All right, we're on Lessons from the Life of David, and there's outlines in the back if you don't have one. Lessons from the Life of David. We're in 2 Samuel, Chapter 12. 2 Samuel, Chapter 12. And, of course, this is David's terrible sin with Bathsheba in Chapters 11, 2 Samuel, Chapter 11 and Chapter 12. And we've already spent two weeks on it, but we're not done yet. This is a pivotal pivotal moment in David's life. We already spent two weeks on studying this topic. First of all, his fearful fall into sin. Two weeks ago, I tried to be very careful analyzing the events that led up to David's fall, that fateful day. So we had the opportunity that we are seldom afforded, even in our own lives, of being able to look back carefully at events and looking at the soil from which David's sin had sprouted and the seeds that were planted. And we considered the warning signs that David had ignored warning signs that had been, you know, sometimes you're driving along the road and there's a sign that says construction ahead. You know, that's a warning sign to be on the alert. There could be some problems coming up, up ahead. And David ignored his warning signs, quite a few of them, to his great peril. And then last week we talked about David's terrible sin. It's one sin. above all others that brought occasion to God's enemies, to blaspheme the name of our Savior, the one sin that stands out above all the others. And of course, that one sin is a compounded sin. It's not only his adultery with Bathsheba, but it's also his murder, plotting and murder, subsequent murder of Uriah, and then the whole cover-up that went along with all of that. One terrible sin, a sin that David compounded, as I've mentioned, through his attempts at coverment, concealment, All for what? Why did David do all this? And the answer is to save face, all to save face, all to preserve his reputation among men. He didn't want to be labeled as an adulterer, so he became a murderer instead. Well, in addition, in addition, alas, David, what madness. has overtaken our hero, David. What madness, you know, and sin, in a sense, especially when you fall into it and become entrapped in it, is madness. It's a horror, like one of these, you know, dreams where you try to run away from the T-Rex. you know, and your legs just won't move, right? I mean, that's what a horror David was in, what madness had overtaken him. And then we briefly pondered this philosophical question. No doubt that there's, you know, you could write a whole thesis on this philosophical question, but the question was, why did God, why did Almighty God permit David to fall so far into sin? Couldn't God have stopped David at some place? I mean, couldn't God have thrown up some roadblock? I mean, just not even a roadblock, I mean, a brick wall. Couldn't God have stopped David? You know, couldn't the Almighty God have done something sooner? And as we ponder that question, I said, we're actually asking the wrong question. We're asking the wrong question. The question we should ask is why hasn't God, why has God, why has God kept me from so many grievous sins? Why has God kept me from so many grievous sins? Not why didn't God stop David? I mean, God is sovereign. God will do as he pleases. But why did God stop me from falling into the same sins? as David did. Why has God stopped me? Well, now there's a question to ponder. And of course, it's only God's mercy, God's mercy and His grace, by His mercy and His grace, but for the grace of God, but for the grace of God, this is all by introduction. Each of us, each of us, but except for the grace of God, each of us would have been sucked into this whirlpool of sin, never to return. never to return. The whirlpool just simply leads straight down to hell itself. But for the grace of God, we all would have gone down that train. In today's lesson, we're going to look at the events preceding and surrounding and leading up to David's repentance. Steps to repentance, I've called it. It's a marvelous example of God's love and his care for his errant child. First of all, David's refusal. David's refusal. You notice, I've got, actually I forgot to do that on point three, but I usually put some verses on there, 2 Samuel chapter 12. But David's refusal actually isn't in Scripture, because it ends with chapter 11, the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. But chapter 12 then begins, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David. But there is an interval of time that has passed between chapter 11 and chapter 12. It's perhaps, we don't know the interval of time for sure, but we do know that David's illegitimate child was born. So just doing some math there, it had to be a matter of approaching a year. Approaching a year, we'll say nine months, eight, nine months for the child to be born, seven months, and perhaps sometime after that. We do not know how old the child was. But David's refusal, his stubbornness, first of all, the stark gap of time, a year perhaps or more passes. It was a year. while David was free to enjoy to the full his new wife, Bathsheba, and then his new son. A year for David to enjoy the pleasures of his sin. The king, King David, in his palace, he's secure, apparently immune from consequences of his wrongdoing. God did not intervene in judgment in this year. A year passes, but David, remains impenitent. In fact, David is refusing to repent this entire year, refusing to repent. David may have been, in fact, may have been, we don't know what's exactly in David's mind, he may have been rather pleased with the results of his vile plans. His reputation was intact, Bathsheba was his. But you see, God had not forgotten. Chapter 11, verse 27, and