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[0:00] Now there isn't really a particular verse of this section of Scripture that I'd like to focus on, but if you desperately wanted a particular text, we might take it as being verse 16.

[0:11] David therefore besought God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night upon the earth. But that's really just a sort of representative verse out of the whole.

[0:24] The question before us here that we see addressed in this passage is, what do you do when you are confronted with sin of which you are so yourself conscious, or perhaps have been forcibly made aware, as David has now?

[0:43] Verse 7, Nathan said to David, Of course, it is this passage and this incident which gives rise, as we know, to Psalm 51, that David then penned, including the great verse, Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight.

[1:15] But the point I want us to recognise is, what do you do? You cannot undo what has been done. He cannot go back and bring Uriah the Hittite back from the dead.

[1:28] He cannot turn the clock back, and avoid now his illicit liaison with Bathsheba. He cannot prevent the fact a child has been conceived and born, and now because the judgment of God is upon that illicit liaison, the child will itself perish.

[1:49] The fruit of that illicit union will itself perish. And you might say, well, that's not fair, is it? I mean, the child isn't the one who's to blame, it's David who's to blame here.

[2:01] Why is he being spared? Why is it the child that is falling sick here? I think we have to recognise God's perfect age, sovereignty, and be compassion in all of these things.

[2:14] God rules over all of us, and he has his purposes. It is not yet God's purpose to take David out of the picture. He still has a need for David, if we can use that term remarkably, he still has a purpose, rather, we might say, for David in his kingdom of Israel.

[2:33] He still has a work for David to perform, to fulfil, not least, because the succession is not yet settled. Israel's greatest glory days were yet ahead of them.

[2:47] And David was to be instrumental in that, as indeed was Bathsheba as well. But all that is for the future. David, for now, is under the judgement of God.

[2:58] And God is not simply going to cut that short and say, you're dead right, you're the guilty one, I'm going to cut you off, and you're going to be in eternity by this time tomorrow. David himself, we might say, does not get off so lightly.

[3:13] He has to face his sin. He has to face the reality of his guilt. The child, we must assume from Scripture here, that this particular child is gathered into a blessed eternity.

[3:30] If we take it that David is saint of the Lord, beloved of the Lord, going to be with the Lord, and to be in God's glory, when he leaves this world, then we read here, I shall go to him, verse 23, but he shall not return to me.

[3:48] For all his sin, David knows the Lord, loves the Lord, expects to be with the Lord when this life is over. And we have here, inspired by the Lord, this statement, that David, when he leaves this world, will go to be where that child is, but it will not return to him.

[4:07] Ergo, this particular child, not passing comment at this stage, upon all the other infants, or all the other children, that may go into eternity, that's another day's theology.

[4:18] But for now, we can take it this child, for all its short life, is going to be with the Lord in glory. If so, it is because it is redeemed by the blood of Christ. Just as David himself, is redeemed alone, by the blood of Christ.

[4:31] This is ultimately the only reason, that Nathan is able to say, the Lord hath put away thy sin. Now when he says, put away thy sin, this means turn of mind, I do it. Clearly he has not.

[4:43] This is the whole thrust of this passage. Thou art the man. He is being confronted, with the reality of his guilt. But when he says, the Lord hath put away thy sin, it means that he has dealt with it.

[4:56] At the highest possible cost, to himself, God has borne David's sin, or would bear his sin, upon the cross, in the person of his own, beloved son, Jesus, in the fullness of time.

[5:10] It is not a cheap grace, it is not an easy forgiveness, it is costing, when he says, the Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. In other words, he's not going to exact vengeance, for this sin, right now.

[5:24] But, because, of the consequences, consequences of this sin, the cause by this deed, that was given great occasion, to the enemies of the Lord, and the last fiend, the child also, that is born unto thee, shall surely die.

[5:36] There's going to be consequences, David. Every sin, has consequences. I'll say that again. Every sin, has consequences.

[5:49] Even though the sin, may be forgiven. Even though we may confess, and repent, and acknowledge, with or without, a confrontation, from somebody else.

[5:59] Every sin, has consequences. For ourselves, for others, for those around us, and for the Lord's cause.

