outline in the back. I have a couple extra copies. Lessons from the life of David. Our numbers are a bit down this morning and, you know, could be the topic. Could be the topic. I mean, once again, we're faced with the topic we'd like to avoid, David's sin. A topic we'd like to avoid, David's sin, David's terrible sin is the topic. And we're still in 2 Samuel chapter 11. We'll be finishing out the chapter this morning, but this is a topic we'd rather like to avoid. I talked about last week how we'd like to have removed this from scripture if we could. I'm sure if it's up to man, it would have been removed long ago, but why? Why would we like to avoid this topic? Well, one of the reasons is because David is one of the Bible's heroes. And we don't like to see our hero fall so badly, fall so badly. We talked last week about his terrible, his fearful fall, his fearful fall into sin. And now we're gonna talk about the sin itself, his terrible sin. We'd like to avoid this because David is one of our heroes. But secondly, we'd like to avoid it because his fall and David's subsequent sins remind us so much of our own, so much of our own sins. We'd just like to, you know, turn the corner if we could here. Are we prepared to face sin? It's not just discussing someone else's sin, but facing our own sin, facing our sin. Are we willing to listen to the Spirit of God when he says, to us, thou art the man, even as Nathan said to David. These are not just theoretical, you see, or academic discussions we're looking at here. This is real life. We follow David's life as it's unfolded in the word of God, as the Lord brought him from being a shepherd lad out there in the fields, you know, to the pinnacle. of the great glory days of his life as Israel's king. I mean, what a transformation from being a shepherd boy to being king over Israel. We've rejoiced, we've exalted in all of his victories, but now suddenly we're hurled into this abyss. And the more we read, the deeper and the darker that abyss becomes. Could this be the same David? We ask ourselves, could this be? Sin has sapped his vitality. Sin has darkened his reasoning. Suddenly we see David here, our hero, is acting more like the devil than we could have imagined possible. You see, sin is a menace. In fact, sin is, America's menace. Sin's public enemy number one. You know, you might think it's Russia or China or something out there. There's plenty of conspiracy theories. But the greatest menace is sin. It's the greatest menace. Sin is undermining the vitality of our nation, just as it undermined David's vitality. Sin is sapping our strength. The sin has been glamorized in the world today, in our culture. Sin is popular. You could say that the sin is mainstream. Sin is mainstream in our lives today. You know, so seldom do we hear anything spoken out against sin. It's always for sin, for sin, pro-sin. Sin is mainstream in our lives. Sin's glamorized. Our study today brings us face to face. with this thing we'd rather not come face to face, the utter horror of sin, the horror of sin, David's terrible sin. Nathan said to David in 2 Samuel 12, we'll study perhaps next week, Nathan said, by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. This entire incident, all of chapter 11 is David's terrible sin. David's terrible sin. It's the one sin of all David's sins, and there's many that we've been privy to, and of course many more that we're not, but the one sin that's laid more to his charge than any other because of his gravity, his seriousness. It's given occasion to many to blaspheme the Lord, even down to the present day. Many say, well, if that's a God that David served, I don't want to have anything to do with him. David's God. It was a deliberate and a premeditated crime we've talked about. David, of course, had committed many sins, but this was his worst. And the other sins pale in comparison. And you say, well, you're just making all that up. Well, no, not exactly. After David's death, the Spirit of God has noted in 1 Kings 15, verse 5, it says, David, this is, of course, the Holy Spirit is the author of the Old Testament, author of the New Testament as well. And so the Spirit of God notes in 1 Kings 5, verse 15, David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. and turn not aside from anything that he commanded, that the Lord commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." Save only. Now that doesn't mean that David committed no other sins. It means that this sin against your Bathsheba and against Uriah the Hittite, was by far the greatest sin. This is David's terrible, terrible sin, hence the title. Let's look, first of all, at this fearful problem. We're gonna back up just a few verses. We talked about this last week, but there's a few more things to be said. In fact, there's always a lot more to be said. But the few more things I want to say, 2 Samuel 11. Let's read the first five verses. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbath. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass, in an even tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, and she returned unto her house. And the woman conceived and sent and told David and said, I am with child. David's failings. David's failings. A fearful problem. Watch and pray, it says in Matthew chapter 26. Watch and pray that you fall not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26, 41. You see, Prayer's good, don't get me wrong, but prayer itself, by itself, is not sufficient. Prayer alone is not sufficient. We must watch also. It says watch and pray. Be on the alert. Notice the direction of our desires. That was the Lord's admonition to David, and we looked at his past, at the soil he had tilled and the seeds he had planted in the past that led up to his sin. Note the direction of our desires. Watch and pray. Note the character of our motives. Notice the influence of our associations. Watching, watch even things that might be lawful in and of themselves. Be very careful. You see, to pray without watching is to mock God. It's an abdication of our responsibility. We have a responsibility, yes, to pray, but also to watch, to be on guard. And the one we need to watch the most is not each other. What we need to watch most is ourselves. It's the inner man we need to watch most carefully, noting the direction of his or her desires, noting the character of our motives, noting the influence of our associations. Watch the inner man. Keep thy heart with all diligence. It says Proverbs 4.23, for out of it are the issues of life. Keep the heart with all diligence. Through prayer, prayer is important, we seek divine grace to be faithful and dutiful, but we must watch ourselves before we pray and after we pray. There's a traitor within our breast. There's a traitor inside, there's a traitor in the mist that's inside each one of us, a traitor, the old man, that sinful nature is a traitor to the very end of life, to the last day of life, that traitor. We have to watch him, be alert, be on the watch. Our traitor within us is always ready to betray us if it has the opportunity. Nothing in this life, you see, can completely eradicate. or sin nature. It's not a close walk with God. It doesn't matter if you're the pastor or just the lowliest person in the church. A close walk with God cannot eradicate the sin nature, not a long life of piety. Years and years, and you think, well, I could never believe brother or sister, so-and-so. Well, they can. They can. We're never, never beyond the reach of temptation. Watch and pray, nothing but prayer and watchfulness. will safeguard our sinful nature. That was David's failure to watch and pray. He should have been watching and praying. He should have been watching his motives. He should have been watching his desires. He should have been careful of his associations, especially when it came to women. David was indeed here facing a fearful problem. Bathsheba says, I am with child. I'm with child. She sends a messenger. None of this was done in the, totally, nothing ever is done totally in secret. Nothing's ever done totally in secret. But David was more out in the open, perhaps, than many. I mean, he was sending messengers back and forth to Bathsheba, and Bathsheba sent the messengers back to him with a message that I'm with child. Uh-oh, David's a fearful problem. David, you see, had allowed himself to get caught up in this wicked whirlpool of sin. Perhaps you've seen that on the, perhaps you're afraid of whirlpools. I mean, you watch them on television, you know, and sometimes there's this whirlpool and, I mean, it starts whooshing around and, boy, you're in the whirlpool, you know, and then you're going down the drain. Whirlpool of sin and lust of the flesh. You see, sin is insatiable. That is, it's never satisfied. It just wants a little more, a little more, a little more, a little more. Lower and lower sin goes. Faster and faster sin spins. But for the grace of God, sin would suck us all right down to hell itself. But for the grace of God, sin, it sounds awful. It sounds awful because it is awful. It is awful, that's the horror of sin. But even here as we approach, as we approach this topic, this most solemn subject, we're reminded of the remedy, the antidote. Romans 5, verse 20, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. You see, if we learn something about the horror and wickedness of sin in David's life, we've indeed learned a little. But if we also learn of God's mercy and God's grace, then we've learned something truly tremendous. So I hope you'll come back next week so we can learn some of God's mercy and grace. There'll be a little bit sprinkled in here, but I remind you, these things in scripture, and particularly in 2 Samuel 11, are written for God's glory. and for our profit. And we've been focusing mostly on our profit. We'll be doing that today, but Lord willing, we'll look at a few things there for God's glory as well. David, David's failure, but David has found out Bathsheba sends a note, and it says, very simply, I am with the child. Can you imagine, David? I mean, suddenly his hands start to shake. His heart starts to beat. His blood pressure's going up. You know, I mean, it's like, boy, this is a bad problem. This is a fearful problem David's facing, a fearful problem. You see, Numbers chapter 32 verse 23 reminds us, be sure your sins will find you out. Numbers 32, 23, be sure your sins will find you out. There was a day of reckoning to be faced and it was here, all of a sudden, Bathsheba sent the note, I'm with child. The biblical penalty for adultery, and this was adultery, was death. Leviticus chapter 20, verse 10. David as king now could probably escape that penalty, though not without considerable damage to his reputation. As it was, he damaged his reputation even further through his ways, attempts to get out of it all. But David as king could probably escape the penalty of death. But Bathsheba, on the other hand, who knows? Who knows what's gonna happen to Bathsheba. The hidden works of darkness would now be forced into the light. Uriah would come home and he would know