the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. God had not forgotten. And the words are still kind of ringing in our minds and our thoughts. God was displeased. The thing that David had done displeased the Lord. David May have been, we don't know his state and this, well we do, actually we do, we'll come to that in a minute. We do know something about his state because I said point one B, his sorry state. It was a very sorry state this year that he spent. But he may have been far, I believe he was, far from true repentance. But I have, personally, I have no doubt that David was experiencing a keen, remorse, a keen remorse for what he had done. This year that goes unmentioned in scripture is really David's wasted year, a wasted year. The saint of God has a fearfully high price to pay for enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season. Stolen waters may be sweet for a moment, but quickly the mouth is filled with gravel. That's Proverbs 20, verse 17. Stolen waters may be sweet for a moment, but quickly, the writer says, the mouth is filled with gravel. God may suffer his child to indulge in sins of the flesh for a time, but he will not allow him to remain, him or her, to remain content and happy. The way of transgressors. is hard, Proverbs 13, verse 15. And David's life is, in fact, proving that proverb. The missing year, you see, of David's wasted, it's not only David's wasted year, it could very well have been his worst year ever. And David's got some bad years coming up ahead, may I say. But this may have been his worst year. ever. Let's look at his sorry state, point one B in your outline. Now David, just consider, as before we get actually into the chapter 12, remember we're in between chapters 11 and chapters 12. David's sorry state. David wrote no psalms during this year, his wasted year. And his harp, no doubt, lay gathering dust and cobwebs in the corner of the palace. But years later, some years later, he did write two psalms. describing his state, his sorry state during this time, Psalm 32 and Psalm 51. I'm gonna look briefly at a few parts in Psalm 32 to start with. And we'll come back to Psalm 51. Psalm 32. In Psalm 32, David writes, In verse three, when I kept silence, when I kept silence, my soul, my bones waxed old through my roaring. all day long. Psalm 32. We see in verse three the closing of David's mouth. David is deliberately not saying anything. He's got his lips closed. When I kept silence, David says, though his heart within is smiting him, he says his bones wax old. Though his heart is smiting him, yet he would not speak to God of his sin. Actually, there was nothing to speak to God about if he didn't talk about his sin. God wasn't listening to anything David had to say until David repented of his sin. So David had nothing to say to God. When my mouth kept silence, David writes of his inward turmoil at this time. In very graphic terms, he says his bones Waxed old, through my roaring all day long, you know, this roaring sound and his bones feeling like they're about ready to just snap. They're so brittle. Boy, David is talking about this inward turmoil. I mean, you know, I had trouble sleeping last night because our washing machine broke and our freezer broke. I got a medical procedure coming up and my dreams are just a big mishmash of stuff. But David's dreams were worse. David's dreams were worse. Boy, he can't sleep, he can't rest, there's no safety inside his palace. We asked, does this sound like a man? who is enjoying the pleasures of his illicit game. Does this sound like a great year for David? No, it's not. David's groans of remorse will rung from his unbroken heart. Verse four, for day and night, David says of Psalm 32, thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into drought. of summer. Selah. I don't know if you've ever struggled with a dry mouth at night. But David says, I had bad dreams and I had a dry mouth. It was just like, man, I could not get any rest. Day and night, he says, day and night, God's hand was heavy upon him. Even the palace was no relief. David had servants, you know, to cook his meals, make his beds, wash his clothes, fix his washing machine. I mean, David had Well, maybe he didn't have a washing machine. But anyway, David had it all. David had it all, more or less. You see, a king like David can command his subjects, but he cannot silence the voice of his outraged conscience. His conscience was just boom, boom. Talk about excedrin headache, number one here. David's conscience, there was no escape, he says in verse four, no escape at all. Day and night, a hot iron was scorching his life. So the entire year passes. This is a wretched, a weary, and a restless year. And David, drags himself through it. You can imagine David, day after day after day, dragging himself through it. He's ashamed of his conduct. He's afraid of God. He's skulking in the recesses of the palace, out of sight of the people, but not out of sight of God. David's wasted here. David was learning that every transgression is a blunder, and the cost is far too high, and the satisfaction is never what we expected, you know? It's like, I mean, I hate buying all this stuff from China. It seems like everything I get says China, but somehow I'm not entirely satisfied with the stuff I get. I paid too much for it, and it broke, it didn't work, it failed on me. That's sin. The cost is way too high. and the satisfaction is far less than we believed that we would receive. David's refusal for a year. But David's arousal, praise the Lord, David's arousal. It says God took the initiative. Chapter, back to. 2 Samuel 12, verse one, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David. God took the initiative. You