[6:11] I've used the illustration before, dead simple one, but you know, a nice easy one. If you throw a stone, through a window, you might be really sorry, that you broke a window. And you might board it up, and so on, but it doesn't alter the fact, that now, because there's a hole, in that window, and you're really, really sorry, and you wish you'd never done it, because there's a hole, in that window, the wind is going to whistle through it, the wind is going to drip through it, there's going to be, sharp, jagged edges, it's going to be dangerous, until such time, as it is repaired, and replaced, that broken window, the evidence, of your action, and sin, is always going to be there.

[6:45] There's going to be consequences. Every sin, has consequences. Because it is a little, victory, that the devil is, permitted, in the great warfare, between the Lord, and the evil one.

[7:02] Now here, of course, because David has fallen, in this particular sin, it does not mean, clearly, we find it easier, to believe it, in David's case, than we would in our own case, or in perhaps, many other people's case, of our own generation, that David is a, oh, hero of the Lord, we don't have any problem with him.

[7:19] David, yeah, beloved of the Lord, God's favorite, we might say, clearly God, has not withdrawn, his countenance, or his presence, or his blessing, from David.

[7:30] David did not fall, into this sin, because God, had somehow withdrawn, from him, or forsaken him. Nor, is it the case, when a believer, falls into a particular sin, that they do so, because God, has left them to it.

[7:44] God has withdrawn, from them. It's somehow, God's fault, because he, didn't support them, didn't protect them, didn't surround them, with his, protecting grace. They were just, left on the Lord, of course they fell into sin.

[7:58] It wasn't true, with David, and it isn't true, with us. It doesn't mean, this happened, because God left you to it. It doesn't, didn't happen, because God, didn't love you enough. It didn't happen, because he wasn't ready, to protect you.

[8:10] It happened, because of sin, and self. And that is the case, with every sin, whether it is a spectacular, and public sin, like this, or whether it is, a more secret sin, whether it is known, to many, or to few, every sin, has consequences, and whether it is, the case, or not, that we sin, publicly, or privately, it hasn't happened, because God, has somehow, left us, to our own devices.

[8:38] almost, every time, I think we could probably say, without exception, every time, that we give in, to temptation, or that we fall, it is not, strictly, necessary.

[8:52] Now, in this particular case, of course, a very common case, particularly, of a powerful man, can't even call it, a honey trap, because Bathsheba, wasn't doing anything, specially, to entice, or to provoke, in this sense, it wasn't a deliberate, set up, but here, he is falling, into this weakness, that powerful men, often do, and it was, so needless, the Lord, says here, through Nathan, verse 8, I gave thee, thy master's house, thy master's wives, you should probably understand, concubines, for that, into thy bosom, and gave thee, the house of Israel, and Judah, if that had been, too little, I would moreover, have given unto thee, such and such things, it is as though, if David, seeing Bathsheba, from the rooftop, and said, oh Lord, she's fantastic, she's so beautiful, I've just got to have her, but Lord, I know I shouldn't, but it isn't enough, I've got to have something, to compensate, for the fact, I can't have this woman, Lord, please give me something, the Lord would have given her, whatever he asked, whatever he needed, whatever he brought, before the Lord, in his name, if you just turn back, a couple of chapters, you see what the Lord means, you see that in chapter 3, we have a little list here, verses 3 to 5, unto David were sons, born in Hebra, his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam, the Jesuitess, his first wife, and his second,

[10:14] Kiliab, of Abigail, the wife of Havol, the Carmelite, second wife, and the third, Absalom, the son of Macha, the daughter of Tamai, king of Gether, third wife, and the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggith, fifth wife, and the fifth, Shephetai, the son of Abital, sixth wife, fifth wife, and the sixth, Ithria by Igla, David's wife, six wives so far, and then we turn a couple of pages, we find chapter 5, verse 13, David took in more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron, there were yet sons and daughters born to David, these were the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem, and we have a further 11 children, now if he follows the pattern of one child per individual, that is then 11 different mothers, plus the six beforehand, what's that, 17, plus the fact it was Saul's daughter of Michael, who was his proper first wife as such, and in due course she was brought back to him, and I can say that's another, that's at least eight wives, plus Saul the rest, and all the concubines, and so on, it's not as if, without one of the creatures, he's not going short in that sense, he is well supplied with comforts, and with companionship, and with everything you could possibly, it's completely unnecessary, but his guard goes down, and his desire goes up, and his covetousness kicks in, and this is evidence to us, that even a prince of the Lord, even one so blessed, so beloved, so protected, so well supplied, is not immune to the attacks of the evil one, and I don't think one reason the Lord permits this, is to show to all of us lesser mortals, that there is nobody immune, that there is nobody too high to be attacked, and the devil if you like, is allowed this victory, this isn't a minor little surf somewhere, this is the king of Israel, who is brought down, by this, you know, when Nathan says, thou art the man, and then he tells them all the facts, this is not news today, he can say, you're right, you know,

