Thank you.
And though he had never met and knew nothing about any of these men, on this intuition he sent to 12 men the following telegram anonymously.
Thank you.
So let's not do that.
What are you hiding?
Right now.
Sitting politely and publicly in this congregation.
What are you hiding?
The knowledge of which would shame you.
What is it that shames you even now to think of it in your mind?
What?
What grave and heinous sins have you done that you were not thinking of until this moment?
And now what does your conscience say to you?
Does it accuse you of some guilt?
Does it tell you still to hide?
To maintain a perfect posture to avoid all eye contact with anybody?
With me?
For fear of incriminating yourself?
I have for you this evening horrifying news.
All is discovered.
The jig is up.
You are found out.
And if you let it.
This discovery of your great evil will be to you a great mercy.
On whether you will evade, deny, plead your own innocence, or instead confess, I am guilty, Lord have mercy.
On that choice depends everything.
In Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, after organizing the murder of one who stood in the way of her husband's ascent to the kingship,
she's found sleepwalking, rubbing her hands together feverishly, incessantly, before she yells out in despair,
Out, damned spot, out, I say.
Who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?
Will these hands never be clean?
Here is the smell of blood still.
All of the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
The hand with which she murdered King Duncan.
And if all the perfumes of Arabia could not conceal the blood of this one man,
what, I beg you, will conceal the blood on your hands.
Our text tonight will answer for you this question.
But only if you let it.
Only if you decide now, at this very moment, to permit this word from the Lord to read your soul.
Will it have anything to say to that shame, guilt that you conceal so well?
You must decide now, at this very moment, that the word of the Lord tonight is aimed directly at you.
Forget for these moments a friend you came with, a neighbor to whom you are witnessing.
This medicine will only heal you if you receive it.
Our text for this evening is 2 Samuel chapter 12.
Turn with me there, if you will.
If you've been coming to these evening services now, you recognize the context.
David is well ensconced in his throne in Jerusalem.
And as his armies go out to war in the previous chapter, he sees a woman bathing on her rooftop.
He knows her husband to be off at war, and therefore he invites her in.
He sleeps with her.
They have a child.
He brings back her husband from war.
Try to cover up his tracks.
And when the husband won't do so, he has him killed.
That's the context.
And that brings us to our text this evening.
We're focusing on verses 1 through 25.
Let's read those together.
2 Samuel 12, verse 1.
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.
The rich man had very many flocks and herds,
but 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.
It 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 came a traveler to the rich man,
and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd
to prepare for the guests who had come to him.
But he took the poor man's lamb
and prepared it for the man who had come to him.
Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man.
And he said to Nathan,
As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die.
And 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.
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 of Judah.
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.
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 shall lie with your wives
in the sight of this son.
For you did it secretly.
But I will do this thing before all Israel
and before the son.
David said to Nathan,
I have sinned against the Lord.
And Nathan said to David,
The Lord also has put away your sin.
You shall not die.
Nevertheless,
because by this deed
you have utterly scorned the Lord,
the child who is born to you
shall die.
And Nathan went to his house.
And the Lord afflicted the child
that Uriah's wife bore to David
and he became sick.
David therefore sought God
on behalf of the child.
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.
On the seventh day,
the child died.
And the servants of David
were afraid to tell him
that the child was dead.
For they said,
Behold,
while the child was yet alive,
we spoke to him
and he did not listen to us.
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.
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.
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?
You fasted
and wept for the child
when he was alive,
but when the child died,
you arose and ate food.
He said,
While the child
was still alive,
I fasted and wept,
for I said,
Who knows
whether the Lord
will be gracious to me
and the child may live.
But now he's dead.
Why should I fast?
Can I bring him back again?
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.
And the Lord loved him
and sent a message
by Nathan the prophet.
So he called his name
Jedidiah
because of the Lord.
This evening,
I want to note
two things together
from this text.
The first
is that sin
brings
sure consequences
and condemnation.
Sin brings
sure consequences
and condemnation.
Secondly,
fleeing from sin
brings
sure
consolation.
Fleeing from sin
brings
sure consolation.