see, what David had done displeased the Lord, yet the Lord did not deal with David harshly. Even after he resisted God's will, God's prompting, God's, his conscience for a year or more, There was no arrest warrant issued for David. There was no enemies that invaded his territory. I mean, God could have sent the Philistines in numbers against him. David suffered no medical problems. God took the initiative here. Instead, we see the exceeding riches of God's divine grace and mercy. Though the righteous fall, He shall not be utterly cast down. David wrote those words himself. Psalm 37, verse 24. That's true because... God takes the initiative. Though the righteous fall, he shall not utterly cast down. God took the initiative. God sent Nathan unto David. It doesn't say, did David send for the prophet? David said, you know, boy, this is terrible. I got to call 311, 911 for the prophet. Nathan, Nathan, come help me. No, says God. The Lord said, Nathan. You see, God took the initiative, as he always does. We never, this is an important lesson, we never seek him until he seeks us. He's the shepherd. The lost sheep never comes back. The lost sheep, and it might not just be an unsaved lost sheep, it might be a saved lost sheep, a saved sheep who has wandered astray like David, never comes back. The Lord has to take the initiative. As it was with David, the Lord took the initiative, so it was with Moses. God took the initiative with Moses. God took the initiative with Elijah. Elijah says, I want to die. God would not let him go. Peter, God took the initiative. God sought them out in their wanderings, their backslidings. If we believe not, Yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself." 2 Timothy 2, verse 13. This is a confirmation of that New Testament verse. The Lord sent Nathan unto him, and Matthew Henry said, though God, Matthew Henry, the commentator, though God may suffer his people to fall into sin, he will not suffer his people to lie still in it. So God may suffer, though he may allow his people to fall into sin, and indeed he does allow that, he will not allow them to lie still in it. A year has passed, here's a question, a year has passed, a year marked by David's stubborn refusal to repent. When was David going to repent? That's the question, when was David going to repent? Hello, David, it's time to repent. I mean, you would think, after a year of this sleeplessness and inner turmoil, and his bones waxing old, and he's feeling like his mouth is dry, and day and night, the heat was upon him, you'd think David would repent on his own. Or maybe not. You see, left to his own devices, I wouldn't argue, left to his own devices, David was never going to repent. You think, oh, the saint of God, a child of God is never gonna repent? What a shocking thought, Brother Papke. What a shocking thought that David was never gonna repent. But you see, sin, alas, this is the inevitable tendency of sin. It deadens the conscience. It hardens the heart. It turns it into, fossilizes the heart, like petrified stone, your heart. becomes petrified to your own, very own sins. Your conscience has been deadened. What's going to rescue David? Nothing but the hand of God who took the initiative to send Nathan the prophet. Sin, you see, sin continually suggests innumerable excuses. Sin never runs out of an excuse. You'll never be without an excuse with sin. Sin comes up with another one, another, yeah, yeah, but, but, but, but, but, but, innumerable excuses. Sin seeks a place of blame somewhere else. They made me do it. Eve made me do it. She is the one. Sin places a blame somewhere else. Sin blinds, sin hardens. Even the child of God, nothing but divine grace can illuminate and soften the heart. Nothing but the power of the Almighty can break that callous conscience or pierce the sin-petrified heart. David was caught in this vicious, unrelenting whirlpool of sin and pride. But God wouldn't let him go. God would not let him go, praise the Lord. But here's another question, philosophical question. Why did God wait an entire year? I mean, we asked, why did God let David fall into such terrible sin? But now, why did God wait an entire year before he pulled David back from the brink? Entire year. But that's not the right question. That's not the right question. The question is, why did God intervene at all? Why did God intervene at all? He could have said, let him go. Let him go. I mean, he's a murderer, an adulterer. I'll find someone else to be in the line of the Messiah. I mean, David, bye-bye. Why did God not let him go? Wow, that's a question to ponder. It's just grace. It's all grace. God's marvelous, matchless, infinite grace. Grace, grace we don't deserve. Grace beyond anything we can imagine. Brings tears to my eyes. Should bring tears to yours, too. Grace, grace. God took the initiative. The prophet here, Nathan, he hits the mark. The prophet hits the mark. Previously, Nathan had delivered a message of comfort and promise. I mean, I just love delivering messages of comfort and profit. I promise if I'm a prophet, Prophet Nathan, I mean, yes, I'll go, I'll go. But now God sends Nathan with a different kind of message. Nathan said, wait, wait, wait a minute, Lord, I didn't sign up for this. I have to do what? He's ordered to charge the king with his crimes. What a task. for Nathan. I have to give Nathan A+, here, because Nathan didn't shy away. Nathan was given what obviously is wisdom from above. Nathan approaches David's conscience indirectly with a parable. This wasn't just being tactful. You know, tactful is kind of a worldly term. This was wisdom from on high. Nothing else but wisdom from on high could have reached David with his sin-petrified