2 Samuel 12

[0:00] Again, that's 2 Samuel 12. And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor.

[0:16] The rich man had very many flocks and herds, and the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children.

[0:27] He used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there was a traveler, or there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him.

[0:47] But he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Then David's anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die.

[1:01] He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. Nathan said to David, You are the man.

[1:12] Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah.

[1:25] And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

[1:42] Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this son.

[2:05] For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the son. David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.

[2:17] Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord.

[2:28] The child who is born to you shall die. Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick.

[2:41] David therefore sought God on behalf of the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.

[2:57] On the seventh day the child died, and the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child had died. For they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us.

[3:11] How then can we say to him, The child is dead? He may do himself some harm. But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead.

[3:23] And David said to his servants, Is the child dead? They said, He is dead. Then David arose from the earth, and washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes.

[3:35] And he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, What is this thing that you have done?

[3:49] You fasted and wept for the child while he was still alive. And when the child died, you arose and ate food. And he said, While the child was still alive, I wept and fasted.

[4:01] For I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live. But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?

[4:12] I shall go to him, but he will not return to me. Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went into her, and lay with her. And she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon.

[4:26] And the Lord loved him, and sent a message to Nathan by the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord. Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and took the royal city.

[4:41] And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah. Moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then, gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it, lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.

[4:56] So David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David's head.

[5:12] And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. And he brought out the people who were in it, and set them to labor with saws, and iron picks, and iron axes, and made them toil at the brick kilns.

[5:27] And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

[5:42] Good morning. Good morning. It's a joy to be with God's people, with this group of God's people this morning. We love you, and appreciate you.

[5:54] Let me pray. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that's within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget none of his benefits.

[6:08] He forgives all your iniquities, heals all your diseases, satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

[6:23] Blessed be your name. Amen. We love heroes, don't we? Whether we're talking about an MVP athlete, a celebrity chef, a leading man or lady, a high school jock, or a homecoming queen.

[6:48] We love people who, through their strength, a personality, or their accomplishment, they have distinguished themselves. They speak, and we listen.

[7:02] We treat them with special regard, and even pay them handsomely, to do what they do. Now our love for the hero is compounded, if a man or woman has arisen, from meager circumstances.

[7:22] They've overcome the odds, and they stand firmly on high ground. Simply put, we love people like David.

[7:33] Don't we? He's a little guy from Bethlehem, the youngest of Jesse's sons, the one who ducked and dodged his way from his arrival, Saul, for years.

[7:46] We love this larger-than-life guy, who was as skilled with a delicate instrument as he was with the sword. Huh? Women sang about him, and probably grew weak around him.

[8:04] We love our Davids. That's why we are saddened the deeper we get into the David narrative, and we really see David has feet of clay.

[8:19] Huh? Yet in the midst of this, we discover that the true hero never looked better. God. Huh? God's amazing grace is so bright in the midst of one of the darkest scenes in Scripture.

[8:37] That's what we see here. Huh? 1 Samuel chapter 11 and 12 were part of a larger section of the narrative. narrative. But even within themselves, they make up a discernible literary unit that we see.

[8:54] At the center of this unit is a part of the passage that we see before us this morning in 2 Samuel 12. But before going there, I think that we really need to see exactly what the author has laid out using the structure that he has put together.

[9:15] First of all, 1 Samuel 11 and 12 are in the context of a war. Huh? Look at it with me. You see there in chapter 11?

[9:27] The war actually began in chapter 10. But if you would look in chapter 11 in verse 1, this is how it reads. In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel.

[9:49] And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David, notice, remained at Jerusalem. The first part, the city is besieged.

[10:04] But then, if you look on the other end of this literary unit in chapter 12, let's begin reading at verse 26 and we'll see what is on the other end.

[10:17] Huh? Notice. Now Joab fought Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, I have fought against Rabbah.

[10:32] Moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then, gather the rest of the people together and camp against the city and take it lest I take the city and it be called by my name.

[10:46] City besieged. Chapter 11, verse 1. City captured in chapter 12. And look at the last part of verse 31. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

[11:02] Chapter 11. He remains in Jerusalem. End of chapter 12. He returns from Rabbah having gone there taking the city for himself.

[11:15] He returns to Jerusalem. Huh? The war. City sieged. City captured. But notice there's something else that mirrors one another that we see two conceptions.

[11:32] look at chapter 11 and verse 5. And the woman that is Bathsheba the wife of Uriah conceived and she sent and told David I am pregnant.

[11:54] Uriah's wife conceives illegitimately. the relationship according to chapter 11 verses 2 through 5 is an adulterous one conceived from David who was not her husband.