[12:25] I never thought of that, I never knew that I'd done these things, of course he knew, that he had done these things, of course he knew, what had happened, David after this, goes through a fit of almost, cruelty, one of the few occasions you could say, there was cruelty, on David's part, but when he takes, Rabah, the city of the Ammonites, and then he brought forth, the people that were in, and put them under saws, and harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, made them pass through the brick kiln, thus did he, onto all the cities, of the children of Ammon, it is perhaps a kind of vengeance, perhaps transference, because it's when he was off, fighting the Ammonites, and the reason he was off, fighting the Ammonites, is because they had, unprovokedly, insulted his ambassadors, if you can cast your mind back, if you remember the occasion, the king of the Ammonites died, his son inherited the throne, and David sent messengers to him, because his father had been kind to David, in the former days, just to encourage him, to wish him well, to say well done, you know, every blessing from David, you know, and his servants had said, you think David's sending these guys, to be friendly, oh they've come to spy out the land, he's got designs on your kingdom, you better be tough, act the man, so they shave off, half the beards of David's ambassadors, they cut off their garments, to the midriff, they send them away, shamed, totally unprovoked,

[13:49] David has gone with kindness, to this minor kingdom, across the Jordan, and this is how they repay, his ambassadors, so when David launches war, against the Ammonites, it's not unprovoked, you could even call it, a just war perhaps, but it is during that war, it is in the occasion, when Joab, and the army is away, David is back home, in Jerusalem, and that's when, the Bathsheba incident, arises, the Lord, allows the devil, to score this victory, we might say, so that he can demonstrate, to David, and to all, austerity, both in the Old Testament, and in the New, there is nobody, in you, but what do you do, when you are confronted, with this truth, David would have known, what he was guilty of, but you know, think of it, this isn't five minutes, after the event, Nathan comes to David, after, end of chapter 11, what happens at the end, of chapter 11, when the mourning, for her husband, was passed,

[14:55] David sent, fetched her to his house, she became his wife, bearing a son, that doesn't happen, in five minutes, that's eight, nine months, right down the line, but the thing, that David had done, displeased the Lord, so it's the best part, of a year later, David must have thought, pretty much, he got away with it, if we can use that term, you know, nobody had confronted him, nobody had said, that's a terrible thing, to do David, he would have known, in his own heart, but, you know, nobody had, nobody had faced him, down over it, nobody called him out, because of it, the Lord hadn't, apparently, sent thunder, and lightning, from heaven, he hadn't caused him, to be destroyed, before his enemies, the sky hadn't fallen in, as far as he knew, God had, said nothing, done nothing, just, been allowed, to pass, and after all, it wasn't, all that unusual, in those days, if somebody, a king for example, saw a beautiful woman, that happened to be, somebody else's husband, you just get rid of the husband, that's, that's the whole reason, why both Abraham, and Isaac, and Genesis, you remember the occasions, when they go down, into Egypt, or amongst the Philistines, they lie, they say, she's not my wife, no no, she's my sister, because if she's your sister, then that's okay, you can be negotiated with, you can make, your business, a bride price, they can, they can buy her, or they can have her, add them to the, the harem, or whatever, but if he's a husband, oh, he's an obstacle, they can't have her now, unless they get rid of the obstacle, so if he goes in saying, yes, this fantastically beautiful woman, is my wife, then he becomes an obstacle, she becomes an object of desire, he's the obstacle, and the way, just get rid of him, that's what happened, powerful men, would get rid, of the obstacle, what David has done, is, in terms of ancient kingship, a near eastern pagan, kings, not unusual, it would be, almost expected, you know, well, that's what happens, you know, if you're going to, if you're going to have something, the king wants, he's going to see it, he's going to want it, he's going to take it, if you're in the way, he'll get rid of you, is this what they mean then, when he says, great occasion, to the enemies of the Lord, to blaspheme, verse 14, now, the enemies of the Lord, blaspheme the Lord,

