh's eyes. Notice that God has not been 
mentioned in the narrative up to this point. It's almost as 
if we're operating in an atheistic world. It's almost as if we're 
operating in a world without rules. David takes one, David 
lies with one, David kills another, and everything is done and everything 
looks good. He's got a new wife, he's got 
happiness, he's got everything going for him. Mephibosheth is 
taken care of. At least the Ammonites, we attempted 
to take care of them diplomatically. Everything is good in terms of 
the consolidation of power. But if God the Lord is displeased 
with you, then everything's messed up. That's something we ought 
to take away from this passage. Your life may be peachy. Your 
life may be rosy. Your life may be happy. You might 
have everything going for you. But if God the Lord is displeased 
with you, there's nothing worse. I mean, who cares if you're the 
most popular in your peer group? Who cares if you've got the nicest 
car? Who cares if you've got the nicest 
house, or you've got the biggest bank account? If God the Lord 
is displeased with you, none of that stuff matters. It's an 
amazing reality that sin renders us irrational. We start to value 
what others think about us instead of what God the Lord thinks about 
us. We start to clean up our messes 
so that we won't lose our position and not give any thought whatsoever 
to how God views the situation. The eyes of the Lord are in every 
place, the Proverbs say, beholding the good and the evil. What is 
a consistent and recurring theme throughout Scripture? Your sin 
will always find you out. There's no such thing as the 
perfect crime. There's always an investigator 
out there. There's always the transfer that 
occurs at a crime scene. In this instance, the divine 
God of heaven and earth peers into the royal court, and he 
knows exactly what's going on with King David of Israel. Don't 
fool yourselves. Ralph Davis says, Yahweh may 
be silent, commenting on the bulk of silence in chapter 11, 
but he is not sightless. He may be silent, but he is not 
sightless. The thing David had done was 
evil in Yahweh's eyes. He then makes this perceptive 
comment, David may have Bathsheba's flesh and Uriah's blood, but 
he will have to face Yahweh's eyes. See, that's the setting. That's 
the stage. That's the situation. That's 
where we find ourselves, and much like we saw last week. After that time when they danced 
before the golden calf, what do we expect from God? We expect 
obliteration. We expect removal. We expect 
extinction. We expect Him to take the covenant 
people and hurl them away, never to have dealings with them again. 
But in that context, God the Lord says, I will make my goodness 
pass before you, Moses, and you will understand this, that I 
am the Lord God, that I am merciful, that I am good, that I am long-suffering, 
that I abound in mercy and forgiveness. And the same is true here. Let's 
look at the Lord's response. Four considerations. Don't be 
one of those four, oh man, that means we're going to be here 
for another hour. You're not going to be here for another hour. You need 
to get what's going on in this passage. How does God respond 
to David's sin? I hope that you have seen David 
sin. David sinned big. David sinned 
bad. David sinned horribly. God's 
grace is more abundant. I was thinking about that yesterday. 
If you were to meet David right now, not in heaven, because I 
don't think that's what we'd talk about. We'd just be saying, 
there's Jesus, there's your greater son. But let's say he plopped 
out of heaven, he fell right down here, and we said, you know 
David, if you had it to do over again, would you? I am sure, 
in my heart of hearts, he would say, absolutely. I committed 
adultery. I broke the seventh word. And 
I committed murder. I broke the sixth word. Interestingly, 
those two commandments and their breach continue today. David 
murdered Uriah. Today, people murder babies to 
try and cover sexual sin. Those commandments do go hand 
in hand. But I suppose that if you asked David, if you had to 
do it over again, David probably would say, I'd go out to battle. 
I'd rather be found on the plains of Rabbah killing Ammonites and 
satisfying my lusts with Bathsheba. But I also suppose he'd say, 
you know though, if I hadn't fallen that low, if I hadn't 
degraded myself that severely, I would have never known the 
oceans of grace that are available for God's people. I would have 
never known. I know the brethren in this church 
relatively well. I know those who struggle the 
way I struggle, understanding and appropriating the free forgiveness 
of God. Let this passage inform you. 