that something was up. David was indeed of a sad predicament. It was entirely of his own making. It was David's fault, but sadder still were the means that David used to try to extricate himself from this situation. He should have just confessed. to Bathsheba, to Uriah. I mean, could have said it right, not without some damage, but without going further into the whirlpool of sin and lust. A failed plan. First of all, we see this fearful problem, but point two, a failed plan. And David, verse six, and David sent to Joab saying, send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did and how the people did and how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house. And there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of the Lord and went not to his house. And when they told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down into thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, and my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go into mine house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As thou livest and as thy soul liveth, I will not. do this thing. Rather than admit and confess his sins, David attempts a cover-up, a cover-up. You know, actually, we think about this honestly, that's our first response too. Our first response is, cover it up. It just is instinctive. Instinctive. I've told this story some years ago, but I'll tell it again. I was working at Shell. And we had a storehouse, a storeroom, where we kept all of our additive supplies and things. I worked on lubricants. And I would go there occasionally to get materials that I needed right away. And I could look them up at the computer. And I went to the storeroom. And here's the shelves are labeled. Now the shelves went up to like about 10 feet up high. But the shelf I needed was labeled. It was right about here. I couldn't quite see. I couldn't quite see under the shelf. There was a number of things on there, bottles of things are all labeled. But you know, somewhere on that shelf was the product I needed, but there's an oil can, a five gallon oil can sitting down there. They really shouldn't have been stored in there, but here's an oil can right down below because there wasn't room. If I stood on that oil can, I could get low extra height. Now that was Shell's like safety first. That was against Shell's rules. I was supposed to go around the back and get this big old one of these ladders you see like at Home Depot and wheel this around and wheel it over and climb up the ladder with the handrail and all the other kind of stuff. But I just stood on top of the oil drum and got the product and one stepped off of it. And I was just leaving the room when one of the technicians says, Dr. Pabke, did I see you standing on that oil drum? You know what my response was? Oh, no, that's not me. I mean, I tried to make a joke out of it. I tried to cover it up. That wasn't me. I mean, and I walked out, and Spirit of God smote my heart. He said, you just lied. You just lied. I went back, I told the technician, you know, that wasn't true. But I said, yes, I did send the oil drum. I'm sorry. I sort of used the ladder. But that's my first response. I came out without even thinking. Without even thinking. Boom. I said, so we can't blame David a whole lot, I guess. Because David's first response is, send a job. Send me a riot. Cover up. Cover up. He's gonna sacrifice Uriah to shield himself. But David did not set out to murder Uriah. That wasn't his plan. He was looking for some carnal measures. He was resorting to one expedient after another, trying this, trying to preserve life, but trying to get things looking like they were on the up and up. Only after everything else failed did David resort to the extreme measure. of ordering Uriah to the front to have him killed. Alas, the sweet psalmist of Israel is now in the same class as Pilate. The same class as Pilate. That's exactly what Pilate was trying to do. You know, how about if I release Barabbas? You know, Barabbas, he's a bad guy. I'm going to let him go. I can let one go. So I'm not going to, sorry, I got it right or wrong. Barabbas, I'll let Jesus go. Jesus, I mean, what has he done wrong? Barabbas is really bad. We'll kill Barabbas, but we got to let one go. I mean, Pilate was doing his best to get the crowd to release Christ. So David was doing his best to try to save Uriah's life. David, you see, loved his place, his reputation, his place as king, and his reputation in the world, and his reputation among men so much that he was determined that he would not be branded as an adulterer. He would not. He was determined. Although he was an adulterer, he was determined that he would not. Notice in this moment of crisis, and it was a moment of crisis when David opened that note, David turned to Joab, not to the Lord. Semi-Uriah the Hittite, that's his first thought. Lord, I'm in a real fix here, Lord, help me. No, David turns to Uriah. David's plan here is diabolical. It's devilish. Really, he seeks to flatter Uriah, Semiriah, making Uriah, of all Job's troops, Uriah is coming back with the report. Semiriah, Job says to Uriah, the king wants you to report to him. Whoa, you know, the king, really? Yeah, that's gonna lift up your, I'm trying to think of the right word. Anyway, you're gonna be pretty excited about the king. You're gonna feel pretty important. Flattery makes him feel like his report was more important than anyone else's. Showing Uriah what confidence the king of Israel had in him. You know, sadly, We just note here, how little we know