[12:10] But look at what we see mirrored in chapter 12 and verse 24. and David comforted notice what it says his wife Bathsheba and went into her and lay with her and she bore son and called his name Solomon and the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet so he called his name Jedidiah because of the Lord.

[12:45] What do we have? and it's probably sometime later I think that the narrator probably put this in again just as he is putting this package together because if we notice as we look through the Samuel narrative David actually had four sons through Bathsheba Solomon actually was the last one so he's putting this he's sort of giving us a sneak preview of what is going to happen and how you might even say this thing has been redeemed the seed from this union legitimate union now what Solomon would be blessed and loved by God and the Messiah would eventually come from this line this seed from David the war on both ends notice how it's coming together got two conceptions but also there's another mirroring that we see in this literary unit that the narrator's put together for us death we see two deaths in chapter 11

[13:53] Uriah dies through the scheming of David in chapter 12 the child dies the child that has been conceived as a result of David and Bathsheba sin is afflicted by God and that child dies so things are coming together they're mirroring one another and at the center of all of this is the passage that we're looking at today and we're not going to be able to go through all of it but I want you to see how the narrator has put his material together and here's where his emphasis is going to be we find Nathan the prophet with a message from God for David in the midst of all of this you see it there chapter 12 and verse 1 and the Lord sent Nathan to David as a matter of fact let's just back up a little bit into chapter 11 and verse 27 when the morning was over

[14:59] David sent and brought her to his house and she became his wife and bore him a son but notice the response to all of this what was going on in chapter 11 but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord and therefore the Lord sent Nathan to David and he began to speak to him you remember Nathan don't you 2 Samuel chapter 7 he was the one that had spoken to David about these grand and glorious promises that God was going to do David was humble before him and up to this point in the narrative David has been doing most of the sending that's the key word that we find really it goes all the way back to chapter 10 but we see it particularly in chapter 11 this key word

[16:03] David sent Joab chapter 11 verse 1 and his servants with him all Israel in the last verse 27 of chapter 12 we see it also Joab sent messengers to David what's in view is this deliberate maneuvering of power though David is not the subject all the times of the verb he's the main person he's the one that's wielding the power and the influence and in chapter 11 he's exercising authority over those in his rule David exercising his power as people at his beck and call chapter 11 verses 1 through 5 David sent for Uriah's wife and engaged in sexual sin chapter 11 verses 6 through 16 David sent for Uriah to cover up his sin chapter 11 verses 14 25 David sent Uriah to his death and compounded his sin and then in chapter 11 verses 26 and 27

[17:08] David sent for Uriah's wife and completed an entire cycle of sin here's a man who's in charge this man is out of control the heavenly king was then chapter 12 verse 1 he was going to begin doing some sinning of own and that's where Nathan comes into the picture huh note the first of three things that I want you to see here as far as David and we'll get more into what he actually did because the parable actually retells the story that we have in chapter 11 but the first thing I want you to see here is that there is confrontation that leads to conviction confrontation that leads to conviction have you ever been in a situation you found yourself your life a little outside of the lines and then there is a word that sort of comes from

[18:12] God you may have been sitting in a service and it seems! the preacher was just talking to you why is that kind of thing because whom the Lord loves he disciplines and he scourges everyone that really belongs to him if you are without the discipline or the correction of the Lord it is not a good sign but you're sitting there and the word of the Lord actually it sort of comes to you it's a word from God with your name on it and you know God has your number on that day it seems like there's nobody there but you and God's word so confrontation that leads to conviction confrontation that leads to correction from God's word that's what we have here Nathan's approach did you notice he tells a story oh don't we love a story we love stories because we can often see ourselves in there we can see ourselves sometimes with a good guy sometimes with a not so good guy gal but we love stories so he tells this story of this wealthy powerful person and then there is this poor man an out of town guest comes to town and he's got all of this bounty but then there's this other person over there with one little!

[19:42] lamb that's like a family member and he's got the gall to reach over and he goes and he seizes this one little lamb and takes it and lays this big spread for his out of town guest전 David But Nathan put him in the right, cast him in the right role, the right place in the story.

[20:36] Isn't it amazing how we can see the faults of others so clearly? And be so blinded to our own. We want to straighten up somebody.

[20:49] We want to help them dress. And our stuff is all hanging out. We want to make them look good and we in fact are looking pretty bad ourselves.

[21:05] David, you're the main character. David, you're the man. You're the man in the story. You're the thief. You're the man that really deserves to die.

[21:17] Nathan's words that followed show just how David actually fit in the story. You see that there? Notice in verses 7 and 8 of chapter 12. David, you're the man.

