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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel 11. Our focus is actually 
2 Samuel 12, verses 1 to 15, but we do need to set it in its 
larger context. We're presently going through 
the book of Ephesians in our Sunday evening services. We're 
taking a bit of a break from that study. But one of the things 
that we have seen as we've worked through Ephesians is an emphasis 
on the grace of God. For instance, in Ephesians 1.7, 
the apostle says, in him we have redemption through his blood, 
the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. And you see that emphasis again. 
in chapter 2 verses 1 to 10. And one of the curious things 
or rather interesting things about the Bible is it doesn't 
just state things like that in an abstract sort of a way. It 
does, for sure, but it also illustrates it concretely in the lives of 
God's people. And I think that David is a trophy 
that demonstrates the riches of God's grace. 2 Samuel 11 is 
David's fall into sin. 2 Samuel 12 is his recovery from 
that sin. So I want to read beginning in 
verse 1 in 2 Samuel chapter 11. 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 and eat and drink and to lie with 
my wife? As you live and as your soul lives, I will not do this 
thing. Then 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 Jerushabeth? 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. And 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. Then 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 
and 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. You have killed 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 the 
sun. 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. Then Nathan departed to his house. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
as we come to this passage now, we pray that you would guide 
us by your Holy Spirit. We pray that you would show us, 
demonstrate for us, highlight the exceeding wickedness of sin, 
and as well show us that glorious grace of God Almighty. We think 
of John Newton who said that, I am a great sinner, but Christ 
is a great Savior. And certainly we don't read passages 
like this so that we may continue in sin, that grace may abound. 
But certainly, when we do sin, we have an advocate with the 
Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. May we never forget 
that. May you encourage our hearts with that reality. And may you 
help us and conform us further into the image of your beloved 
Son, that Son whom we love, that Son whom we, by God's grace, 
have believed in, that Son who has saved us from our sins. We 
pray again for forgiveness and for cleansing in His blood and 
for guidance now by the Spirit. And we pray through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen. Well, as you look at the book 
of 2 Samuel, you'll see the emphasis, up until chapter 11, is on David's 
success. You see his commencement of his 
reign in chapters 1 to 4. And then you see the consolidation 
of his power in chapters 5 to 10. It's as if everything David 
touches turns to gold. Everything, his international 
relations, his domestic policies. He is blessed by God richly. So you've got that commencement 
of his reign, the consolidation of his power, and here now you 
see the consequences of his sin. In fact, chapters 11 and 12 help 
us to understand the disaster in chapters 13 to 20. In other 
words, what was just a glorious reign and a very awesome reign 
on the part of David, turns to a mess, ultimately, in chapters 
13 to 20. Again, if we ask the question 
why, chapters 11 and 12, they provide the answer for us. Now, 
in terms of the immediate context, we see what happened in chapter 
11. You've got David committing adultery 
with Bathsheba, chapter 11, verses 2 to 5. David then attempts to 
cover it up by having Uriah lay with his own wife. there in verses 
6 to 13. Then, when that is unsuccessful, 
David attempts another cover-up, but this time by the murder of 
Uriah on the field of battle. And the last statement, the last 
sentence in verse 27, gives us God's response to what has obtained. Notice the last part of verse 
27. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. It was evil in Yahweh's eyes. Same language that David uses 
in verse 25. Then David said to the messenger, 
thus you shall say to Joab, as he's waxing philosophical over 
the ins and outs and the ebb and flow in terms of battle. 
Do not let this thing displease you. Don't let this thing be 
evil in your eyes. For the sword devours one as 
well as another. Strengthen your attack against 
the city and overthrow it. So, when we come to chapter 12, 
as I said, we see David's recovery from sin. Now, it's not initiated 
by David, it's not orchestrated by David, it is God. The emphasis 
in chapter 12 is on God. In chapter 11, David sins, David 
takes, David is the subject, the actor of all of the action 
verbs. In chapter 12, it's God. So I 
want to look first at the instruction by God's servant in verses 1 
to 6. Secondly, the indictment of God's king in verses 7 to 
12. And then finally, the implementation of God's grace in verses 13 and 
14. Now, I alluded to this in my 
prayer. When we look at a passage like 
this, it's not prescriptive. In other words, 2 Samuel 12 is 
not the Bible to tell us, yeah, you can go out and get away with 
some pretty heinous sins. You can go out and engage in, 
you know, murder and adultery and come back to God and you'll 
get forgiveness. This is not prescriptive. The 
message here is not, go thou and do likewise. But it is descriptive. It does highlight that principle 
in 1 John 2. John says, I write these things 
so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father even Jesus Christ the righteous. So 
ideally, you're not supposed to sin. Realistically, you will 
sin, but thankfully there is a Savior that cleanses us from 
our sin. And that's the instance that 
we have here with reference to David. So let's look at the instruction 
by God's servant. The first thing we ought to appreciate 
is the initiative of God. It's not David that initiates 
this. It's not David that tries to get things right. This is 
a period of at least nine months that has occurred since David 
has fallen into this unrepentant sin. But notice the emphasis 
in chapter 12 at verse 1. And the Lord, or then the Lord, 
sent Nathan to David. Then the Lord sent Nathan to 
David. It was God's grace. It was initiated 
by the Lord. The recovery wasn't as a result 
of David's sort of wisdom or David now found himself in a 
perplexing situation. He's tired of his bones aching. 
