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you guys look scared you don't need to be scared everything's great you don't have to preach or anything just come up here stand and face the congregation I want to read a section appropriate to the occasion out of our confession of Faith as a reform Baptist Church we subscribe to the second London Confession of 1689 and with reference to the church we see in chapter 26 paragraph six it says the members of these churches are Saints by calling visibly manifesting and evidencing and in by their profession and walking their obedience unto that call of Christ and do willingly consent to walk together according to the appointment of Christ giving up themselves to the Lord and one to another by the will of God in profess subjection to the ordinances of the Gospel so that is their responsibility as individual Believers in terms of church membership the paragraph prior to that is a bit more General in terms of the church itself so paragraph 5 it says in the execution of this power wherewith he is so entrusted the Lord Jesus calls out of the world unto himself through the ministry of his word by his Spirit those that are given unto him by his father that they may walk before him in all the ways of obedience which he prescribes to them in his word those thus called He commands to walk together in particular Societies or churches for their Mutual edification and the due performance of that public worship which he requires of them in the world well as we have gotten to know both Brennan and Emily it's been a great joy and a blessing to have them in our church among us so we are receiving them formally now into the membership of the church I extend the right hand to Fellowship to both typically we do this because sometimes when we tip our typical practice is baptism and then entry into the church they've already been baptized by immersion so they satisfy that requirement so we extend the right hand to Fellowship in a public sort of way so that everybody knows they are now a part of us in a formal way so I will pray and thank God for his addition to us in terms of our membership so let us pray our great God and Father we thank you for your graciousness and for your mercy we thank you for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ what a blessed privilege is is ours to to gather together to to fellowship with one another to seek to glorify the living and the true God even father Son and Holy Spirit we pray for this young couple that you would continue to watch over them that you would bless and encourage their hearts strengthen them with might and the inner man that they may indeed be faithful members in this local body may we hold them accountable and hold them up in prayer and they toward all of us we just bless you and thank you for your kind provision and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen [Applause] before a call to worship now you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 32. Psalm 32 and I'll begin reading in verse 1. the psalm of David a contemplation 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 when I kept silent my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long for day and night your hand was Heavy upon me my Vitality was turned into the drought of Summer Selah I acknowledged my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin say law for this cause everyone who is Godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found surely in a flood of Great Waters they shall not come near him you are my Hiding Place you shall preserve me from trouble you shall surround me with songs of Deliverance say law I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go I will guide you with my eye do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding which must be harnessed with bit and bridle else they will not come near you many Sorrows shall be to the wicked but he who trusts in the Lord Mercy shall surround him be glad in the Lord and rejoice you righteous and Shout for Joy all you upright in heart amen well please take your hymn books and turn to Psalm 72 Psalm 72 a as in Alpha and we will sing stanzas five to eight so that's on the right side of the page 72 a as in Alpha we'll stand as we sing together [Music] Jesus [Music] foreign [Music] we must be [Music] us ing [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] please be seated well tonight we're going to remember a member in the church in Surrey our sister church at the Surry reform Baptist Church a young fellow named Allen a good faithful godly man his father was recently in a recently in a very bad accident he's in Bosnia presently and the prognosis is not good so Alan would indeed appreciate our prayers on behalf of the situation as well we'll remember Pastor Mike Kelly and the Brethren at the Gateway Church in Livermore California and other other interests that we have in terms of our of our responsibilities or relationships to other churches so let us pray our great God and our Holy Father we gather together again on this Lord's day and we acknowledge that you are most high you are from Everlasting to Everlasting you are The God Who made the world the God who governs the world and the God who has redeemed his elect out of it and we bless you and we praise you father Son and Holy Spirit we know as well in this new covenant environment it is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ where we find our blessed savior we thank you that we can come to the father through the Son and the power of the holy spirit that we may know The Nearness of God as our good we thank you for the public means of Grace we thank you for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ again we thank you for your addition through conversion through uh bringing Brethren into this local body and we ask that as We Gather tonight you would fill our hearts with the holy spirit that we would worship you in spirit and in truth that we would know the the glory of God most high demonstrated through public worship we ask that you would forgive us for all of our sin and transgression whenever we come before such a holy and a righteous God we're mindful of our remaining corruption we're mindful of that reality that the hymn writer spoke of that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love but we see the Apostle say in Romans 7 and Galatians 5 so we confess that transgression we confess that lack of Conformity unto your law and pray for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we praise you that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so do that now for your Glory's sake as well God we pray for any and all who have come here tonight that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we don't don't appeal to their free will we don't appeal to their ability we appeal to a sovereign God who is able to make men willing in the day of his power we pray that you would awaken dead Sinners and cause them to receive the truth as it is in Jesus may they look unto him in faith and know the joy of being found in him God we pray that for our gathering together here we pray that for other churches and our community throughout this country and to the uttermost parts of the earth we pray that you would bless the preaching of the word by the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit and that you would cause men women boys and girls to come to the Savior King we pray tonight for the church and Surrey we thank you for Pastor Mike we praise you for the body of the the body of Christ's people there we think tonight specifically of our brother Alan and we just commend him to you and to the word of your grace we pray that you would comfort his his heart we pray that you would encourage and strengthen him and cause him to be still and know that