[17:10] I wouldn't be so much, taking the name, of the Lord Jehovah, in vain, but rather, perhaps saying, well this is how, a follower of the Lord, behaves, this is how, a follower of the God of Israel, behaves, in other words, he's just like us, you know, if we had the power, and the opportunity, the pagans would be saying, we'd do the same, we'd get rid of Uriah, he's just like us, the one of the boys, he's just, you know, no difference between, a worshiper of the Lord, and somebody who follows off, false gods of the world, well that's okay, that makes us feel a bit better, don't you notice how, in any public debate, in any media attention, on the church or anything, there's those, that the world likes, and there's those, that they don't like, and the ones, that they don't like, are the ones, who go, narrow mindedly, as they would say, by the Bible, and they say, well you shouldn't be doing this, because it's against the world, but the ones, that you like, and they say, oh yeah, you've got to be, a bit more understanding, it's a modern time, and you can tell, the media likes these people, they like these bishops, and they like these, kind of church leaders, who go along with those, these are the nice ones, because by them, we don't feel convicted, by them, we're not challenged, they're just like us, they understand, what it is, to be men, women of the world, they're okay, we're not threatened, by that, that's an okay, kind of Christianity, we like this, and what is that, but blaspheme, in the name of the Lord, is this not, what the enemies, of the Lord, have said, yeah, it's just like us, he deals with opponents, and obstacles, just like we do, you know, the worshipper, of the Lord,

[18:46] David, the beloved of the Lord, who worships his God, obviously, doesn't behave any differently, from pagan kings, around the bottom, so you know, this God, can't be all that different, God of holiness, God of purity, God of truth, and this is how David, behaves, so, this can be the only, one possible explanation, of verse 14, because, otherwise, the enemies, of the Lord, who would revel, in unrighteousness, and evil, and wickedness, and so on, they're not going, to be squeamish, about getting rid, of an awkward soldier, you know, you're not going, to be squeamish, about taking, somebody else's wife, as far as, pagans are concerned, there is no morality, this might is right, if you can do it, then you do it, and that's the way, of the world, without God, isn't it, if you can do it, do it, if it works for you, yeah, if you can take, what somebody else, has got, yeah, just figure, if you can, fine, that if you're, meant to be, a follower, of the true God, the God of Israel, the living God, you ought to have, different standards, and if you, put into the hand, of the enemies, of the Lord, a gift, an own goal, in such a way, that you caused, and the Savior,

[19:57] God's no difference, from our God, that guy, you worship, he's just the same, as the rest of the world, all the other gods, it is, have given, cause, the enemies, of the Lord, to blaspheme, the child, that is born to thee, shall surely die, there's going to be, consequences there, not only are there, consequences, in the immediate time, but also, the consequences, will go on, throughout the rest, of his life, and his kingship, I will raise up, evil against thee, out of thine own house, verse 11, and that is, of course, Absalom, and his rebellion, and all that follows, from that, all the civil war, that follows, all the bloodshed, Israelite, slaughtering, Israelite, and of course, before that, you've got the, the rape of, Absalom's sister, by another of David's, sons, you know, and I think, well, why doesn't David, come down in him, like a ton of bricks, when he, when he rapes his own, half sister, surely David, should have, should have absolutely, punished that guy, he should have, he should have been, strong with him,