First then,
number one,
sin
brings
sure consequences
and condemnation.
in chapter 11 the chapter previous to this one we see david comfortably ensconced on his jerusalem
throne where instead of going out to fight battles on behalf of his people he sends others to do his
bidding this is the operative word david sends six times in previous chapters he would go out
and come in he would wage the wars but in this chapter he sends he has you see all the authority
to move men and women around like pawns he sends this one and he sends that one and they go wherever
he wills but in verse one of this passage in our chapter tonight we see there is another authority
sending someone to david the lord sent nathan to david
and with what tidings does nathan the prophet come but with a pressing legal question demanding
immediate adjudication nathan tells a beautifully crafted story that could not help but appeal
both to david's poetic soul after all this was the king who wrote all those glorious psalms
and also to his kingly sense of justice and when presented with this heinous evil this rich man has
done to this poor man david responds precisely as he should verse five his anger was greatly kindled
against the men he said to nathan as the lord lives the man who has done this deserves to die and he
shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity david's moral calculus
is spot on in the abstract
to this strange thought experiment david declares an unequivocal verdict
condemnation
and that's the right answer david knows his law david knows his law perfectly
and in that perfect knowledge of the law he hides himself
he hides himself even while he condemns himself without knowing
he does not yet know that he has condemned himself until nathan delivers it to him straight
you are the man
you are the man who has trampled on the joys of those in your control
you are the man that has abused your authority for murder
you are the man that has stolen the precious possession of another simply to be your own plaything
you david you are the man who must make restitution
you are the man who must die
you are the man
and all at once
david realizes that his sin is not concealed from god though it is concealed from every other person in the world
and now he will die
as saul died
he has delivered the condemnation himself
he deserves to die
the kingdom must surely go to another
sin brings sure condemnation
david sees his sin for what it is
for the first time
not a simple lack of sexual self-control
but the presumption that he the king can perform whatever he pleases with the pawns in his power
he had ample wives to entertain himself
this was not about that
this was about him
believing that he was the highest law of the land
what did david lack
that caused him to flee outside of god's direction for him
several centuries later god will ask through his mouthpiece jeremiah
what fault did your fathers find in me that they went far from me
and it went after worthlessness
and they became worthless
and the answer here is simple
david found no fault in god
nathan opened up the royal histories
and regales david with all the blessings that god had showered upon him
like a very flood of grace
i anointed you king over israel god says
i delivered you out of the hand of saul
i gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your arms
and i gave you the house of israel of judah
and if this were not enough
i would add to you much more
there was no fault in god's provision for david
he simply looked grace right in the face and said
i am bored with this
david felt the smiling face of god upon his soul
and said in response
i do not love you
as we sang in the song
in the hymn just now
i have sinned against thy grace
and provoked thee
to thy face
and now death must ensue
the sword shall never depart from your house
says nathan
prophesying about the civil war
into which israel will soon be thrown
after absalom's rebellion
i will take your wives before your eyes
and give them to your neighbor
and he shall lie with your wives
in the sight of the sun
says nathan
foreseeing that absalom
david's rebellious son
will soon drive david out of the city
into hiding
and he himself will go into the palace
and sleep with all of david's concubines
and wives
in a tent
on the roof
of the palace
in the sight of the sun
for all of the sun
and he has learned well
from his father
the sins of the fathers
are visited upon the children
the fathers have eaten sour grapes
and the children's teeth
are set on edge
absalom
looks just like his father
and though david will escape this sin