Let this passage fasten itself in your heart and mind The great 
thing about God's salvation and grace is God's salvation and 
grace. He overwhelms our sin. Paul says 
he has super abounding grace. Paul makes up words. Did you 
know that? He takes a word and he throws 
prepositions on it to make it that much bigger. Because you see, the English 
language or the Greek language employed by the apostle or the 
Hebrew language employed by the prophets didn't contain words 
to describe adequately and sufficiently how gracious God really is. And I suspect there's something 
to this observation when I consider that hymn we sang before the 
preaching of the Word. In Psalm 51, when David is rehearsing 
his repentance, when he rejoices in the fact that he says to the 
Lord, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Take not thine 
Holy Spirit from me. After he rehearses cleansing, 
after he rehearses his own sin and depravity, he then makes 
this comment, Then I will teach transgressors your ways. When David stands before you 
and says, the God of Israel is filled with grace, and you say, 
well, how do you know David? Come here, let me tell you. Let 
me tell you. Notice, with reference to the 
Lord's response, the first thing we need to appreciate is the 
initiative of God. David's the player in chapter 
11. David does all the action in 
chapter 11. David sends, David inquires, 
David takes, David lays with, David calls for Uriah, David 
sends Uriah, David calls for Joab, David sends the letter 
to Joab. Everything is David in chapter 
11. Isn't this the case? God has to come and clean up 
us? When we undertake, we assume control, we operate accordingly, 
we make a mess of things, and thankfully, the Lord then sends 
Nathan to David. Verse 1. Then the Lord sent Nathan 
to David. I was thinking about this a little 
bit yesterday, too. It's probably something to investigate 
on another occasion, but, man, this is a tough job for Nathan. Wow. You see, the nation surrounding 
Israel, the king was divine. Not in Israel's case. The king 
was the servant of the divinity, and therefore he was subject 
to the word of God, and the prophet would come and sue him when he 
was in sin. The Lord sent Nathan. Calvin says, let us note that 
there is nothing better than when God sends us messengers 
of his wrath. See, we don't think it's that 
way. We try to trick ourselves, but that is a mercy. I used to 
tell my children that, praise God, you got caught. Now, I realized 
when they got caught, they weren't doing jigs and dancing around 
and happily celebrating the fact that they were now being punished. 
But what a mercy, what a goodness, what a grace and a kindness that 
if you're in sin, God sends Nathan to you. Davis again says, the 
words and the Lord sent. They show us that grace pursues 
and exposes the sinner in his sin. They teach us that God will 
not allow his servant to remain comfortable in sin, but will 
ruthlessly expose his sin lest he settled down in it. You may 
succeed in unfaithfulness, but God will come after you. Notice 
the instruction of God's prophet. This doesn't take a lot of explanation. Nathan tells him a story. But 
notice that Nathan does not say it's a story. Nathan does not 
say it's a parable. One of David's jobs as king of 
Israel is chief administrator of justice, according to chapter 
8. And verse 15, the king in Israel 
would hear cases and render verdict. All David knew is that he was 
being presented with a case that was pending in the court system. 
Nathan is relaying it to him and wanting the king's advice 
in how to pursue justice in this particular matter. Now, in case 
you missed it, in the story, David is the rich man, Uriah 
is the poor man, and this poor little ewe lamb that Uriah loves 
is his wife Bathsheba. The language of the text is conspicuous 
as well. When the rich man's friend comes, 
the rich man doesn't want to part with any of his wealth, 
so he goes and he takes that ewe lamb. Isn't that what happens 
when Uriah's out at Rabbah? Uriah is out defending the Ark 
of the Covenant, Israel, Judah, fighting for the God of Israel, 
and David sends messengers to take his wife out of his home. Notice the response. So David's anger was greatly 
aroused against the man. You can see it, can't you? Look 
into the chamber and see David. He's just, nostrils are flaring. He's angry. He's upset. He's mad. David's anger was greatly 
aroused against the man and he said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, 
the man who has done this shall surely die. The man who has done 
this deserves to die, which is interesting because it's a property 
crime. It is theft. It wasn't a capital 
offense. David does demand that restitution 
be made, a la Exodus 22 verse 1. But he is so upset, he is 
so angry, he is so vehemently opposed to this man's attitude. And that's what's described. 