you are God even in the midst of great trial and affliction and we bring his father before you we pray first and foremost for the inner man we pray that you would save him by your grace we ask God as well that you would undertake on behalf of the outer man and that you would bring him through this if it indeed if it is indeed your will be gracious in this situation and bring forth your Your Glory in the midst of suffering as well God we pray for your blessing upon our the recent addition in our local church we thank you for for these new brethren in terms of the spiritual membership we also thank you for the healthy birth of Claire we ask God that you would bless this little one she would watch over Mac and Stephanie and encourage them and cause this to be a time of rejoicing a time of Thanksgiving to our great God and as well we pray for the church in Livermore California we thank you for pastor Kelly we pray that you would bless this brother cause him to be faithful to be steadfast to be persevering in the word and Doctrine and may that flock grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we pray as well for free Grace Church in Fresno California we thank you for pastor troop we praise you for the congregation there we ask God that they would know your blessing upon them that they would continue in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit and in both these churches may they shine as lights in accordance it in perverse generation and may they hold forth the word of Truth and God we pray that for our own situation in this community we pray that for churches throughout this nation it Grieves us to see the sorts of sins that are rampant in this country and we pray that in your wrath you would remember Mercy she would send forth your glorious gospel conquering and to conquer and again father we pray that you would draw a multitude unto yourself through our Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen will you can turn with me again in your hymn books to Psalm 130 Psalm 130 A as in Alpha will stand as we sing together [Music] prayer foreign [Applause] [Music] always the Lord our Lord [Music] our Grace [Music] well you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy as we continue continue to read through the Old Testament we find ourselves in Deuteronomy chapter 1. and basically Deuteronomy takes place on the plains of Moab just prior to the children of Israel entering into the promised land to engage in the conquest Joshua and judges deal with Conquest but here in Deuteronomy essentially you have a few speeches or exhortations on the part of Moses to the children of Israel you have one in chapters one to four and then from chapter 4 to 28 and then the final one in chapters 29 and 30. and essentially the first section he gives a historical review where they had been and what God had done in terms of redeeming them from Egypt so I want to read beginning in chapter 1 at verse 1 to chapter or rather to verse 18. so Deuteronomy 1 1 these are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness in the plain opposite suf between parent TOEFL Laban hazaroth and ditsahab it is 11 days journey from Horeb by way of Mount Ser to Kadesh barnea now it came to pass in the 40th year in the 11th month on the first day of the month that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as Commandments to them after he had killed Zion King of the amorites who dwelt in hashbon and OG King abatian who dwelt an asteroth in idre on this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law saying the Lord Our God spoke to us in Horeb saying you have dwelt long enough at this mountain turn and take your journey and go to the mountains of the amorites to all the neighboring places in the plain in the mountains and in the lowland in the South and on the Seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the Great River the river Euphrates see I have set the land before you go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to give to them and their descendants after them and I spoke to you at that time saying I alone am not able to Bear you the Lord your God has multiplied you and here you are today as the stars of Heaven in multitude may the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are and bless you as he has promised you how can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints choose wise understanding and knowledgeable men from among your tribes and I will make them heads over you and you answered me and said the thing which you have told us to do is good so I took the heads of your tribes wise and knowledgeable men and made them heads over you leaders of thousands leaders of hundreds leaders of fifties leaders of tens and officers for your tribes then I commanded your judges at that time saying here are the cases between your brethren and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him you shall not show partiality and judgment you shall hear the small as as well as the great you shall not be afraid in any man's presence for the judgment is God's the case that is too hard for you bring to me and I will hear it and I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do amen well let us pray our gracious God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you that it's given by inspiration of God we thank you that it's profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness we give praise to you that you've not left us alone in this world you've not left us without the word of God you've not left us without the holy spirit that other comforter that one like our Lord Jesus Christ who comes to the children of God and blesses and encourages and strengthens may you give us a firm commitment to your word in a Godless age in a wicked age in a lawless age may we nevertheless hold fast to the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments and we praise you through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well for our final hymn before the preaching you can turn to 447 447 will stand as we sing together [Music] foreign [Music] Grace [Music] last year thank you [Music] foreign [Music] with me in your Bibles to the book of second Samuel second Samuel 11. our focus is actually second 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 second Samuel 11 is David's fall into sin second Samuel 12 is his recovery from that that sin so I want to read beginning in verse 1 in 2nd Samuel chapter 11. it happened in the spring of the year at the time when kings go out to battle the David sent joab and his servants with him and all Israel and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged rabba but David remained at Jerusalem then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the king of 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 a lion 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 your aisle 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 Uriah said to David The Ark in Israel and Judah are dwelling intense 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 that 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 it 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 died so it was while joab besieged the city that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were Valiant men then the man 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 Sant 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 thebas 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 morning was over David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife and boreham 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 you 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 cop and lay in his 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 land and prepared it for the man who had come to him so David's anger was