with his very life
as we will see
by only the pure grace of god
he will lose the life of his son
the heart of bathsheba will be shattered
as her son dies
the kingdom will shortly be thrown into disarray
all because david did not apply to himself
all his knowledge of the law
he did not think
it applied to him
what then will we make of this
will we do with david
will you do with david
what david did
with this rich man
and poor man
will you think of this as a thought experiment
or will you hear nathan's voice
saying to you
even now
you
are the man
you have done this
do you see yourself in david
with that shameful sin you committed
that i made you think of
at the beginning of this sermon
do you see yourself in david
do you recall how your conscience
speaks against you
while you did that sin
do you remember how you are recognized
you recognize and admitted in the abstract
that this is a sin
but you somehow are exceptional
doesn't apply to you
you are not the man
this is a mere thought experiment
did you think you would not be found out
sin this passage tells us
brings sure consequences
and certain condemnation
and the harrowing thing about our text
is that that condemnation
and those consequences
might fall on those around you
more than they fall on you
do you consider that those who pay the penalty
for your sins
may be your children
your friends
your parents
while you get off with a minor sentence
do you realize the very real possibility
of leading a child of god astray
you
do you hear nathan saying
that you
you are the man
you must hear it that way
if you are to hear that sin
brings consequences
and condemnation
i do not mean sin in the abstract
i mean your sin
brings consequences
brings condemnation
that's my first point
of the evening
sin brings sure consequences
and condemnation
secondly
fleeing from sin
brings sure
consolation
david
knows himself
to be found out
the jig is up
all is discovered
he must flee
he makes
not a shade
of an excuse
plainly
simply
unequivocally
he states
i have sinned
against the lord
where
first
in nathan's story
he may have said that
such and such a man
sinned against the lord
now he says
i have sinned
against the lord
and between those two
is a world
of difference
between those two
is
the knowledge
of the law
the knowledge
of what god demands
the knowledge
of sin
the knowledge
that i am a sinner
the knowledge
that i have sinned
in fact
in the 51st psalm
that david writes
after this whole affair
he will confess
to god
that against you
and you alone
have i sinned
you and you alone
he's not trying
to hide it
and this
i think
is why david
keeps his life
while saul
didn't
this i think
is why
there is a note
of consolation
here
in the middle
of the consequences
and calamities
that are caused
by sin
there is still
some consolation
you david
will not
die
the kingdom
will not
go to another
it will remain
with your house
even though
there will be
a sword
in your house
so nathan
can say to david
a sword
will never
leave your house
and still david
can have another son
and name him
solomon
which is derived
from the hebrew word
salem
shalom
peace
the sword
will never
depart from your house
and you shall
name your son
peace
there is a note
of consolation
how
does david
have access
to this
consolation
how might
you have
access
to this
consolation
i have
three
suggestions
for you
first
see yourself
in the mirror
of the word
see yourself
when the word
comes to you
condemningly
see yourself
when the bible
says
what can a man
gain
if he loses
his soul
ask yourself
not in the
abstract
what can a
president
or world leader
or senator
gain
if he gets
the whole
world
but loses
his soul
ask yourself
what can
i gain
if i gain
the world
and lose
my own
soul
what does
it profit
me
if i gain
the world
and lose
my soul
you must
see yourself
in the word
the sin of the king
is not hidden
from the eyes
of the lord
he thought it
was
it wasn't
the new
testament
says
everything
that is done
in secret
will be revealed
on that day
the lord
is already
keeping a catalog
of every
sin
we've done
all will be
revealed
everything is
found out
fully at once
to receive
some consolation
you must
not hear
nathan
saying only
to david
that he is
the man
you must
instead hear
that you
are the man
it is
you
to whom
every
command
in scripture
is addressed
kirk
guard
soren kirk
guard
has a
glorious
sermon
called
what is
required
to see
oneself
in the
mirror
of the
word
and his
second
requirement
is
you must
remember
to say
to yourself
incessantly
it is
i to whom
it is
speaking
it is
i about
whom
it is
speaking
when you