Notice in verse 6, "...and he shall restore fourfold for the 
Lamb." Because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. He had no pity! David's right where Nathan wants 
him, doesn't he? Isn't he? We, the reader, know 
this. Every time we read it, we know 
it. Every time we read it, we see it. Every time we read it, 
we're right there. Every time we read it, we're 
waiting for this hammer to fall, and it's going to. Alexander White made this comment. 
Nathan's sword was within an inch of David's conscience before 
David knew that Nathan had a sword. David's unwitting here. That's 
old potatoes. The Bathsheba thing happened 
at least nine months ago. The death of Uriah the Hittite 
happened at least nine months ago. That's all ancient history. David perhaps has forgotten all 
about it. Unless, of course, we interpret 
some of the Psalms as him having that inner turmoil and groaning 
at this particular time. But for our purposes in this 
text, David's just upset that this rich man exploited a poor 
man and took his little lamb. Isn't that amazing? He's upset about this little 
lamb. We love our animals, don't we? We love our pets, don't we? 
I mean, David's got blood dripping off of his hands and he's concerned 
about a little ewe lamb. David has committed the grievous 
sins of murder and adultery, but boy, this lamb, that really 
incenses him and really angers him. Now notice, secondly, the 
indictment of God's king. We know it's coming, 7b, here 
it is. You are the man. That's it. David understands. David knows. God the Lord has 
come. He is displeased about his action. 
He dispatches his prophet, and now the hammer has fallen. And 
notice the amplification of this. God highlights his grace to David. You see, sin looks that much 
worse when it is against grace. When a man goes out and commits 
adultery against a woman who has been gracious, and who has 
been loving, and who has been kind, and who has been giving, 
that is disgusting. When a woman goes out and commits 
adultery against a man who has been loving, who has been giving, 
who has been godly, who has been upright, who has been kind, it 
is disgusting. That's what's going on in verse 
7. God says, I anointed you king 
over Israel. I delivered you from the hand 
of Saul. I gave you your master's house and your master's wives 
into your keeping. And I gave you the house of Israel 
and Judah. And he says, and if that had 
been too little, I would have given you David is the king of 
Israel. You don't need to go stealing 
other men's wives. As the king of Israel, you don't 
need to go murdering soldiers. As the king of Israel, you ask 
the God of Israel, and the God of Israel, according to His will, 
will give you these things. God is angry with His servant 
here. God is upset with His servant here. The way that David is angry 
with this Ulam situation, God now is venting through the prophet 
on His servant, David. Notice in verse 9, He gets to 
the crux, He gets to the particulars. He tells them, this is the accusation. Why have you despised the commandment 
of the Lord to do evil in His sight? What's the matter with 
you, David? What are you doing? How are you 
functioning this way? What's got into your head? Why 
have you despised me? To break the commandments of 
God Almighty is to despise God Almighty. That is the connection 
we find here with verse 14. You may think it's some small 
thing just to go out and break God's commandments, but every 
breaking of God's commandments is to despise the God who gave 
the command. If you give your child an instruction 
and it's for that child's good and they go out and break it, 
and they go out and violate it, you get the vibe or you get the 
feeling they don't respect you. They don't love you. They're 
not esteeming you. They don't prize you and honor 
you the way it's fitting. And the same thing is true here. 
Notice where the blame lies. In verse 9, you have killed Uriah 
the Hittite. Conspiracy to commit murder is 
murder. David, you didn't wield the sword. 