He's tired of all the ramifications associated with undelt sin. That's 
not what's happening. God sent Nathan to David. Calvin says, let us note that 
there is nothing better than when God sends us messengers 
of his wrath. He goes on to say, for then he 
can make us feel his mercy and cease to enjoy our sins, so that 
we may apprehend his vengeance, and our conscience may torment 
us to the extent of humbling us to seek pardon and remission 
in him, until he has accepted us. Davis, a modern commentator, 
comments on, and the Lord sent. He says, they show us that grace 
pursues and exposes the sinner in his sin. They teach us that 
Yahweh will not allow his servant to remain comfortable in sin, 
but will ruthlessly expose his sin lest he settled down into 
it. You may succeed in unfaithfulness, 
but Yahweh will come after you. Again, an encouraging thing. 
We think about getting caught and our lives fall out of control. Do we ever consider the fact 
that getting caught is the gracious plan and purpose of God? We're 
going to notice that later when David repents. What's that sort 
of problem that we face when David repents? Have you ever 
heard of somebody that repented from sin because they got caught? 
And you're just a little bit suspicious, aren't you? Well, 
they got caught. That's why they made good on 
it. They got caught, that's why they repented. Did you ever stop 
to consider that getting caught was of God to bring them to that 
place of repentance? To bring them to that place of 
recovery? The reality is, is repentance 
is repentance, whether you're caught or not. The reality is, 
is that when you, by grace, confess that sin to the Savior, There 
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. So God's 
initiative is highlighted in the first clause. And then the 
prophet tells him this parable. The person's involved. There's 
a rich man. It shouldn't be hard to figure 
out what Nathan is talking about here. Nathan is condemning David. Nathan is leading David to this 
conclusion and then he brings that hammer to bear, that hammer 
to fall upon him. Thou art the man. But the rich 
man, notice the rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. That's going to come up later 
in verses 7 to 8 to sort of exacerbate what David had done in terms 
of this particular evil. So the rich man is David, verse 
1. There were two men in one city, 
one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly 
many flocks and herds. That's David, king of Israel, 
with all the bounty that the Lord God had freely conferred 
upon him. And then this poor man. And notice 
that the poor man, the description is much longer. Did you notice 
in the reading of chapter 11 how many times the name Uriah 
comes out? Did you hear how many times the 
author wants us to know about Uriah the Hittite? To demonstrate 
his integrity, to demonstrate his fidelity, to demonstrate 
the fact that he's ready to put God and country before his own 
desires and before his own legitimate needs. Uriah the Hittite is the 
poor man in the story, and notice how he's described in verse 3. But the poor man had nothing 
except one little 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. See, it outlines or portrays 
the particular situation. David's the rich king. He has 
multitudes of things at his disposal, at his beck and call. But this 
poor man, this Uriah the Hittite, he only has this one ewe lamb. 
He only has this one wife, this one called Bathsheba that he 
loves, that he cares for, that is the wife of his bosom. And 
yet, we find in verse 4, a great crime is committed by the rich 
man against the poor man. Notice in verse 4, 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." Again, the 
same verbal note that you find in 2 Samuel 11. Notice specifically 
in verse 4, then David sent messengers and took her, and she came to 
him, and he lay with her." So what Nathan is doing here is 
he's setting the trap. What Nathan is doing is he's 
putting the bread in that particular trap so that the animal comes, 
takes it, and then the trap falls upon him and captures him. David 
doesn't notice this yet. David doesn't see this yet. Nathan's 
preaching is highly effective here. Nathan's preaching is absolutely 
polished rhetoric. He uses a parable to incite the 
king's sort of enmity against the rich man, only to turn the 
tables on the rich man himself. So notice the response of David 
in verses 5 and 6. First, his outrage. It says, 
so David's anger was greatly aroused against the man. And 
as you read the story in chapter 11, don't you say amen to that? Don't you find yourself looking 
at this Uriah the Hittite, who's a very sympathetic character, 
and you're rooting for him? He has every opportunity to engage 
in the sorts of things that were lawful in a situation, conjugal 
relations with his wife, but he forfeit that. He'd rather 
maintain fidelity to God, to Israel, to Judah, to Joab, and 
to his king. So it is Nathan who brings this 
to bear upon David, and his outrage is palpable. Notice as well his 
verdict with reference to this rich man. He says, as the Lord 
lives, the man who has done this shall surely die. Now in the 
next verse, he's going to stipulate what the law actually says in 
Exodus 21-1. This is a property crime. The 
rich man took the poor man's ewe lamb, barbecued it so he 
could serve it to his traveling friend. So it's a property crime. But nevertheless, David is so 
outraged, he's okay with the death penalty for this kind of 
a fiend. This kind of a menace to society? 