heart, his hardened conscience. David thinks it's a true story, but by this roundabout way, this indirect way, Nathan avoids kindling Resentment and hostility. I mean, David was, you know, hardened toward his own sin, and Nathan avoids kindling that. Instead, he's able to present the facts for Nathan's objective and unprejudiced judgment. His parable, that we're going to read in a second, depicts a case that's so outrageous and vile that the guilty party was unmistakable. You see, even when a man or a woman is blinded to their own sin and transgressions, their conscience is still active. Their conscience is still alive and well. and it can detect evil in others. Boom, boom, your conscience says, that's evil, that's wrong. Nathan says, and it came to him, Nathan said, and said unto him, verse one, there were two men in one city, one rich, the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up, and grew up together with him and with his children. I mean, it's like a household pet, right? It did eat of his own meat, and drink of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for that man that was that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. He said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die and he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. This parable is so outrageous. So if the king were slow to confess his own wickedness, he would indeed be quick to condemn evil in others. In fact, you know, the more we ignore our own sin, the more judgmental we tend to become. toward people committing the same sin. The same sin as we are ignoring, we become judgmental, but David here declares that man should die. I mean, that was more than the law demanded. The law said he must restore fourfold, but the law never commanded his death. I mean, David is like outraged. Outraged at the man. The position of Uriah and his wife Bathsheba is portrayed as this poor man who had but one load of ewe lamb, that's Uriah. Uriah had one wife whom he loved dearly, Bathsheba. In the parable in the story, it tells how much Uriah loved his wife. The rich man, on the other hand, had many wives, that's David, many wives, exceeding many flocks. And the traveler here pictures the restless flesh David's wandering eye is a traveler, the traveler. You see, we are responsible for regulating our own thoughts and for repelling unlawful imaginations. This traveler is just an imagination passing through the mind, passing through. Proverbs 4, verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. You see, this is David's failure, ultimately, with this particular sin, instead of repelling this unlawful traveler that came into his mind, instead of repelling him, he said, get away, go away, be gone. David welcomes the traveler, just as the rich man did. This traveler came by, and the rich man welcomed him into his house. David welcomes this thought. of adultery with Bathsheba. He welcomes the thought. He entertains the thought. He said, yeah, this is a good idea. He's imagining his future. And he sends servants, calls them for Bathsheba. He entertains this traveler. And then he feasts with them, slaughters the neighbor's lamb, the poor man's lamb. And in the end, most ominously, this traveler ends up controlling David. This thought that just was a traveler passing by, this thought now is controlling David's life and he's caught in this whirlpool of sin. and degradation. And David's immediately aroused by the story and righteous indignation. He's outraged. He orders a punishment more severe. He's blinded to his own sin, but the same sin in someone else, boom, David says, nail him. You see that arrow hit the mark. The prophet had shot the arrow and boom, boy, it hits David full. Because Nathan said to David, verse seven, thou art the man. Thou art the man. David's repentance, point three in your outline. David's conscience is awakened when Nathan said, thou art the man. David did not respond with a burst of anger, like, what? What are you talking about? That could be, if he wasn't repentant, that would be his natural response, right? Get out of my house right now. I didn't call for you. Get away. But David doesn't send Nathan away, doesn't order Nathan's execution. Like, guards, throw this man into the prison and don't give him any bread or water. David made no attempts at denial. He offers no excuses. And he suffers through the consequences that Nathan lists. Nathan begins to list out the consequences. Nathan says, Thou art the man, verse seven, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. Oops, I thought David, I thought that was hidden. Well, not entirely hidden because Joab knew, but Nathan the prophet obviously knows because God knows. Thus has killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword and has taken his wife to be thy wife and hath slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house, because thou hast despised me and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes and give them unto thy neighbor. Me shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun, for thou didst secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. Wow, David. It says not a word. He listens because David's conscience is awakened. The dormant spark of his divine soul was awakened. David, you see, was no reprobate. He had not been totally abandoned by God. Praise the Lord, not totally abandoned. In his evasions, all the evasions for the past year, they disappeared. His guilt appears in all its horror, and he says very simply, David said unto Nathan, verse 13, I have sinned against the Lord. I've sinned against the Lord. His words were few, but subsequent events prove they are indeed the language of genuine repentance. David