[20:59] David has lost, his moral authority, do you see that, that from this chapter, onwards, although David, is penitent, although he, confesses the Lord, and acknowledges his guilt, his moral authority, is broken, because of what he, himself, is guilty of, what he, himself, has done, has scoured, the power, and the centre, out, of his kingly authority, he, he has become, in many ways, a shell, of his former self, what, do you do, when you are, confronted, with the reality, of your own sin, David, therefore, besought God, for the child, David, fasted, and went in, and lay all night, before the earth, and the elders, of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up, in the earth, but he would not, neither did he, eat bread with them, he goes in, before the Lord, he pleads, with the child, and none of it, works, none of it, works, because no amount, of outward, penitence, no amount, of fasting, and sorrow, and tears, is going to, undo, what has been done, when it says, the Lord, hath put away, thy sin, it's not because,

[22:20] David was going to be, so penitent, yes he was penitent, it's good, that he was penitent, it's good, that he was filled, with remorse, and sorrow, and repentance, but that isn't enough, and all our tears, will not be enough, all our sorrow, all our repentance, it is nothing, but the blood of Christ, alone, which delivers us, nothing in my hand, I bring, simply to thy cross, I cling, thou lie to the fountain, fly, wash me, saviour, or I die, the Lord, alone, is able, to cleanse, the Lord, alone, is able, to wash, the Lord, hath put away, thy sin, thou should not die, but if any of us, think, oh, there he gets, all scot-free, you just read, the next chapters, of the rest, of his reign, it's never, the same again, when the Lord warns, his people, in Exodus, and Genesis, and Deuteronomy, and throughout the scriptures, against sin, he is not seeking, to be, a killjoy, he is seeking, to protect us, he is seeking, to keep us, safe, from harm, now you would think, with all the layers, of success, and companionship, and female company, that the Lord, had given to David, this would be, one sin, from which he must, be virtually immune, but no, there is no, complete protection, if we are determined, to sin, and when the Lord, warns us, to avoid, and you read, the book of Proverbs, and how it seeks, to keep people, away from sin, avoid the pathway, that leads out, just don't go there, prevention, is so much better, than cure, you see, what you've got, here with David, is you've got the cure, the blood of Christ, cleanses us from all sin, yes it does, and only that, will ever cleanse us, but prevention, think of what, it would have avoided, that would have avoided, the situation, with Absalom's sister,

[24:32] Tamar, it would have avoided, the subsequent murder, of Amnon, by Absalom, it would have avoided, Absalom's exile, and then the civil war, and all that would have come, all the slaughter, all the bloodshed, all the breaking, of David's mortal power, nothing that David does, is going to undo, what now has been done, yes, the blood of Christ, cleanseth, from all sin, but it does not, turn the clock back, there are going to be, consequences, there is always, going to be consequence, with sin, and when we are, confronted, with the reality, of our own sin, when we see, yes, even if, even if it's just, words that we've said, that we wish, we hadn't said, you know, we've got Psalm 106, where it says, about Moses, you know, the children of Israel, he angered him, at the waters of strike, so that it went ill, with Moses, for their sakes, because they provoked, his spirit, so that he spake, unadvisedly, with his lips, he smoked the rock, instead of speaking, to him, he was angry, with them, they provoked him, but he's the one, that sued, he overstepped the mark, he's the one, that went too far, and once the words, are out, and once the action, has been done, you may repent, of it, and the blood of Christ, cleanses us, from his hope, but there are, consequences, sometimes people, use in children's, addresses and things, the illustration, of the tuber toothpaste, that child, loves to squeeze, a new tuber toothpaste, and it all, oozes out, and it's colour, and a great big sausage, your toothpaste comes in, and that's fun, and then if you say, try and put it back in, you can't put it back in, no matter how much, you force it in, through the wee hole, with your finger, it is never, the same, you may scoop, and you may force, and you may push, as much as you, you might even get, 90% of it back in, but you're not, you're going to have, such a mess, left in your hand, it is never the same, when the Lord, warns us against sin, when he warns us, in the ways, of righteousness, to abide in these paths, it is to protect us, it is for our good, because once a sin is had, you can never put it back in again, the only thing, that will cleanse, is the blood of Christ, the Lord, hath put away thy sin, and we thank the Lord, that there is, such a sacrifice, for sin, you know, as first John writes, if any man, say he has no sin, he's a liar, and he deceives himself, but if we do sin, we are an advocate, of the father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous, the blood of Christ, runs out of us, from all sin, but how much better, how much safer, not to fall into it, in the first place, you might think, and say, oh well that's easy to say, after the event isn't it, that's no great help, but it is a help, because for all the sins, that you and I, may be guilty of in the past, there's a whole heap of them, we haven't done yet, there's a whole heap of sins, that we might commit, but if only we are one, if only we are wise, to the dangers, to the problems, to the consequences, we might just think, oh well maybe actually, it's not worth it, maybe it just won't go there, after all, when we fall, we think, oh well, nobody could have resisted this,