This kind of monster that would steal from a poor man simply 
to feed a traveler? So David is outraged and he renders 
the burden. There must be the death penalty. 
There must be restitution. And then notice the rationale 
or notice the reason in verse 6. And he shall restore fourfold 
for the lamb because he did this thing and because he had no pity. 
Isn't that what you got from 2 Samuel chapter 11? Uriah the 
Hittite is a man of integrity. Uriah the Hittite is a man of 
faithfulness. And yet David sends him out to 
his death? I've often pondered that. When 
he gives him the letter and he's told to take it to Joab. How 
many of us wouldn't have looked at that letter? How many of us 
would not have sneaked a look at that letter? Perhaps Uriah 
did, and nevertheless delivered it. Or perhaps Uriah was more 
faithful than I am, because I'm sure I would have snuck a look, 
but he was more faithful and did it. Now that doesn't mean 
you can't ever entrust me with a secret. I will not publish 
on Facebook or Twitter any of the things that you confide in 
me. up to criminal activity, I must iron you out, I must turn 
you over to the cops. But Uriah the Hittite is a man of integrity. 
And so what's the end result in terms of 2 Samuel 11 and the 
way that David treats Uriah? He had no pity. He had no mercy. He had no kindness. He had just 
shown kindness in foreign relations. He had just shown kindness to 
Mephibosheth. He had just shown kindness all 
around his kingdom. But when it comes to Uriah the 
Hittite, there's no pity. There's no kindness. He's become 
a thug and he has engaged in absolute rebellion against the 
living and true God. That brings us to the indictment 
of God's king. Notice in verses 7 to 12. First, 
the application. Look at verse 7. Then Nathan 
said to David, you are the man. You ever wish you could look 
at a scene and look at the face of the man that just heard that? 
There's that famous scene of John Knox sort of hanging over 
his pulpit preaching to the Queen of Scotland. And I would love 
to see her face in all of its lurid detail while Knox is bringing 
God's law to bear upon her. Well, David has just now come 
face to face with that law of God. And Nathan says, you are 
the man. Alexander White made this observation. He said, Nathan's sword was within 
an inch of David's conscience before David knew that Nathan 
had a sword. This is effective preaching, 
brethren. Every preacher I know would give 
their left arm to preach a sermon like that, where thou art the 
man. They're exposed. They're condemned. They see it clearly. You're the 
one, David, that has had no pity. You're the one, David, that has 
treated this poor man the way the rich man treated him in the 
parable. And now notice the explanation 
furnished by Nathan to David. And there's three things we ought 
to see in this section. 7b-12. Notice first the grace 
of God given to him. David's sin was not as a result 
of God's stinginess. David's sin was not because God 
hadn't given him everything that he needed. It wasn't as if there 
was any lack in David. It wasn't as if there was anything 
necessary for David in terms of his reign and his rule. It 
is grace that exacerbates and demonstrates the gravity of his 
sin. And that's what Nathan the prophet brings to bear upon him. 
Notice in 7b, I anointed you king over Israel. 1 Samuel chapter 
16, that oil poured upon David, that Spirit of God coming upon 
David, that protection and provision by God for David when he's being 
hunted by a dog, or like a dog from Saul and from Philistines. 
So God is the one that made him king. Notice, and I delivered 
you from the hand of Saul. There's intriguing passages in 
the David narratives where it's not God directly, but at times 
God uses the Philistines to bring salvation to David. That's quite 
intriguing, quite interesting. David is an enemy of the Philistines. 
David kills Philistines. His comrade Samson had that mindset, 
the only good Philistine is a dead one. But there were instances, 
not that they came out and delivered him, but by God's workings and 
providence, God delivered David even through Philistines. Notice, 
I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master's 
house and your master's wives into your keeping. We have no 
record of that in 1st or 2nd Samuel, but that was common custom 
in ancient Near Eastern culture. That was just the way that things 
operated. So I gave you your master's house 
and your master's wives into your keeping and gave you the 
house of Israel and Judah. David enjoyed a consolidated 
kingdom. David enjoyed a prosperous kingdom. David enjoyed a reign. that would 
provide the context for Solomon, that man of peace, to come and 
build the temple for the Lord Most High. Before they could 
build the temple in the land that God had given them, they 
have to vanquish their enemies. Well, it's God's hand upon David 
to vanquish the enemies. And so he has this consolidated 
kingdom. But then notice this last crushing blow in terms of 
God's grace that exacerbates the heinousness of David's sin. 