read the
bible
is it
for you
a set
of morality
tales
about
other
people
but is
it
reading
your
soul
in order
to receive
the
consolation
that comes
with fleeing
from sin
you must
allow the
word
to read
your
soul
charles
spurgeon
in a
sermon
called
the special
call
and the
unfailing
result
says this
to repeat
the old
saying
of john
branford
when he
saw a
cart full
of men
going off
to tyburn
to be
hanged
he said
to himself
there goes
john
branford
me
but for
the grace
of god
when you
see the
swearer in
the street
or the
drunkard
rolling home
at night
there are
you
there am
i
but for
the grace
of god
who am
i and
what should
i have
been if
the lord
in his
mercy
had not
stopped
me in
my mad
career
i know
there are
some of
us who
can remember
the old
story of
roland hill
when a
good scotchman
called to
see him
and without
saying a
word sat
still for
some five
minutes
looking into
the old
gentleman's
face
roland hill
is a
preacher
famous
evangelical
preacher
advocate of
the smallpox
vaccination
at last
roland hill
asked him
what engaged
his attention
so much
and the
scotchman
said to
him
i was
looking at
the lines
of your
face
well what
do you
make of
them
i make
of
them
this
that if
the grace
of god
had not
been in
you
you would
be the
biggest
scoundrel
living
spurgeon
says and
some of
us feel
just that
that if
it had not
been for
the grace
of god
we should
have been
out and
out ring
leaders in
every kind
of infamy
and sin
i know for
myself i can
never do
things by
halves
if i had
served bail
i would
have built
him an
altar and
made victims
smoke upon
it day
and night
and if
we serve
god
zealously
and earnestly
we have
the more
reason to
be humble
and to
lay low
in the
dust
for that
very zeal
of spirit
would have
been turned
to the
very worst
account
unless divine
grace had
been pleased
to transform
us
do you
recognize in
yourself the
possibility of
great sin
the reality
of great
sin
and the
possibility of
even greater
sin
it is
necessary
before you
receive
consolation
to hear
this word
to you
secondly
how can we
receive
consolation
seek out
a nathan
seek out
a nathan
nathan
you see
has the
king's
ear
and he
comes into
the king's
court
and the
court and
the king
listens to
him
there is
nothing that
keeps david
from killing
nathan right
there on the
spot
always revealed
he can kill
nathan right
there
he doesn't
david
had at least
one person
around him
to whom he
gave permission
to be lovingly
intrusive
in his life
david
willed himself
not to see
his own sin
and we
are very
liable to
the same
blindness
therefore find
for yourself
a person
several people
perhaps
who are to be
lovingly intrusive
in your life
this is one of
the functions
of the local
church
you give to
the people
around you
the permission
to hold you
accountable to
the standards
of the faith
that you
profess
you have
given them
the opportunity
to be lovingly
intrusive
in your life
and the reason
for this
is that
this word
you are the
man
is a word
of mercy
if you will
hear it
before the
judgment
comes
faithful
says the
proverbs
are the
wounds
of a
friend
but the
kisses
of an
enemy
are deceitful
if all
the people
around you
are those
who flatter
you
beware
find some
at least
one
who will
say the
true things
to you
will hold
you accountable
to the
faith
you
profess
this
finding
for yourself
a Nathan
is required
for you
to feel
the consolation
that comes
from fleeing
from sin
thirdly
and finally
simply put
flee
in order
to feel
the consolation
to have
the consolation
that comes
from fleeing
from sin
you must
simply
flee
from your
sin
flee
with everything
in you
from that
sin
do you
not know
that the
living God
the head
of the
armies
of heaven
has sworn
eternal
hatred
toward all
sin
and evil
in this
world
and he
is coming
revelation
19
depicts him
like this
i saw
heaven
opened
and behold
a white
horse
the one
sitting
on it
is called
faithful
and true
and in
righteousness
he judges
and he
makes
war
his eyes
are like
a flame
of fire
and on
his head
are many
diadems
and he
has a
name
written
that no
one
knows
but himself
he is
clothed
in a
robe
dipped
in
blood
and the
name
by which
he is
called
is
the
word
of
god
do you
think
this is
jesus
do you
understand
this
making
war
robed
dipped
in
blood
this
is
jesus
and the
armies
of
heaven
arrayed
in
fine
linen
white
and
pure
were
following
him
on
white
horses
and
from
his
mouth
from
jesus
his
mouth
comes
a
sharp
sword
with
which
to
strike
down
the
nations
and
he
will
rule
them
with
a
rod
of
iron
he
will
tread
the
winepress
of
the
fury
of
the
wrath
of
god
the
almighty
on
his
robe
and
his
thigh
he
has
a
name