[28:11] I'm just too weak, I just haven't got the strength, again we go back, to 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13, there are no temptation, taken you, but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you, to be tempted, above that ye are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way, to escape, that ye may be able, to bear it, was there a way, for David to escape, yes, could have gone back, down off the roof, had a cold bath himself, he could have just, drowned himself, in all the companionship, that he had legitimately, and just turn away, from somebody else's wife, he could have avoided, sending the letter, by the hand of Uriah himself, that was effectively, saying, put me in the hottest part, in the battle, so that I'll die, it was effectively murder, David is guilty, and guilty of sin, as Nathan says to, thou art the man,

[29:15] David is, angry against somebody, guilty of a, a minor, not minor theft, but a theft, of somebody else's lamb, he has thieved, somebody else's wife, and killed, a legitimate husband, and the Lord, requires it, at his hand, yes, he pays the price himself, but there are consequences, David besought God, for the child, David fasted, and went in, and lay all night, upon the earth, it is not going to undo, what has been done, the child we trust, is taken to glory, God is not unmerciful, to the child, its life is short, its sickness, does not last, unduly long, it is gathered, to glory, but the Lord, has other plans too, we read, David comforted, Bathsheba, his wife, went in, unto her, and lay with her, and she bade a son, and he called his name,

[30:16] Solomon, and the Lord, loved him, and he sent, by the hand of Nathan, the prophet, and he called his name, Jedidiah, because of the Lord, and the name, Jedidiah, that's the anglicized, version of it, there's some Hebrew, words involved here, obviously, Old Testament, being written in Hebrew, and there is this, in the Hebrew alphabet, this word, Yid, Yid, which means, love, and, Yid, means, beloved, and so, when you got, Yididah, that's, beloved of, Yah, as you know, I think, Psalm 68, verse 4, praise the Lord, by his name, Yah, a shortening of, Jehovah, it's the shortened term, of Jehovah, Yidid, Yah, or, Jedidiah, as we have it in English, means, beloved of Jehovah, and the Lord, having put away,

[31:17] David's sin, knowing that there will be, consequences that, yes, David will have to bear, David, as we know, has been a man of blood, throughout his career, that's one reason, why he's not able to build, the temple, Solomon, this, beloved of the Lord, who himself, would build a temple, who himself, would be blessed, above all kings, of Israel, Judah, before, or since, Solomon's reign, is the glory days, of Israel, because, Jedidiah, the Lord, loved him, this is the name, that he gave him, now Solomon, means, one of peace, like, it's from the word, like Salem, which means peace, and Jerusalem, was not citadel of peace, but, Solomon, is the one, whose reign, would be peace, who is, Jedidiah, beloved of the Lord, God does, love, even when he, brings down, his beloved servants, or allows them, to be brought down, by the evil one, it is not, because he does not, love them, whether it is, to show them, their weakness, whether it is, to show them, that he will not, countenance sin, it's not okay, to commit this sin, just because, you happen to be, the Lord's beloved, whereas somebody else, will be punished for it, but hey,

[32:39] David gets off with it, no he doesn't, when the Lord, bears the price, of David's sin, it is he, who bears it, upon the cross, just as he bears, the sin, of the humblest, peasant, in David's kingdom, that trusts, and believes in him, just as he bears, the sin, of the, the poorest, most wretched, individual, in any age, or country, or nation, or stage, of the earth's history, if we are saved at all, we are saved, by the blood of Christ, shed upon the cross, the Lord, hath put away thy sin, the same price, is exacted, for David's sin, as is for ours, and all David's tears, and all his sorrow, and all his repentance, it is right, and good, that he should repent, it is right, and good, that he recognize, and sorrow, for his sin, where do you go, with it, there is nowhere, to go, but to the Lord, himself, and the Lord, himself, accepts, the penitent heart, not because, of the tears, that they have shed, not because, of the prayers, that they have made, but because, they are asking, forgiveness, in the name, of the Lord, who himself, has paid, the price, of their sin, without desire, it's not sacrifice, else, else will I give it, thou delightest not, in burnt offering, the sacrifices, of God, and a broken spirit, a broken, and a contrite heart,