of another's motives. How little we know of another's motives. You know, your boss calls you into the office. Who knows what his motives are? He could be saying a bunch of good things about you, but we don't have any idea what his motives are. That's exactly what David said. Putting out your confidence in princes, Psalm 146, verse three. Putting out your confidence in princes. David was appealing to Ariah's baser motives. And it would have worked for most men. Most men, it would have worked. I mean, I'm pretty sure it would have worked for me. I mean, I would have been 100% in. I mean, if the king called me for a report, I mean, I was thinking, boy, I'm pretty important. And it would have worked for most, but it didn't work for Uriah. David sends food and drink. to Uriah's house, a mess of meat, it says. I imagine it's a, you know, of course Uriah wasn't home. So Bathsheba's at the door, I don't know if they had doorbells, probably not. Knock, knock, knock, knock, and Bathsheba opens the door, and here it's the royal door dash. There's a line of servants here with a mess of meat. I mean, they've got like the full course. Bathsheba's like, whoa, what's all this? Come on in, put it on the table. Wow, from the king, this mess of meat has arrived. But Uriah, Bathsheba had no idea Uriah was in town. Uriah never arrives. I guess it all went in the freezer. Well, maybe they didn't have freezers. So they had to call her friends over to have a big feast. But anyway, what subtle designs. Subtle designs lay behind David's presence, the presence he gave that mess of meat, and his smiling face. It was all, may I say, straight out of the devil's playbook. You know, that's the, if you're in football, I guess, you gotta, the coach has a playbook of, maybe the players have them, I don't know. I've never played football, but a playbook. It tells you what you're gonna do when you're supposed to do like this particular routine or, anyway, the devil's playbook. David's been looking over the devil's shoulder. This was exactly how the devil's playbook. Uriah's noble words were a severe rebuke to David. They should have melted his heart. Verse 11, Uriah says, As thou liveth, at the end of the verse, and thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing. I mean, he says, the Lord and his people are in the open fields, engaging the foes of Israel, but the king is at home. enjoying his ease and indulging the desires of his flesh. Well, what a rebuke to David that was. So flattery fails. David tries plan number two. Plan B, drunkenness, verses 12 and 13. And David said to Uriah, tarry here today also, and tomorrow I will let thee depart. Uriah bowed in Jerusalem that day and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him, and he made him drunk. And even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his Lord, but went not down to his house. David's heart here is fully set on doing evil. And David, you know, I mean, flattery failed, but David says, not to fear, I've got another plan. I mean, David's determined, plan after plan after plan. You know, alas, we must say alas, how quickly We're discouraged by one setback in doing good. One little setback in doing good, you know? I mean, you know, we get, anyway, we won't go into details, but you know how it is. One little setback in doing good, we're discouraged. But what perseverance we have in overcoming obstacles to do evil. What perseverance? I mean, that doesn't matter. That doesn't matter. I'll clear my calendar. I'll go there. It doesn't matter the cost. Wow. What perseverance, David refused to admit defeat here. Rather than confessing his sin to Uriah, even now he could have done that, asking Uriah's forgiveness. He presses forward, he deliberately attempts. to get faithful Uriah to break his vow. Uriah said, as thou livest and I so liveth, I will not do this, I will not, I will not. Now here's David, the tempter, trying to get Uriah to break his vow before the Lord. Like, go home, go home, get drunk and we'll carry you home. God's providences. We're all working against David, all working against him. This should have been a warning to David, another warning, but it was not. A fatal plot, point three in your outline. And it came to pass in the morning, verse 14, 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 retire ye from him that he may be smitten. and die. I mean, this is pretty clear, isn't it? Pretty clear. It can't be any clearer, I would say. And it came to pass when Joab observed the city that he assigned Uriah into a place where he knew that valiant men were, valiant men of the city. And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab. And there fell some of the people of the servants of David. And Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Job sent and told David all the things concerning the war. And he charged the messenger, saying, when thou hast made an end of telling the matter of the war unto the king, and if so that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, wherefore approached he so nigh unto the city when he did fight, know ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech, the son of Jeroboam? And did not a woman cast a piece of millstone upon him from the wall? that he died in Thebes, why went ye nigh the wall? Then say, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. So the messenger went and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for. And the messenger said unto David, surely the men prevailed against us, the men of the city, and came out unto us into the field. And we were upon them, even unto the entering of the gate. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants, and some of the king's servants be dead. and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said unto the messenger, thus shalt thou say unto Joab, let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another. Make the battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it, and encourage thou him. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the morning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house. and she became his wife and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." A fatal plot. This is, again, a devilish letter, completely dominated by Satan now. David was determined, resolved to maintain his reputation regardless of the cost, regardless of the cost. Subtle and vile tactics are the devil's hallmarks. Can you imagine sending this note ordering Uriah's death to be carried by Uriah himself. Ah, David, David. One can almost hear the hiss of the serpent behind every word and thought. Set ye Uriah in the foremost of the hottest battle and retire ye from him that he may be smitten and die. What a horror this is. David, David, cold-blooded determination. David pens this note. Sacrifice Uriah in the battle. Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle. Retire, like retreat. Leave, leave him alone. Leave him there that he may be smitten and die. Wow. Matthew Henry says that innocent, valiant, gallant man who is ready to die, who is ready to die for his prince's honor. must die by his prince's hand. It was David's hand that ordered Uriah's death, just as surely as if David had killed him himself. What a horrible sin, deliberate, premeditated crime that's given God's enemies reason to blaspheme his name down through the centuries. Even as Nathan said to David, a most callous response, a devilish letter, a callous response. David disregards a massacre of his soldiers. I mean, others fell besides Uriah. Others fell. David disregards all that, and he compliments Joab on the execution of this abominable order. He compliments Joab. He says, indirectly, well done, Joab. Well done. David, you see, is now beholden to Joab. Ooh. Yes, David's beholden. Joab knows something here. that few others know. David's beholden to Joab. Joab, I don't like Joab at all. I have to say that. He's like Putin. I don't like Joab at all. He's a murderer of Abner. Remember that? Joab murdered Abner, cold-blooded. And now David's indebted to him. And indebtedness, he's going to come to regret. Because not too many years in the future, Joab is gonna murder David's own son, Absalom. Joab murders Absalom against David's express and explicit orders. Touch not Absalom, harm not Absalom. Joab murders him while he's hanging there in the tree from his hair. Wow, David can't do anything. David asks his son, Solomon, to take care of Joab. And Solomon does after David's death. But wow, David's indebted to Joab. David expresses no regret that a loyal supporter here, his callousness, a loyal supporter, Uriah, has been cruelly murdered. No horror even at his own guilt in the sordid affair, no grief that others had fallen alongside Uriah. Surely this sin is known to others besides David and Joab. No doubt the troops are slowly figuring out the reasons behind Job's foolish battle plans. I mean, Job was a capable military commander, one of the best. Why did he send the men up close to the wall where the archers could strike them? Why'd Job do that? You know, the men are talking about themselves. Hey, people are putting pieces together. Bit by bit, a hasty marriage, Bathsheba's marriage, a time of mourning, of necessity, was cut short. It says that when the mourning was passed, it wasn't a very long time of mourning at all. No doubt, this was some juicy gossip. for the town. No doubt. Some juicy gossip for the town. I mean, Bathsheba is hardly home from the funeral when David's planning the marriage. Whoa. I mean, David's like, the clock is ticking. Bathsheba's with child. Let's get her married as quick as we can. It's early delivery, only seven months. What about Bathsheba? Let's talk about that for just a second. What was her role? in this whole sordid affair. What was Bathsheba's role? Was she the temptress? Some make her out to be. Some think of her, perhaps, as a temptress who lured David into this trap. Well, we have to note that Scripture lays the blame entirely at David's feet. I mean, it's all there, 100%. There's not a thing laid to Bathsheba's charge in Scripture. So who are we to point any accusations whatsoever at Bathsheba when the scripture says nothing? You know, whatever happened to presumed innocent until proven guilty? Innocent until proven guilty. You know, we don't see much of that anymore in our social media day. I mean, you could be guilty quick as a shot on social media. I mean, in thousands, Millions maybe jump onto it with their likes. Guilty, guilty, guilty. Well, whatever happened to presumed innocent? We must presume, assume, we must assume, that's even more, we must assume Bathsheba is wholly innocent in this affair. An unwilling participant who is compelled to do the king's will. Unwilling participant. This is before Me Too and social media and all the other kind of stuff. But we just must assume that because that's what the scripture gives us. The scripture does not say anything about best human's role. There's a more important lesson, a point here. Let's always endeavor to think the best. of other people's motives. Let's endeavor to think the