[21:29] And really he's going to highlight God's gracious provision. What had the Lord done for him? He had elevated him to the position of king.

[21:41] That was the Lord's doing. David didn't accomplish that on his own. Huh? He, as was David's protection all of those years within inches of his life.

[21:53] Who was it that had protected him? It was the Lord. You see that? I noted you king over Israel. I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. Huh? And not only that, it was God that sort of promoted him to be king over both Israel and Judah.

[22:08] But notice in verse 8. The property and the possessions of his predecessor had also been transferred to David.

[22:19] Including, notice what it says. I gave you your master's house, your master's wives, this the royal harem, if you will, into your arms, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah.

[22:35] And if this were too little, I would have added as much as more. Huh? The property of the king that had preceded him became his property.

[22:48] That's David's property. Huh? These things went along with the assumption of power over the nation. The kings of that day, and I know we really struggle with that polygamy and the concubine piece of that.

[23:09] But the kings of Israel had been instructed regarding that. In Deuteronomy, we've read that in our series, chapter 17. They were not to have many wives.

[23:20] They were not to collect much gold. They were not to have many hearts. They were to, even in the midst of that culture where those things were prevalent, the kings of Israel were to distinguish themselves and not going totally the way of that particular culture.

[23:40] Of course, we know Jesus sort of, and I love the way Jesus, I love the way Paul, they always roll us back to the creation ordinance. One man for one woman for one lifetime.

[23:53] In the beginning, it was not so. Huh? Divine generosity had been the order of the day. That's what's the point. That's what he was bringing before David.

[24:07] Divine generosity had been the order of the day. And even there would be more that David asked for it. Huh? We don't want to mistake God's generosity to us for personal entitlement.

[24:25] We can do that. Huh? Huh? We can begin beginning to pin kind of accolades on ourself, and we can think that we begin to deserve certain things because of, and you fill in the blank.

[24:42] Divine generosity should not be mistaken for divine entitlement. Huh? And David, again, wielding power, exercising authority, and he really had crossed over the lines into very, very dangerous territory.

[24:58] May God's divine generosity humble us rather than inflate us to the point of looking down on, lording it over those who may not be where we think we are.

[25:18] Huh? It can be very, very dangerous. Huh? Again, what, and notice what Nathan is going to do. He is contrasting God's graciousness and his generosity with the gross conduct of David that we see in verses 9 and 10.

[25:40] Again, notice the shift of pronoun, and here we have a, starts with a question. Why have you, and here I believe is what the key thing for us, why have you despised the word of the Lord to do what is evil in his sight?

[25:58] Huh? Pronoun is shifting to David now. From the Lord's provision to David's conduct. David's egregious conduct was inconsistent with the Lord's gracious provision.

[26:13] Huh? The bottom line was that David had despised God's word. That is, he had undervalued, lightly esteemed the word of the living God to the point really of trampling it underfoot, disobeying it, violating it in both attitude and in action.

[26:37] The root of the word despised there, it has the idea of raising the head loftily and disdainfully. Huh?

[26:48] In a somewhat of a self-sufficient manner. The exaltation of oneself to the disregard and even the disdain of others.

[27:00] Huh? So at the root of David's action was this crippled regard, a disrespect for God and his word. Where David exalted his will and his desires over the desires of God, unlike our Lord Jesus, who would not stray from the path of supreme reverence for God.

[27:21] Huh? Notice the actions that resulted from not placing the proper value of on God and his word. Oh, friends, it's so dangerous to disregard God's word.

[27:34] Huh? Think about it. To sort of take it in and spit it out like a bad vegetable or something that is distasteful to us. We despise it.

[27:45] We don't like it. We don't embrace it. Don't ingest it. Huh? Notice what had happened. There was murder. You see that there? You despise the word of the Lord to do what is evil in sight.

[27:58] You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife. You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Murder. Huh? Huh?

[28:08] Initially, that was not the plan. Uriah refused to do what David did not hesitate to do. Check that out.

[28:20] Look at 1 Samuel chapter 11 and verse 11. Look at verse 10 first. When they told David, Uriah did not go down to his house as David saw David.

[28:34] Go refresh yourself. Enjoy your wife. I mean, here you are in from the field. I mean, this was after David had committed this act with Bathsheba, his wife. And so, Uriah verse 9, slept at the door.

[28:49] David told Uriah verse 10, have you not come from a journey? Why don't you go down to your house? Uriah said to David, listen to this. The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open fields.

[29:05] Shall I go to my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife as you live and as your souls are? I will not do this thing. Uriah refused to do what David did not hesitate to do.