You weren't on the field of battle. You didn't wet your sword with 
his blood, but you killed him. You murdered him. You put that 
innocent man to death. of you, not the Ammonites, not 
Joab, not the messengers, not his friends. It is because of 
the king of Israel who should be looking out for his people 
and what does he do? He exposes him to the most heinous 
crime. He murders him so he can cover 
up his sexual intercourse with his wife. It's a matter with 
you, David. Now, verse 10, therefore the 
sword shall never depart from your house. David, you use the 
sword against Uriah, the sword will never depart from your house. 
Mark that in this text. There is forgiveness with God. 
There is spiritual blessing. There is restoration. But that 
does not invalidate the consequences of sin. Chapters 13 to 20 are commentary 
on these few verses. Because you employed the sword 
against Uriah, the sword will never depart from your house. 
Domestically, things will be a mess. Amnon rapes Tamar. Absalom kills Amnon. Absalom 
usurps the kingdom. And David, you hid with Bathsheba, 
your wives will be violated publicly. Chapter 16, verse 22, that's 
precisely what Absalom does. He has relations with David's 
wives in the view of all Israel. Temporal consequences for sin. Notice, finally, the implementation 
of God's grace. Verse 13. So David said to Nathan, 
I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, the 
Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die. Now, I know 
in my Christian experience, I have heard before people say, you 
know, that person only repented because he got caught. Saul got caught and he didn't 
repent. David repented. Even though he 
got caught first, he repented. Praise God, he got caught. Praise 
God that he catches us so that we'll repent. Be very loath to 
judge somebody because they repented after they got caught. They repented. That's the point. That's the hope. That's the goal. That's the desire. How they get 
to point Z is God's way. David said to Nathan, I have 
sinned against the Lord. He didn't call a press conference 
and say, you know, I'm sick. I need counseling. I've got a 
sex addiction. It wasn't that bad. I only sent 
pictures. I only did it this one time. 
He doesn't do that. He says, I have sinned against 
Yahweh. You see, we might want Him to 
grovel and to beg and to roll around on the ground. We want 
Him to feel bad. We want Him to hurt and to ache 
and to agonize, and no doubt He does and He will. But in this 
instance, brethren, what He says is absolutely correct. This is 
what He should say, I have sinned against the Lord. This is why 
at times the peace of God does not flood your hearts and minds. 
You want to make excuses. You want to shift the blame. 
You want to try and appear as something that you are not. You 
want to make it look like, oh, I'm really good after all. No, 
you're not. You're bad. God is good. Confess it to Him, and He will 
have mercy and show forgiveness and kindness. That is precisely 
what we find here. David says, I have sinned against 
the Lord. David says, some may consider 
this confession too brief. After all, David only says two 
Hebrew words, and Nathan gives him an assurance of pardon? Really? You don't have to go to a confessional 
booth? You don't have to detail your 
litany of sins? You don't have to tell how you 
were feeling at that particular time? You don't have to punch 
pillows? You don't have to go through 
therapy? You don't have to lay on a bed? You have to confess 
your sin to God! That's it! David says, does David 
get off too easily? Is he only expected to say the 
right formula? We would prefer him to wallow 
in his guilt and plead, beg, and agonize over the possibility 
of pardon. If only he would writhe in obvious 
misery. We should know better, but we 
still assume that intensity of repentance contributes to atonement. But it doesn't. So we think, 
I have sinned against the Lord. That's everything. It's an acknowledgment. It's confession. It's casting 
oneself at the mercy of God Almighty. There's no better place to be. 