And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much 
more. David, just ask. Don't go into 
Bathsheba, don't take the poor man's ewe lamb, don't engage 
in that kind of pitiless activity. If that was not enough, I would 
have given you more. The grace of God here exacerbates 
the gravity of David's sin. So the sin of David could not 
be blamed on the stinginess of God. The sin of David was exacerbated 
by the goodness of God. Davis again says, It's a good lesson for all of 
us to ponder and to contemplate the senselessness of sin. In other words, we don't get 
better, we don't prosper, we don't make our way more complete 
by rebellion against God. I'm not suggesting, you know, 
where the health, wealth, prosperity group just pray to God for a 
brand new Cadillac and it'll appear in your garage. I'm not 
suggesting that at all. The backdrop here is God's graciousness 
to David in the midst of this sinful treachery on the part 
of David. Notice, secondly, in this brief 
section, the accusation level. Verse 9, he says, Why have you 
despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Why have you despised the commandment 
of the Lord to do evil in his sight? And then he indicts him 
with the actual act of murder. Conspiracy to commit murder is 
murder. Even though David didn't wield 
the sword, David is guilty of having the sword wielded against 
this innocent man, Uriah the Hittite. So 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. That wasn't a good way to die 
in battle. You don't want to die at the 
hands of your enemy. You don't want to be bested by 
an Ammonite soldier if you're an Israelite. You want to bring 
the heat to bear upon them. And yet, by David's treachery, 
this is precisely what occurs in the life of this godly, faithful 
man, Uriah the Hittite, who, by the way, was one of David's 
mighty men. So when we come to this particular 
section, we ought to appreciate just how heinous David's sin 
is. Because again, I think it magnifies 
just how glorious God's grace is. So please understand me. I'm not arguing contra Paul in 
Romans 6.1. He deals with an objection to 
the gospel of free grace. He says, what then shall we say? 
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? I mean, that's 
the world's logic. God loves to forgive sin. I love 
to sin. What a great arrangement. But 
Paul says, may it never be. God forbid. See, gospel logic 
is thus. When you are justified freely 
by His grace, sanctification is an inevitable consequence. 
You don't work because you want to be saved. You engage in good 
works because God has saved you, because God has begraced you, 
because God has justified you freely by faith in Jesus Christ 
our Lord. And so when we come to a passage 
like this, it does pay. benefit to pay attention to the 
gravity of sin so we can appreciate the gravity of grace. And then 
notice in this brief section, lastly, the consequences described 
in verses 10 to 12. And again, this is programmatic 
for everything that follows in chapters 13 to 20 in the book 
of 2 Samuel. Our brother this morning mentioned, 
I think on two occasions, Acts chapter 1, Verse 8, you'll be 
witnesses to me, first in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and then to the 
uttermost parts of the earth. If you follow the book of Acts, 
that's how it all goes. You've got the emphasis in Jerusalem 
there in chapters 1 to 7. You've got the emphasis in Samaria 
there in chapter 8. And then you see with the conversion 
of the apostle Paul, you get the uttermost parts of the earth 
in chapters 13 to 28. And so we have a programmatic 
text in Acts 1.8. It sort of announces in outline 
form what's going to follow. Well, that's what happens here. 
It's embedded here in 2 Samuel chapter 12. If you wonder why 
bad things happen to a great guy like David, it's because 
of this sin. It's because the rich man had 
no pity and exploited the poor man. It's because the rich man 
sent the poor man out to his death to die at the hands of 
filthy Ammonites. So notice in verse 10. Now, therefore, 
the sword shall never depart from your house because you have 
despised me. Notice how God equates himself 
with his law. God equates himself with his 
word. Notice in verse 9, why have you despised the commandment 
of the Lord? To despise the commandment of 
the Lord is to despise the Lord of the commandment. And that's 
the juxtaposition that you see there in those verses. So he 
says, 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 the 
sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before 
all Israel before the sun. You had deaths occur in David's 
family as a consequence of David's sin. You've got David's words 
from 1125. Remember when he's waxing philosophically 
about the ebbs and flows of battle and warfare? Look back at 1125. 