[29:26] Himself, huh? Murder ended up being the course of action. It was chosen by David. Despising God's word led him to taking the life of an innocent man.

[29:41] A loyal soldier, huh? No, that wasn't all. Despising God's word led to his adultery, huh?

[29:52] It did to him, coloring outside the lines of marital fidelity. He had wives, he had concubines to satisfy his sexual urges, yet he took the wife of another.

[30:09] What has despising God's word caused you to do this week? How have you perhaps colored outside the lines of propriety and Christian conduct, ignoring, even despising God's word this week?

[30:30] The less, friends, could go on. In which our conduct says that we trample God's word under feet. We despise it, huh?

[30:44] Despising God's word, huh? Wow. Think about it. The God who himself has rescued us from our sin, having paid the penalty through his son.

[30:57] The God who himself has sort of daily loaded us with benefits again and again, huh? But then we, in our selfishness, out of inordinate desires, we find ourselves despising God's word, huh?

[31:19] Treating it as it's something that is repugnant, huh? The punishment phase we see, look at verses 11 and 12, huh? Thus says the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your house.

[31:35] I'll take your wives before your eyes, give them to your neighbor, and they shall lie with your wives in the sight of this son. For you did it secretly.

[31:47] But I'll do this before all Israel, before the son, huh? God's judgments here pronounce. The sword, this instrument of violence that had taken the life of Uriah would be a permanent fixture in David's household.

[32:04] Chickens were coming home to roost, if you will. Furthermore, against David would now come from his household, evil would furthermore come from his household. And we'll see that in the chapters to follow.

[32:16] I mean, his own son would be the one that on a rooftop, in the sight of all, would take the concubines that had been left behind in Jerusalem.

[32:28] His wives would be given to another for sexual pleasure in a very public way. Nathan confronted the king. Confronted him and his confrontation, as we'll see, led to conviction.

[32:46] When the child of God crosses over the line, you can expect confrontation. Confrontation that will hopefully lead to conviction.

[32:59] How do you respond if you have been guilty of despising God's word? I don't know where you are. I don't know what your life looks like.

[33:11] But how do you respond if you find yourself outside of the safety zone, if you will? You've exalted your will over the will of God.

[33:22] You failed. How do you respond? Notice, as we move on, confrontation that leads to conviction. But then we see in verses 12 and 13, confession that led to cleansing.

[33:36] Confession that led to cleansing. You see it there? David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.

[33:49] And Nathan said to David, the Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die. Confession of sin. No defense. No excuse. No resistance.

[33:59] What he says here amounts to, Lord, I am guilty. That's what he said. Acknowledged his guilt before the Lord. He owned up to the fact that he indeed was the man.

[34:13] In the parable. In the story. This gives, these few words here are really expanded greatly for us in Psalm 51.

[34:24] It gives the confession in David's own words. The, the most eloquent personal confession in all of Scripture is found there.

[34:34] And it comes on the heels of this great personal sin. I don't have time to turn to it. Well, let's turn to it just briefly. Just peek at it.

[34:46] Because it really expands what we see here. So, if you have despised God's word, what's a course of action that can lead to correction?

[35:03] Lead to confession? Huh? Have mercy on me, oh God. According to your steadfast love. According to your abundant mercy.

[35:14] Blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. Huh? That's the course of action. If you find yourself outside, if you find yourself having despised God's word, here's a model kind of confession, a model kind of prayer that will bring restoration.

[35:35] Huh? The most eloquent confession. It's, it's a model. It's authentic. David accepts responsibility. He acknowledges sins. He asks for cleansing and closeness to God.

[35:50] He cries out, Lord, have mercy on me. It was the confession as we were going, you're going to see it again, can't go through it all, but it's the confession of God's anointed.

[36:00] Who in a very unique way, he prays that God would not take his spirit away from him as he had from Saul. Huh? This very unique way in this particular, he's, don't take your Holy Spirit from me.

[36:16] In the verse 19, verse 17 of the psalm, we have our word, there's our word, despise a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, you will not disregard, you will not despise.

[36:28] Huh? When we come to God in the kind of brokenness that we see in Psalm 51, God doesn't turn us away, but he embraces you even though you have despised his word.

[36:41] Huh? When those who have despised God's word come to him in humble sorrow, if you will, the Lord will not look down on them, will not disregard them.

[36:53] Huh? Confession that led to cleansing. Confession of sin, and then you see the cleansing, the Lord is, in verse 13b, the Lord has also put away your sin.

[37:04] And David could write about that in Psalm 32. Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Confrontation that led to conviction, confession that led to cleansing, and then look at verse 14.