If you're here this morning, dear friend, you're not a Christian. Don't try to make excuses. Don't 
say, well, that's what everybody's doing. You know the old adage, 
if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump off too? Honest 
kids say, yeah, I would. You can't minimize, you can't 
explain it away, you can't seek it, you know, forgiveness or 
restoration through any vehicle save the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. David Davis points out another 
interesting thing in his commentary. We'll close our exposition here, 
but he mentions that someone does die. David's son does die. there is the necessity of death 
over sins committed. And if we reflect from a New 
Testament vantage point, another one of David's sons ultimately 
dies so that we too can find atonement, so that we too can 
find mercy, so that we too can find grace. Well, in summary, 
we see in the fall of David, the reality that the best of 
men are men at best. David is a hero. David is one 
of my heroes. David was a man after God's own 
heart. David fell. David fell grievously, 
but David's God restored him. David's God is gracious. David's God is merciful, and 
that's who David wants to bring us into contact with in a passage 
like this. How do we account, or how do 
we bring this passage to bear with that statement concerning 
David as a man after God's own heart? Again, I think Davis hits 
the nail on the head. He says, to be the man after 
God's own heart is not to be sinlessly perfect, but to be, 
among other things, utterly submissive to the accusing word of God. He is utterly submissive to the 
accusing word of God. In other words, when Yahweh indicts 
David, David is right there at his side saying, that's right, 
I did that, I sinned, I was grievous, I was a murderer, an adulterer. He doesn't try to hide it. He 
doesn't try to cover it up. When he is found out, to be sure, 
but his repentance is sure. When Saul is confronted for his 
sin, he does all those things. No, I didn't do that. I wasn't 
there. It wasn't me. It wasn't this. It wasn't that. 
Just own your sin, man. Just own it, confess it, forsake 
it, and you will find mercy. That's what's happening in this 
passage. There is good news in 2 Samuel 
12 concerning the God of heaven and earth. When we consider, 
secondly, the horror of sin, we ought to see its progression. 
Believers take heed. Believers, guard! Believers, 
watch and pray! Believers, make sure that you 
realize what does lie in your hearts and fight! Take those 
passages seriously. Galatians 5, Romans 8, put to 
death the deeds of the body. Let not sin rise up. Give it 
no vent. Give it no quarter. Give it no 
space. But by the grace of God, slay 
it outright. David probably didn't think that 
morning, hey, I know what I'm going to do today. I'm going 
to engage in adultery and then murder a man. No. It was when 
he saw the good-looking woman. She was beautiful to behold. 
Well, don't gaze on her. Don't lust after her. Don't call 
and inquire about her. Cut it off. Cut it off. You cannot take fire 
into your bosom and not get burned. If some of you have stepped over 
the boundaries, if you have started to cut corners, if you have started 
to be lethargic and apathetic in your Christian life, get serious! Pray to God Almighty for the 
power of the Spirit to keep us. When I think about this in terms 
of leadership, in terms of his ability to command troops, there 
would always be that lingering thought amongst the armies of 
Israel. Maybe David's going to send me to the hottest part of 
the battle. Maybe David wants to dispose of me. Maybe I've 
crossed him. Maybe he wants to be rid of me. 
Is there any reason why Israel doesn't carry out her tenor in 
the land in relative peace and calm and dignity? No! She's always 
warring, she's always factious, and her kings are abysmal. Don't play with sin. Calvin says 
this instructs us not to let down our guard when we begin 
to do evil. You know, the devil will come 
and say, well, you know, you've already gone this far. Go all 
the way and then confess it. No, stop. Don't murder. You've committed the adultery, 
but don't murder. You've gotten pregnant. Don't 
get an abortion. Don't compound sin with sin. Don't pile crime on crime. Stop 
it. Just stop. You flirted, you've 
gotten too close, you've gotten a little bit familiar. Stop it! Don't continue in that course. 
He says the devil will surely know how to make us plunge deeper 
and deeper until we are completely swallowed up. He says, as I say, 
let us be fearful and not even think of covering one evil with 
another and hardening ourselves. When we are guilty before God, 
let us be prepared to admit it before men rather than to abandon 
ourselves to sin as David did. He's forgiven. The Lord covers 
his sin. That means there is atonement. 