written
king
of
kings
and
lord
of
lords
god
jesus
has
pledged
holy
warfare
against
all
sin
and
he
has
with
him
all
of
the
armies
of
heaven
to
execute
his
wrath
on
that
sin
why
would
you
coddle
his
enemy
in
your
bosom
why
would
you
make
peace
with
the
very
thing
he
hates
do
not
dare
to
take
the
battlefield
with
the
forces
of
sin
against
the
armies
of
heaven
led
by
jesus
christ
himself
do
you
see
this
is
what
david
does
he
does
not
vacillate
he
openly
says
i
have
sinned
against
the
lord
i
am
the
guilty
one
i
am
the
man
who
has
done
this
i
will
not
coddle
the
sin
that
i
have
committed
i
will
separate
myself
from
it
i
realize
now
that
it
is
worthy
of
the
wrath
of
god
which
will
be
revealed
against
it
one
day
i
will
not
make
peace
with
it
i
will
flee
but
the
question
is
to
where
will
you
flee
david
has
no
immediate
refuge
except
simply
repentance
and the
amazing
thing
about
his
repentance
is that
as soon
as he
says
it
nathan
turns
to him
and says
the lord
has put
away
your
sin
you
shall
not
die
how can
the lord
put away
sin like
this
how can
he pass
over
sin
like
this
it's a
massive
theological
problem
for hundreds
of years
he has
sworn
warfare
against
those
who commit
this
sort
of
sin
and yet
he's
put
this
in
a
way
how
will
he
do
this
and the
christian
knows
that he
does
this
by
punishing
that
sin
in
his
own
body
on
the
cross
that
is
where
you
must
flee
if
you
would
escape
the
wrath
to
come
if
you
would
escape
the
sure
condemnation
that
comes
with
sin
and
receive
the
consolation
that
comes
from
fleeing
from
sin
to
Jesus
is
where
you
must
flee
look
to
the
cross
and
you
must
hear
both
of
these
words
of
Nathan
you
are
the
man
the
Lord
has
put
away
your
sin
you
will
not
die
this
is
the
message
the
cross
has
for
you
are
the
man
who
pinned
Jesus
to
the
cross
you
and
you
are
the
man
who
because
of
the
cross
will
not
die
you
and
that
consolation
can
only
apply
to
you
if
you
apply
also
that
condemnation
only
if
you
recognize
yourself
to
be
a
great
sinner
can
you
realize
yourself
to
be
a
recipient
of
great
grace
when
you
look
at
Jesus
on
the
cross
do
you
see
him
dying
for
your
sins
do
you
realize
it
was
for
you
he
did
this
for
you
he
loves
you
so
all
of
this
condemnation
is
washed
away
there
is
now
no
condemnation
to
those
who
are
in
Christ
Jesus
Romans
8
says
there
is
no
condemnation
you
shall
not
die
the
Lord
has
put
away
your
sin
yours
you
shall
not
die
Jesus
paid
it
all
to
him
I
owe
I
owe
all
sin
had
left
a
crimson
stain
he
washed
it
white
as
snow
the
blood
stain
of
Lady
Macbeth
that
could
not
be
stamped
out
by
all
of
the
perfumes
of
Arabia
sin
had
left
a
crimson
stain
Christ
washes
it
white
as
snow
Martin
Luther
would
say
often
that
the
devil
would
come
to
him
and
tempt
him
and
say
Martin
you
are
a
great
sinner
and
to
this
he
would
respond
I
yes
devil
but
Christ
came
to
save
great
sinners
and
therefore
you
are
defeated
with
your
own
weapon
do
you
see
that
the
consolation
of
salvation
comes
not
from
denying
that
you
are
the
man
who
is
sin
but
confessing
this
running
to the
bar
of
God's
mercy
saying
I
plead
guilty
be
merciful
to
me
and
Christ
will
say
to
you
your
sin
is
put
away
you
will
not
die
Jude
he
he's
given
you
a
hope
and
a
future
not
because
of
what
is
owed
to
you
but
because
of
what
is
owed
to
him
the
possibility
of
eternal
life
and
glory
forever
more
it's
yours
it's
yours
if you let the word read your soul
recognize yourself to be a sinner
flee to Christ
believe in him
despair of any possibility you have
of earning your salvation
through the work that you do
and cling only to the goodness of Christ
then you will hear the words
your sin is put away
you shall not die
then you can sing truly
Jesus paid it all
all to him I owe
sin had left a crimson stain
but he washed my crimson stain
white as snow
let's pray
I thank you for these words Lord
I thank you for the way your word reads us
I pray that you would apply your Holy Spirit
to open up our souls and not be defensive
but open up the wound
to the great physician
who will cut out
the tumor
and replace it with health
thank you Lord that you have given us
the opportunity to hear from you
from you Lord
your sin is put away
you shall not die
I pray that we would revel in these things
this week
that just as we hear from the Bible
that we are sinners
we would hear in even greater tones
that we are forgiven
that we are redeemed
that I am saved
that my sins put away
that I shall not die
because Christ died for me
thank you for these glorious words
of consolation
and hope
and comfort Lord
work them deep into our hearts
even tonight
in the name of Jesus I pray
Amen