Ralph Davis, when he comments on this and David’s response to Nathan’s very direct statement, he points out, “There is no excuse, no cloaking, no searching for a loophole, … no pretext put forward, no human weakness pleaded. This, in short order, is an expression of amazing grace. And in every real way, this is the turning point of not only this passage but the turning point in relationship to the balance of David’s life. And as we reached the end of the time, we were paying attention to the way in which David finally said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan in turn said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin you shall not die.”Īnd we said that brings us to our third and final observation, which is that we discover David pardoned by God’s mercy. He was confronted by the Lord’s servant, and then we went on to see that he was uncovered by God’s word. We then recognized the way in which God in his mercy had confronted David. We saw that that is the context out of which all of chapter 12 unfolds. We acknowledged the fact that David had incurred God’s displeasure. Well, for those of you who did not have the opportunity to be with us this morning, we were working our way through the opening section, the first half of 2 Samuel 12. God our Father, we humble ourselves before the truth of your Word, asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to ponder it and to proclaim it in such a way that not only do we understand it but that we have a life-changing encounter with you, the living God. Well, just a brief prayer and a brief study: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.ĭo good to Zion in your good pleasure build up the walls of Jerusalem then delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings then bulls will be offered on your altar.Īnd this is the Word of the Lord. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Let me hear joy and gladness let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!įor I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” So, we have the record as it is provided for us here in 2 Samuel 12-the very brief interchange that takes place between Nathan and David-and here we have the background, as it were: And the heading in our Bibles is “To the choirmaster. But rather than rereading the first fifteen verses there, let me encourage you to turn to the Fifty-First Psalm. Well, as I said this morning, we come this evening to try and finish up the study that we left unfinished in the morning hour, and that in 2 Samuel chapter 12.
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