Do not let this thing displease you or be evil in your eyes, 
for the sword devours one as well as another. Well, David's 
going to learn that all too well in terms of the consequences 
of his sin relative to his own family. Amnon, his son, is killed 
by Absalom in chapter 13. Absalom is dead in chapter 18 
after his usurpation of the throne, and then Adonijah in 1 Kings 
chapter 2. Solomon dispatches him because 
he's a contender for the throne. And when it comes to this insurrection, 
notice what he says specifically in verse 11. That's exactly what 
happens in the Absalom narrative. Absalom usurps his father. Absalom 
sits at the city gates and he works the crowd. Absalom captivates 
the minds and the hearts of the people of Israel. So much so 
that David actually has to depart from Jerusalem. But he doesn't 
depart without having left behind ten concubines and wives according 
to chapter 15 and verse 16. When you get to chapter 16, Ahithophel 
gives Absalom counsel to go up on the roof and have relations 
with David's wives. That doesn't occur in a vacuum, 
brethren. That doesn't just happen haphazardly. It was actual genius counsel 
on the part of Ahithophel. So you've got Absalom rebelling 
against the crown. The people are now following 
Absalom. But what if David and Absalom 
reunite? What if David and Absalom reunify? What if David and Absalom reconcile? What's going to happen to all 
those people that followed Absalom? So Ahithophel says, take the 
wives, the concubines, up on the roof and have your way with 
them in the sight of all Israel. Then all Israel will know that 
you and your father are at odds never to return to reconciliation 
again. So all of this is announced. 
The consequences of David's sin with reference to Uriah, the 
Hittite, and Bathsheba, his wife. And that brings us finally to 
the implementation of God's grace in verses 13 and 14. Notice, what does David say here? What do you possibly say after? 
Wait, no, it wasn't me. I was framed. I've got what they 
call those lookalikes, a doppelganger. That wasn't me. I was out on 
the field of battle. I was commanding Joab. I was 
doing my job as I was supposed. What do you say here? What is 
it that you do here? So I said before, when you look 
at this, I think some people think that maybe David gets off 
pretty light. So David said to Nathan, I have 
sinned against the Lord. He's caught. He's found out that 
the prophet of God Most High tells a parable absolutely parallel 
to David's situation. Then the prophet of God takes 
his finger and points it right at David's nose and says, thou 
art the man. Then the prophet of God highlights 
the grace of God as the context and the reason why David's sin 
is so heinous. And the prophet of God announces 
the consequences of God most high that are going to obtain 
for David's rebellion against God. This is the legitimate response. I have sinned against the Lord. But again, brevity. I think it's 
only two Hebrew words. Where's the groveling? Where's 
the flagellation? Where's the promise that I'll 
never do it again, Lord? Where's this proffer of his previous 
good works in trying to bargain with God? Can't this sort of 
counterbalance? Can't this just sort of outweigh 
it? The Berlberg Bible was a study Bible, a German study Bible, 
in the 1700s. And they make this observation 
on the simplicity of his confession. They said the words are very 
few, just as in the case of the publican in the gospel. Remember 
those two men that went to the temple to pray, and the Pharisee 
stood thus and prayed with himself and said, God, I thank you that 
I'm so great. I thank you that I'm brilliant. I thank you that 
religious exercises are like drinking water to me. I thank 
you that I'm not unjust. I thank you that I'm not an adulterer. 
I'm not an extortioner. And I'm certainly not like this 
publican here. What's a publican do? He can't 
even look up into heaven. He beats his breast, and he says, 
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Which one went down to his house 
justified? It was the one who beat his breast 
and said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. So the Broberg 
Bible highlights that reality. Our confession of sin is not 
the access by which we gain forgiveness. Well, you know, you had a lot 
of words, and it was flowery. You made a lot of promises. There 
was a lot of self-abnegation there. There was a lot of despise. 
OK, I'll give you credit for that. That's not the way God's 
grace works. That's not the way the atonement 
of our Lord Jesus Christ works. It's not dependent upon us. It's not predicated on our ability 
or on our prayer. So they say the words are very 
few, just as in the case of the publican in the Gospel of Luke. 
But that is a good sign of a thoroughly broken spirit. There's no excuse, 
no cloaking, no palliation of the sin. There's no searching 
for a loophole, no pretext put forward, no human weakness pleaded. 
He acknowledges his guilt openly, candidly, and without prevarication, 
which simply means to speak or act in an evasive way. He owns 
it. The simplicity of his confession 
underscores the sincerity of his heart. God captivated him 
with his word. God brought him to appreciate 
and see the sin. God got him to the place where 
he cast himself upon the atoning work. of our blessed Savior, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how Nathan responds. 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. So the prophet who highlighted 
David's great sin now highlights David's great grace or God's 
great grace toward David. Again, it's a very simple confession. 