[37:22] Consequences that came from condemnation of judgment. While David was spared the judgment of death, back in 2 Samuel 12 now, while he was spared the judgment of death, and really that could have been exacted against it because both the adulterer and the adulteress were to be stoned, God spared him.

[37:45] Not so for the child that was born from him. As David's actions have been the cause of death for Uriah, so his actions would be the direct cause of death for his son.

[37:59] Other consequences would come, but the direct cause of the death of the child was David's sin. Nevertheless, because of this deed that you have utterly scorned the Lord, or God's word, the child who is born to you shall die.

[38:16] That was God's judgment. Need I remind us that cleansing doesn't mean elimination of consequences.

[38:27] Though great sin was met with great mercy, there remained grave consequences that were to come. The text is clear about that, both in an immediate kind of way and the long-term consequences of David's sin would follow.

[38:48] Huh? Let me give you a few takeaways as I begin to wrap things up. You and I must never underestimate the power of despising God's word.

[39:05] You cannot do such with impunity. You cannot do that. Listen to what Proverbs 13 and 13 says. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.

[39:25] You can't dismiss God with impunity, folks. Don't ever underestimate the power of despising God's word. Oh, how sometimes even flippant we can be in regard to God.

[39:42] Where is the fear of God? Huh? Oh, where the fear of God is missing, but we are open to so many things in our lives.

[39:54] Ask David about despising God's word. Ask the person who has lost his or her family because they despise God's word. Ask the one who is estranged or ask the one who is lonely.

[40:08] Ask the person who is broken in body and in spirit as far as the consequences of despising God's word.

[40:19] Huh? What we see here is a warning for anybody. It's a warning for those empowered. It's a warning for underlings. Anyone who would despise God's word.

[40:30] Yeah? It takes us down past friends that sometimes it's impossible to return from. Huh? Are you fearful of certain things when you look around and you see the consequences of sin in the lives of others?

[40:47] Does that in some way provide a deterrent for you? Do you don't want to despise God's word? It can take us down from paths that are difficult addictive behaviors and that hurts ourselves and others?

[41:04] Huh? Careful. Huh? Not me you may say. Yes, you. Huh? You. Gifted.

[41:15] Blessed. Powerful. Yes, you. And me. Oh, God help us. If you're a child of God and temptation wins in your life, you can expect confrontation, discipline, and consequences, all of which are under the umbrella of God's grace.

[41:40] Huh? Hear me. Amazing grace does not mean unlimited. Unlimited grace. Huh? The Lord refused on this account to extend his grace to David as it concerned this particular child.

[41:58] And he said, while the child was still alive, I fasted. For I said, who knows whether the Lord would be gracious to me. God said, no. Amazing grace doesn't mean unlimited grace for you.

[42:18] God's grace was not to be in that particular incident as it related to the life of the child. Finally, I remind you that where David failed miserably, Christ triumphed gloriously.

[42:36] According to the writer of the letter of the Hebrews, we find our help in him. Listen, listen, listen. for because he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted rather than despising God's word.

[42:55] Jesus used God's word in the midst of temptation. Matthew chapter 4, Luke chapter 4, it is written, man doesn't live by bread alone.

[43:09] It's written, you shall not tempt the Lord your God, it's written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. He didn't despise God's word, he used God's word in his hour of temptation.

[43:27] Oh, how different it would have been if David, the writer of Psalms, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, David the great king, how different it would have been on that day had he rather than yielding to his desires of the flesh looking and desiring and seeing her beauty, how different it would have been, how he had it called up from perhaps even scripture memory, that thou shall not commit adultery, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, how different it might have been had he used God's word rather than despised God's word, huh?

[44:10] David would suffer the consequences of his sin, but his greater son, even Jesus, bore the penalty not for his sin because he did know sin, neither was any God found in his mind, but he suffered for your sins and for mine, huh?

[44:28] May his confrontation, confrontation of God lead to our correction, may our confession lead to our cleansing, and may we graciously and humbly bear the consequences of our cleansing, huh?

[44:51] Because sometimes they go on longer than we want, but understand that it's the situation, it's correction, it's cost of strength, huh?

[45:10] Don't despise God's word to include fleeing sexual morality, and that's not the only thing that disregards God's word, but it's a word that we need in our day, is it not?

[45:25] But anything that disregards God's word, may God help us, and may through God's help, we honor him, even as Jesus our Lord did.

[45:39] Let me pray, Father, we love you, we thank you for your goodness to us, thank you for confrontation, Lord, when we stray, thank you that we too can confess and be cleansed, for if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to cleanse us our sin, forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so be glorified in us today, is our prayer, in Christ's name, amen.

[46:09] Let's stand.