best of other people's motives without evidence to the contrary. You know, it's easy to think the worst. I know why they're not in church. Let's think the best of other people's motives. Think the best, think the best. Look for the good, amen? Let's work at doing that. It'll make us a stronger church, build for stronger families if we endeavor to think the best of each other. Let's think the best of Bathsheba. There's a footnote in scripture. Verse 27b, it says, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. A footnote, oh wow, Matthew Henry just says, let none therefore encourage themselves in sin by the example of David, for if they sin, as David did, they will fall under the displeasure of God, as David did. A footnote. Let me talk about, in the five minutes I got left, some final ponderings. I think they're supposed to be ponderings. Some final ponderings, yes. Final ponderings. Why did God allow David, permit David may say that word, why did God permit David to sin so terribly? How did God permit David to fall so far? Couldn't God have restrained David at some point earlier? Couldn't God have prevented this sin? Let's work that question for just a couple minutes. We must first of all remind ourselves that God is sovereign. God is sovereign. God does what he will do. And so we don't direct God. We say, God, you should have saved David. You should have done something else. God is sovereign. But let's look at it. Let's flip it around. Instead of asking, why did God allow David to sin so terribly? Let's ask ourselves about why does God exhibit restraining grace in our lives so often? Why does God exhibit his restraining grace in our lives so often? We can't even imagine how many sins each of us could have fallen into had God not drawn the line and said, no. Something happened. It might have appeared to be a setback to us. It might have been a change in our health. It might have been a setback at work. And it might have been a job change, something happened, but God was drawn the line and says, no, you're not gonna go down this road any further, any further down this road. God has done that again and again and again, his restraining grace. God has restrained us. He's not suffered us to endure a temptation that's so great that we could not possibly resist it on our own. God is not, he's restraining grace. And so with many, with most of us, God exhibits his restraining grace. With some, his pardoning grace. We'll see that with David. There but for the grace of God, go I. So we're reminded ourselves, first of all, of God's sovereignty. Secondly, we're reminded that David's terrible fall into sin sends before us a picture, a clear demonstration for our learning that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, Jeremiah 79. Don't trust the heart for a minute. Thirdly, I note that David's fall serves as a warning to believers of all ages and all degrees of spiritual maturity. You're never above and beyond the temptations that David fell into, or similar temptations. You're never out of sin's grasp. Remember the traitor within still lives. And fourthly, I know David's fall provides us positively with an outstanding display, astounding, astounding display, I might say, of God's amazing grace in recovering and restoring a fallen soul. So let's review what we learned Very quickly, we've learned to beware of the beginnings of sin. Remember how David's sin began? It began years before with his wandering eye and his many wives. Beware the beginnings of sin. If you could put a stop to it, watch and pray, and you could watch, and you could pray, and you could do something. to put a stop at the beginning, that would be the best. Secondly, we've learned that our natural desire to conceal sin, that's our natural desire, but that gives Satan, like carte blanche, carte blanche, great advantages to Satan. That's like handing Satan your credit card. Opportunities. when we try to conceal our sin. Satan has the opportunities now to work with that. Beware of the beginnings of sin, beware of concealing sin. Thirdly, we know that temptations can strike any age, any position in life. David, as I noted, is likely in his 50s at this point in time, not a young man when he falls into this temptation. He's the king of Israel. He could have literally had any woman he wanted as king, although that wasn't biblical. But here he wants Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Fourthly, I note that we've noted that pride, David's pride, will go to fearful lengths to maintain a reputation. Beware of pride. You know, there's some, sadly I'd say, that don't get saved because of pride. Pride keeps them from being saved. They're almost there, but they don't want to admit their own sin. They don't want to make a public showing of this. They don't want to get baptized. I mean, wow. Not that baptism saves us, but there's pride can keep us from many things. Pride will go to fearful lengths to maintain a reputation, even St. David did. Fifthly, I note the callousness of the heart grows as the conscience is suppressed. As we push out on that conscience, David became increasingly callous in this affair. And sixthly, I note, we've learned that sin always meets with God's displeasure. God is never happy with sin. Well, that was a tough lesson. Amen. Tough lessons from the life of David. But I think things get a little better. I haven't studied the material yet, but David's going to confess. He's going to repent. And so that's definitely better. Amen. And we'll start to read about that and learn about that next week.