writes Psalm 51 shortly after this, and we cannot doubt the sincerity Nor to the depth of David's repentance and his brokenhearted contrition. Psalm 51. I'm gonna turn there for a minute and Lord, time permitting, we'll read Psalm 51. I looked up some of Charles Spurgeon's sermons on Psalm 51. He gave over, well, including parts of a sermon, 12 sermons. Psalm 51 over the course of his preaching time. Twelve sermons, I mean there's so much here in Psalm 51. Spurgeon writes concerning Psalm 51, when the divine message had aroused his dormant conscience, that is David, made him see the greatness of his guilt, he wrote this psalm, Psalm 51. He had forgotten his psalmody while he was indulging the flesh, but he returned, this is Spurgeon's word, returned to his heart when his spiritual nature was awakened and he poured out his song to the accompaniment of sighs and tears. As Spurgeon also writes in another introduction to another one of his sermons, he says this portion of scripture which can never be read too often. If any among us have never found mercy, then let them use this psalm as their own personal prayer, while those who have found mercy can read between the lines and read the sweetness of pardon into the bitterness of sorrow for sin. This psalm was written by David when Nathan came to him after his great sin with Bathsheba. He needed Nathan to come to him and rebuke him. If David had not been in a very, this is Spurgeon, not been in a very sad state of heart, he would not have fallen into the sin. And it was that state of heart which left him so hardened, so obdurant, that he needed Nathan pointedly to say to him, thou art the man. After that, he wrote, and pray this truly penitential psalm. Spurgeon writes in another sermon, it's a Psalm of David, after Nathan rebuked him, and when he was convinced of his great guilt in having sinned with Bathsheba, the music to which the psalm can be sung must be composed of sighs, groans, sobs, and cries. I believe that many of us here present, Spurgeon says, have prayed this prayer of David many times. and he who has never prayed it needs to begin at once to do so. There is an old proverb, but a true one. Quote, there's no road to heaven except by the weeping cross. He that has never repented will have to repent if he is ever to enter into life eternal. Spurgeon then writes, it's a psalm and therefore it's to be sung. It's dedicated to the chief musician, and there's music in it, but it needs a trained ear to catch the harmony. The sinner with a broken heart will understand the language, will also perceive the sweetness of it. But for the proud and self-righteous, they will say of the psalm, it's a melancholy dirge, and they will turn away from it in disgust. There are times to one under a sense of sin when there's no music in the world like that of Psalm 51. And it's a music for the chief musician, for there's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repented. And this is the Psalm of Pentonance, and there's joy in it, and it makes joy even to the chief musician himself. Let's read Psalm 51. David wrote, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from mine inequity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop. and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all my inequities. Create to me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then while I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the wall of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bullocks, upon thine altar." David's conscience is awakened, but there's no consequences. We read them. The consequences are announced by Nathan. You see, his sin was forgiven, but the consequences still remain. When God forgives, restores us to favor, he uses the rod, and life is never quite the same. is that there's no going back, no going back. Life is not the same. A fellowship was restored, but there's still a bitter cup for David to drink, a bitter cup to drink. A man may still have to reap what he's sown. The most immediate consequence for David is that his newborn son dies, which we'll talk about next week. And there's some stormy days lying ahead for David. But it's not the judgment of God that David's facing. It's a chastisement of a loving Heavenly Father. It's not the judgment of an angry God, but the chastisement of a Father. You know, there's a world of difference. They say that there's an infinite difference between the two, between chastisement of a loving Father or the anger. The anger and vengeance of an angry God, the wrath of an angry God, a world of difference. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6. You know, David's chastening was for his good. David, in fact, had fallen into grievous sin. He needed all the chastening that came about. You think, well, that was a lot of chastening. Well, don't fall into sin. Repent. Watch yourself. Watch and pray. Be on guard. Nip it in the bud, as Barney Fife would say. Nip it in the bud. But as the chastisement cut deep, God heals David's wounds. David could still say, as he did in Psalm 34, verse 19, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Well, that concludes this particular lesson, Steps to Repentance. I hope you've seen that repentance is not necessarily something that's quick and easy. David had to go through a year of grief before he came to a state of repentance. Let's not repeat David's example and go through a year away from the Lord, a year, a wasted year, worst year ever of our lives. Let's be quick to repentance. Let's keep short accounts. with the Lord. Let's be daily in prayer, confessing our sins and asking for His forgiveness and cleansing the slate. Let's make free use of the altar. Amen.