I have sinned against the Lord. And then Nathan says, the Lord 
also has put away your sin. You shall not die. John Gill 
says, though he should die a corporeal death. It's not saying you shall 
never die. He's going to die. We see that 
in 1 Kings 1 and 2, when he passes the kingdom on to Solomon. He 
says, though he should not die a corporeal death, yet not by 
the immediate hand of God or by the sword of justice as a 
malefactor, a murderer and adulterer, as he, according to the law, 
deserved to die. You hear this as an objection 
to the death penalty. Well, David, if God determines 
to spare David, that's up to God. But when God commands the 
civil magistrate to wield the sword against criminal offenders, 
then the magistrate must comply. The magistrate must obey. You 
can't use this as an argument against the death penalty. He 
was on to say, nor should he die a spiritual death, though 
his grace had been so low and his corruptions had risen so 
high. And notice the provocation toward 
the enemies of the Lord. By this, you have given occasion 
to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. David doesn't conduct 
himself on God's throne over God's kingdom, his visible kingdom 
in this world, any better than the Ammonites, any better than 
the Canaanites, any better than any other thug that ruled a particular 
body politic in those days. So the enemies of the Lord had 
occasion to blaspheme the name of the Lord based on David's 
conduct here. And then we see that last and 
final sort of judgment upon David. Verse 14b, the child also who 
is born to you shall surely die. Then Nathan departed to his house. 
And of course, that's what we find in the next section in this 
particular passage. I don't want to continue on. 
I'll just read Davis here. going to cheat and just read 
Davis. He makes this observation. It is as if the child is David's 
substitute. I do not intend to read New Testament 
meanings back into an Old Testament text. I only want readers to 
note the pattern here. For there are some of us who 
know this paradox of forgiveness that is both free and costly, 
because the son of David has been our substitute. I think 
that's a pretty perceptive comment at a very difficult point in 
redemptive history. Well, in terms of some concluding 
thoughts, then we'll close and we can go home. First, never 
underestimate the initiative of God. One of the beautiful 
things about Holy Scripture, it's not, you know, the record 
of man's attempt to get at God. It's the record of God's reconciling 
the world to himself through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
When Adam and Eve sin, what do they do? Do they run to God for 
forgiveness? No, they run from God. When the 
builders of the tower at Babel, what are they trying to do? They're 
trying to build a tower into the very heavens. to perhaps 
escape another flood, to perhaps show their glory and their pomp 
and their majesty. Well, on the heels of that, what 
happens? It's God's initiative. What the tower builders at Babel 
do, God comes to promise to Abraham that He's going to do it. And 
you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. You see the 
pattern of the seeking God throughout Scripture. Our brother read from 
John chapter 4 this morning, and I realize that wasn't sort 
of the emphasis in terms of missionary passage, but it says that God 
is seeking worshipers. Again, brethren, in the Scriptures, 
the emphasis isn't upon man accepting Jesus into his heart. The emphasis 
is upon God receiving sinners unto himself. The initiation 
of God's grace is God's grace. And the reality is, is that David 
was sent, Nathan, as the servant of God to bring the Word of God 
to recover this man from his sin and alienation. Secondly, 
we ought to appreciate in the passage, not by way of imitation 
or emulation, the wretchedness of sin. The wretchedness of sin. Not only do we see the sin committed 
in chapter 11, we see the sin condemned in chapter 12 at verse 
9, and then the sin exacerbated in chapter 12 verses 7 to 8. 
It's a horrible thing to sin against such a gracious God. 
If that wasn't enough, I would have given you more. Listen again 
to John Calvin. He says, now here's a story which 
should make our hair stand straight up on end whenever we think of 
it. That a servant of God, as excellent 
as David, should fall into such a serious and enormous sin that 
he could be judged as the most morally lax and promiscuous person 
in the world. Again, up to this point, everything 
turns up roses for David. Everything he does has the blessing 
and the sanction of God. Everything he does is turning 
up in great things. And on the heels of that, he 
sees a woman bathing, and he goes after her. And he brings 
himself into this place of alienation from God Almighty. I would suggest, 
thirdly, we ought to appreciate the grace of God. And that's 
a pretty elementary observation, the exceeding riches of his grace, 
but consider God's grace toward David prior to this incident. 
David's not saved here. David is saved and he falls into 
this sin. You know, brethren, there is 
remaining corruption. There is a proneness to wander 
and a proneness to leave the God that we love. I don't like 
to remind us of that, I don't like to celebrate that reality, 
but sometimes the people of God do some pretty horrendous things. 
Now don't go out and say, Butler said I can do horrendous things, 
God, and get away with it, that's not the point. Peter denies Jesus 
three times, not to the emperor, it's not called before Caesar, 
he does so, in the presence of a servant girl. And David does 
this sin. In Psalm 51, he says, restore 
unto me the joy of your salvation, the joy of thy salvation. He's 
not praying or he's not becoming a Christian here. He's a saved 
man. that declined, a saved man that 
defected, a saved man that fell into grievous sin. Again, I think 
that exacerbates and highlights the graciousness of God. And 
it's intriguing because at two occasions, David ascribes in 
shorthand form what he spells out in Psalm 103. Psalm 103 starts 
off, "'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name.'" He says it again, "'Bless the Lord, O my soul, 
and all that is within me, and forget not all his benefits.'" 