But there's temporal consequences. Amnon, Tamar, Absalom, his family, 
the dynamics, the rule, the reign, their place among the nations 
are all fractured and distorted because of these sins. Christian, 
understand the horror of sin and pray to God Almighty that 
He will keep you from venturing close to it. And may I say, and 
may I beg you to pray for your pastors. Pray for us, brethren. Pray for elders. If the King 
of Israel is not immune to this sort of sin, then pray that God 
Almighty will put a hedge around His servants here. Thirdly, we 
see the amazing grace of God. We sing of it. We sing of it 
today. We talk about it. But do we feel 
it? I don't want to sound too Pentecostal 
or too charismatic or too subjective or too mystical. But when you're 
singing about forgiveness, or you're reading the Psalms about 
forgiveness, or you're reading this account about King David 
receiving forgiveness, I hope your heart is pounding. I hope 
it's throbbing. I hope it's dancing. I hope it's 
delighting. I hope it's rejoicing in the 
presence of the God of heaven and earth, who sent his Son to 
die and rise again, so that we might have the forgiveness of 
sins. Luther said, we must learn by 
all means that forgiveness of sins Christ and the Holy Spirit 
are granted and granted freely only when we hear with faith. 
I love what he says here. Even our huge sins and demerits 
do not stand in the way. Even our huge sins and demerits 
do not stand in the way. I was talking to a man recently, 
he's pretty new to the pastoral ministry, and something happened, 
and he said to me, I just can't believe that so-and-so did this. 
I think I've heard some of you say that before, when you've 
known somebody's done something, and you say, I can't believe 
that so-and-so did this. I think I used to say that, I 
don't say it anymore. I hope it's not because I'm becoming 
an old salty, crusty pastor, cynical, In light of 2 Samuel 
chapter 11, what do you mean you can't believe that people 
do things? David was a man after God's own heart. David was a 
Christian. David says, restore unto me the 
joy of my salvation. He was a Christian. God overwhelms 
him with his grace, with his forgiveness, with his mercy, 
with his son's blood. We sing of it, we preach about 
it, we talk of it, but brethren, let it settle in and let it stir 
you up to worship, to praise, to adoration, and to glorifying 
His great and holy name. Amazing grace. How sweet the 
sound, Newton wrote, that saved a wretch like me. I once was 
lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. When we've 
been there, how many years? 10,000 years, bright, shining 
as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when 
we first begun. Why is that? Because a holy God 
sent his holy son to live in obedience to his holy law. And 
that son was then delivered up, ultimately by the father, to 
be crucified. to take in his own body, to take 
in his own self the punishment due for sinners. That son was 
then laid in the grave and on the third day he rose again. 
And the Bible says that everyone who believes in that Son, everyone 
who looks to Christ in faith, will have everlasting life. You believe in Him, and your 
sexual impurities will be washed away. You believe in Him, and 
your murders will be washed away. You believe in Him, and your 
drug use will be washed away. You believe in Him, and your 
cheating will be washed away. You believe in Him, and your 
crime will be washed away. That is what the Bible calls 
gospel. It really is good news. God is 
in Christ, saving His people from their sins. So Christian, 
learn. Beware, seek God's help, seek 
God's grace, seek God's protection. But when you sin, seek God's 
mercy. And unbeliever, believe. Trust, look to Christ, and he 
will save you from your sins. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, 
we thank you for this account, and certainly the sin, the grievous 
activity of David sets the stage for the glorious display of your 
forgiving grace. How we praise you, God in heaven, 
as we look into our own hearts, we see crime, we see sin, we 
see things that are heinous and aggravated, And yet we know by 
your grace we have received forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
I pray for my brothers and my sisters here. I pray that they 
would come to you for forgiveness, for cleansing. I pray as well 
that you would protect each and every one of us, set a guard 
around us, Lord God, that we may not stray. As the hymn writer 
said, and we confess, prone to wander, prone to leave the God 
we love. And for those who have not come 
to Christ, God, work by the power of your Holy Spirit through your 
word, cause them to be willing in this day. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation and then be dismissed.