greatly aroused against a 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 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 your eye 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 son 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 then Nathan departed to his house amen let us pray our father as we come to this passage now we 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 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 second Samuel you'll see the emphasis up until chapter 11 is on David's success you see his uh commencement of his reign in verses or chapters one to four and then you see the consolidation of his power in chapters five to ten it's as if everything David touches turns to Gold Everything is his international relations his 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 rain on the part of David turns to amass 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 people 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 sends David takes David is the the 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 one to six 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 second Samuel 12 is not in the Bible to tell us yeah you can go out and get away with some pretty pretty heinous sins you can go out and engage in you know murder and adultery and and come back to God and you'll get forgiveness this is not prescriptive the the message here is not go thou and do likewise but it is descriptive it does highlight that principle in first John chapter 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 zone of wisdom or or David now found himself in a perplexing situation he's tired of his bones aching he's tired of all the the ramifications associated with undoubt sin that's not what's happening God sent Nathan to David Calvin says let us know 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 gave us 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 settle 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 that repented from sin because they got caught and you're just a little bit suspicious aren't you well well they got 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 real is is that when you buy 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 flots and herds that's going to come up later in verses 7 8 to sort of exacerbate what David had done in terms of this particular evil so the rich man is David verse one 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 you 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 you land he only has this just one wife this one called Bathsheba that he loves that he cares for that 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 second 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 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 you 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 of monster that would steal from a poor man simply to feed a traveler so David is outraged and he renders the verdict 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 second 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 it was more faithful it didn't now that doesn't mean you can't ever entrust me with a secret uh I will not publish on Facebook or Twitter any of the things that you can find in me up to uh criminal activity on Mustang out I must turn you over to the cops but uh Uriah the hittite is a man of integrity and so what's the the the the end result in terms of second second 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 hentai there's no pity there's no kindness he's become a thug and he is 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 the 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 England to the Queen of Scotland and I would love to see her face in in all of its Lura detail well Knox is 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 is treated uh this poor man the way the rich man treated him in the 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 to 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 first Samuel chapter 16 that 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 narrative 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 he like his 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 in 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 first or second Samuel but that was common custom in ancient near Eastern culture that was just the way that things operated so I gave you from 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 rain that would provide the context for Solomon that man appease to come and build the temple for the Lord most high before they could build the temple in the 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 asked don't go in the bathsheet but don't take the poor man's you 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 Yahweh begins with grace for sin to appear as Lord as it should it must stand in the blaze of Grace treachery may only appear hideous when viewed against the Fidelity it has despised so Yahweh itemizes his grace to David in this way Yahweh stresses the senselessness of David's sin 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 hentai 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 and I love to sin what a what a great Arrangement but Paul says man 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 second 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 got at the emphasis in Jerusalem there and chapters one to seven you've got the emphasis and Samaria there in chapter eight 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 an outline form what's going to follow well that's what happens here it's embedded here in second 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 work 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 She 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 this son 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 uh David's words from 1125 remember when he's waxing philosophically about the Ebbs and flows of battle and warfare look back at 11 25 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 said in chapter 18 after his usurpation of the throne and then adonijah in First 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. thus says the Lord behold I will raise up adversity against you from your own house and it will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor and he shall lie with your wives on the sight of this son 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 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 a hitherfell so you've got Absalom rebelling against the crown the people are now falling following Absalom but what if David and Absalom reunite what if David and Absalom reunify what if David David and Absalom uh reconcile what's going to happen to all those people that followed Absalom so a hit the fell 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 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 what does David say here who do you possibly say after well wait no it wasn't me I was framed I've got a I've got what they call those lookalikes a doppelganger that wasn't me I I was out on the field of battle I was commanding job I was doing my job as I I was supposed what do you say here what is it that you you do here as I said before I 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 the 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 David's nose and says Thou Art the man then the prophet of God highlights the grace of God as the contacts and the the reason why David 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 I have sinned against the Lord but again brevity I think it's only two Hebrew words where's the groveling so where's the flagellation where's the promise that I'll never do it again Lord where's this proper of his previous good