And what does David do? He outlines the benefits of God. 
David talks to himself and rehearses the fact that God has been very 
gracious to him. You know what heads the list in terms of the 
benefits? It is that chief boon of grace, 
to use a Spurgeonism. It is the forgiveness of sins. 
So prior to the Bathsheba instance and after the Bathsheba instance, 
this is David's report concerning God Most High. 2 Samuel 4, 9, 
As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from all adversity. 1 Kings 1, 29, post-Bathsheba, 
post-consequences of the sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, he 
says, As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life from every 
distress. So God's grace is present to 
David prior to this sin. God's grace is present to David 
in the midst of or rather after this sin. The Lord also has put 
away your sin. You shall not die. And the Lord's 
grace is predicated upon David's greater son, who was promised 
by God to David in 2 Samuel 7, in the Davidic covenant. God 
will send Messiah. There will be a king who rises 
up from David's line, and God will have this one build a house 
for him, and then this king will have a forever reign, an eternal 
reign. So the grace of God toward David 
was a result of the redemptive work of Christ. This made me 
think of Martin Luther. Luther on Galatians 3.2. Well, 
it made me think of it because I looked at my notes and I remembered 
this from the time that I've preached this here. He says, 
but 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. Even our huge sins and demerits 
do not stand in the way. Again, that's not so that you 
can go out and engage in huge sins and demerits, so that grace 
may abound. But don't let your huge sins 
and demerits keep you from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
That's the reason why Christ came into the world. See, Galatians 
2.21, the apostle said, I do not set aside the grace of God. 
For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in 
vain. See, it was the object. It was 
the purpose. It was the focus. Jesus didn't just come to start 
a new religion. He didn't come to start a revolution. 
He didn't come to set up some earthly kingdom in competition 
with the Roman Empire to subject all the enemies of the Israelites 
under their feet. He came to save His people from 
their sins. And sins is what we need to be 
saved from, right? That's the whole point and the 
purpose. And if you're not a believer 
here this evening, you ought to consider God's grace. In the 
case of David, king of Israel, and a man who was a man after 
God's own heart, who nevertheless plunged into this kind of sin 
and into this kind of wretchedness. I was brought up a Roman Catholic, 
and one of the things I thought as a Roman Catholic is, I've 
never done a really bad sin, so I don't think I'm gonna, you 
know, go to hell. What are the really bad sins typically quantified 
by people? Well, I've never murdered anyone. 
I've never committed adultery. It's murder and adultery that 
God cleanses David from in this very passage. What's the point? He is a real Savior for real 
sinners. Isn't that what Paul says in 
1 Corinthians chapter 6? Do not be deceived. The unrighteous 
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. And then he lists, he 
gives a catalog of unrighteousness and filthiness and sinfulness 
and wickedness. And then he says to those Corinthians, 
and such were some of you. You were washed, you were justified, 
you were sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 
other words, He's a real Savior for real sinners. Learn that 
from the passage here in 2 Samuel chapter 12. And instead of saying, 
no, no, I don't want to believe that, I don't want to think about 
that, I don't want to have dealings with that. This is the very foundation, 
the very basis of acceptance with God. Again, it's not your 
goodness. It's not your, you know, I'm 
going to live a better life. It's the grace of God that is 
the point in Scripture. And then finally, I want to look 
at the response of David. The response of David here. David 
didn't blame others. Notice after Nathan the prophet 
comes to him, Nathan the prophet gives the parable. Nathan the 
prophet says, thou art the man. Notice what David doesn't do. 
Well, you know, if Bathsheba hadn't have been bathing there, 
if, you know, I didn't have the sort of urges that God gave. You know, we see people in the 
Bible do that. When God comes to Cain and Abel, or I'm sorry, 
to Adam and Eve, what does Adam do? The woman whom thou gavest 
me, she gave me the fruit. I mean, it's her fault, but it's 
your fault for giving her to me. I was perfectly fine in this 
garden. I was happy and content. And the woman whom you gave me, 
she gave me this fruit. We have this tendency to blame 
shift, don't we? We have this tendency to say, 
but it was the circumstances. It was the difficulties. You 
just don't know how hard my life is. You don't know the pressures 
of being the king of a consolidated kingdom. You don't know what 
it's like to fight Ammonites. You don't know what it's like 
to fight Philistines. I'm under a lot of pressure and a lot of... 
He doesn't do that. He simply says, I've sinned against 
the Lord. David as well does not bargain 
with God by offering his previous good works as a counterbalance. 