works and in in trying to bargain with God can't this sort of counterbalance can't this just sort of outweigh it the Burl Berg 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 Pharisees 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 I thank you that I'm not unjust I thank you that I'm an adulterer I'm not I'm not an extortion and I'm certainly not like this this public in here what's Republican do he can't even look up into heaven he beats his breast and he says God be merciful to me The Sinner which 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 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 You know despite okay 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 it's not dependent upon us it's not predicated on on our ability or on our prayer so they say the words are very few just as in the case of the public and 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 pre-tax 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 captive 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 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 why we see that in First Kings one and two 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 sort 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 when God commands the civil magistrate to wield the sword against criminal offenders then the magistrate must comply this 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 contact docked here and then we see that last and and final sort of judgment upon David verse 14 B 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 I'm going to cheat and just read Davis he makes this observation it is is 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 they run from God when the Builders of the tower at Babel what are they trying to do they're trying to to build a heaven a a tower into the very heavens uh uh to to perhaps Escape another flood to perhaps show their their glory and their pop and their Majesty on the heels of that what happens it's God's initiative with the tower Builders at Babel do God comes to to promise to Abraham that he's going to do and you all the nations of the earth will be blessed you see the pattern of the seeking God throughout scripture our brother rad from John chapter 4 this morning and I realized that wasn't sort of the emphasis in terms of the 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 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 can 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 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 lacks and promiscuous person in the world and 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 in great things and on the heels of that he sees a woman bathing and he goes after her and he he brings himself into this place of of alienation from God Almighty I would suggest thirdly we ought to appreciate the grace of God again that's a pretty Elementary observation exceeding Riches of his grace but considered God's grace toward David prior to this incident David's not sit 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 lead the god that we love I I don't like to remind us of that and 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 get away with that 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 and David does this sin in in Psalm 51 he says restore unto me the joy of your salvation the the joy of thy salvation is that praying or he's not becoming a Christian here he's a saved man that declined a saved man that that the fact that a saved man that that fell into Grievous said 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 out bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name he says it again bless the Lord all my soul and all that is within me and forget not all his benefits and then what does David do he 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 second Samuel 4 9 as the Lord Lives who has redeemed my life from all adversity First 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 second Samuel chapter 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 the grace May abound but don't let your huge sins into merits keep you from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ that's the reason why Christ came in the world see Galatians 2 21 the Apostle said I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes to the law then 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 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 descent 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 the 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 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 First Corinthians chapter six do not be deceived the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God and then he lifts he gives a cat a catalog of unrighteousness and filthiness and sinfulness and wickedness and then he says to those Corinthians and and such were some of you but 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 second Samuel chapter 12. and instead of saying well 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 it's 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 the grace of God that is the the the the the the 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 parallel a parable Nathan the prophet says Thou Art the man notice what David doesn't do well you know if Bathsheba hadn't been bathing there if you know I I I I I I didn't have these sort of urges that that God gave you know we see people in the Bible do that when God comes to Cain and Abel I'm sorry to Adam and Eve what does Adam do the woman whom thou gavest me she 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 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 but it was the circumstances it it was the the difficulties you just don't know how hard my life is you know you don't know the pressures of being the king of a Consolidated Kingdom yeah you don't know what it's like to fight ammonites you know you don't know what it's like to fight Philistines I'm under a lot of pressure and a lot of time he doesn't do that he simply says I have 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 should sort of outweigh the bad again Sinners think that way I've done more good than that so 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 Paris 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 you know the time they get their first morning coffee well you know I'm spotless and holy and and so righteous you're not you're wretched you're filthy you're you're vile you're contemptible we have all straight we have all gone astray like sheep we have we have wandered away from the true and living God David trusted in the promise of God concerning concerning the coming of the Messiah in second Samuel chapter seven 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 a new 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 and we try to minimize it it wasn't that bad God you should forgive me it wasn't that big give 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 I'm gone I'm dead consider Psalm 32 1-2 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 uh 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 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 with him he 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 the psalm that we sang tonight Psalm 130 verses 3 and 4 if you Lord should Mark iniquities oh Lord who could stand that's the reality of it isn't it if God should Mark inequities 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 shuts Mark iniquities oh 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 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 which you would cause us to glorify you each and every day and give us that that Grace To Shine his lights in 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