Lord, all this other stuff I did, it should sort of outweigh the 
bad. Again, sinners think that way. 
I've done more good than bad, so therefore God's going to accept 
me. See, we don't understand that any bad, any departure, 
any defection, any sin is liable to God's wrath and curse, both 
in this life and that which is to come. It's not the case that, 
oh, well, I've only committed 10 sins, which nobody ever has. 
No one can ever say that, even up to the time they get their 
first morning coffee. You know, I'm spotless and holy 
and so righteous. You're not. You're wretched. 
You're filthy. You're vile. You're contemptible. 
We have all strayed. We have all gone astray like 
sheep. We have wandered away from the true and living God. 
David trusted in the promise of God concerning the coming 
of the Messiah in 2 Samuel chapter 7, specifically verses 12 to 
16. And David trusted in the promise of the forgiveness of 
sins connected to that Messiah that would come. And then you 
know what David did? David wrote about this. David 
celebrated this. David recorded this in the book 
of praise. David says things throughout 
the Psalter that should cause us to reflect upon the fact that 
he knew experientially the goodness and the graciousness of God. 
Consider Psalm 25, 11. For your name's sake, O Lord, 
pardon my iniquity, for it is great. You ever used as an argument 
for God's forgiveness the greatness of your sin? Again, we try to 
minimize it. It wasn't that bad. God, you 
should forgive me. It wasn't that big. God, you 
should forgive me. It's not David's tact. David 
says, pardon my iniquity for it is great. What's the implication? If God doesn't pardon my iniquity, 
I'm done. I'm dead. Consider Psalm 32, 
1 and 2. We read that at the outset of 
worship. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose 
sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the 
Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is 
no deceit. David wrote the Psalms that he wrote because he knew 
the God that he knew. And that grace came out and he 
inscribed it in that holy book of praise. Consider Psalm 103 
verses 1 to 3. I've already mentioned this. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. It's not 
a half-hearted game to bless the Lord. It ought to be all 
that is within us. When we gather for worship, we 
ought to sing with joy and happiness and relish to our great God. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless 
his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
his benefits. Why do you think David says that? 
Because there's a tendency to forget his benefits. Have you 
pondered the benefits of God recently? Have you said with 
the Apostle Paul, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ? You ever said with David in Psalm 
68, God loads us daily with benefits? David has to remind himself to 
forget not all of his benefits, and that first benefit is who 
forgives all your iniquities. In the Psalm that we sang tonight, 
Psalm 130, verses 3 and 4, if you, Lord, "...should mark iniquities, 
O Lord, who could stand?" That's the reality of it, isn't it? 
If God should mark iniquities, who could stand? We've all gone 
astray. We have all defected. We have 
all become like an unclean thing. We've all departed. We've all 
apostatized. We and Adam die. That's the reality 
that we find in Scripture. So David musing on that says, 
"...if thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could 
stand?" But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be 
feared. He doesn't stop there. He goes from this strict justice 
to this pardoning mercy, to this offer of grace through our Lord 
Jesus Christ, to the one in whom God the Father. the one rather 
whom God the Father sent to live for us, to die for us, and to 
be raised again for us. David was looking in faith to 
Him. And if you doubt that, read Romans 
chapter 4, because that is exactly what the Apostle Paul says. David 
understood that his righteousness was not by his own doing. His righteousness was imputed 
by God, received through faith, and it was the righteousness 
of our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So when sinners, 
by that grace, come to the Savior, they're not only forgiven of 
their sins, but they receive that righteousness. They're not 
only cleansed by His blood, but they're clothed in His righteousness 
and fit and ready to stand in the presence of God Almighty. Well, may David encourage us 
to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, whether we're saint or sinner. 
We always find that need to be looking unto Jesus, the author 
and finisher of our faith. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for these 
accounts in the Holy Scripture that give us these concrete illustrations 
of your grace demonstrated in the lives of your people. We 
are so in awe at your kindness. We are so amazed with that grace, 
and probably not nearly as we ought to be. So God help us, 
cause us to reflect upon passages like these, and may you give 
us that grace to look with great fondness upon the Savior, to 
look with great gratitude to that grace that has delivered 
us from our guilt. I pray that you would go with 
us now, that you would watch over this church, that you would 
bless each of your people here she would cause us to glorify 
you each and every day and give us that that grace to shine his 
lights and a crooked and perverse generation and the boldness to 
hold forth your word of truth We pray for those traveling that 
you would bless them grant them mercies watch over them and give 
them The ability to return home safely. Thank you again that 
our brothers could be with us today Thank you for that good 
report concerning the work in the Far East cause us not to 
forget these things but to be prayerful for the ongoing work 
of Jesus Christ from the right hand of the Father as he builds 
his church. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.