[34:16] O God, thou would not, despise, this is what, David writes, in the aftermath, of this very sin, even such, awful practice, as David, is, God, is, God, the Lord, brings, good, out of it, which of us, has not, been blessed, by the psalm, which of us, does not, recognize, in it, inspired words, to express, for us, thoughts, and utterance, we could never, put into words, but here, David himself, through the deep waters, of his own agony, through the appalling, sorrow, of his own sin, he is inspired, to write, with us, have mercy, upon me, O God, according, to my loving kindness, according, unto the multitude, of my tender mercies, blot out, my transgressions, wash me, through and from, my iniquity, and cleanse me, from my sin, while I acknowledge, my transgressions, and my sin, is ever before me, but even that psalm, you see, it doesn't end, just in misery, because it concludes, do good, deny good pleasure, unto Zion, build thou the walls, of Jerusalem, then shalt thou be pleased, with the sacrifices, of righteousness, with burnt offering, and whole burnt offering, then, shall they offer books, upon the altar, and the implication is, that all the sacrifices, and all the religious practice, in the world, will not work, if we are not right, with God, but when, the Lord, makes things right, through the accepting, of the broken spirit, the perfect sacrifice, of his only son, upon the cross, when that is, what we plead, and that is, what we beg for, yes, there will be consequence, yes, we will have to live with, and deal with the consequence, and have the Lord's help, as we face it, but still, the Lord, will build the walls, of Jerusalem, the living stones, of his temple, are the very sinners, whom he has, redeemed, then, shall they be pleased, with the sacrifices, of righteousness, he will accept, their worship, then, when it is brought, in his name, through the broken spirit, of repentance, through the recognition, of the cost, of their salvation, the worldling, who thinks himself, right with God, or who thinks, he's got away with it, whatever I've done,

[36:51] God's turned a blind eye, such sacrifice, will just stink, in the nostrils, of the almighty, it will never, be acceptable, to them, but a broken spirit, is to God, a pleasing sacrifice, a broken, and a contrite heart, Lord, thou, wilt not despise, and then, will he build, the walls, of Jerusalem, then, will he be pleased, with the sacrifices, of righteousness, then, will the Lord, bless this union, which now, after David's, repentance, after the removal, of the child, the fruit of that, illicit union, Uriah, for better, for worse, is dead, David now, can, legitimately, if we can use that term, be man and wife, with Bathsheba, there is no point, now sending her back, to her father's house, there's no point, putting her away, that would be worse, than the sin he's committed, now, she is with her, she is, defiled by him, but she is, now his wife, he goes to her, their union is blessed, the Lord, acknowledges, that there is love, and honour there, and he loves, the child, of their union,

[38:06] Jehudiah, beloved, of Jehovah, it is because, the Lord, has loved us, that he has sent, his only son, Jesus Christ, to die, for our sin, to take away, all our unrighteousness, friends, there will always be, consequences, for our sin, the Lord, does not turn, the clock back, we have to live, with the reality, of what we are guilty of, perhaps, one of the reasons, for it, is so that, we can legitimately, warn others, don't go down, that road, friend, I've been there, don't go down, that road, son, daughter, younger friend, I know, what it's like, I've been there, I've done this, this is the consequence, I wouldn't wish it, on anyone, perhaps, we are allowed, to fall, some of us, so that, we can be, wisdom, and guidance, to others, in danger, of the same thing, just as those, who have gone, through a particular, broken heart, in this, you know, in one sense, only the widowed, can know, what it is, for those, who have lost, their other half, and can say,

[39:15] I know how you feel, perhaps, only those, who have fallen, in a particular way, can say, don't go there, I can tell you, what it's like, David, is not prevented, from this sin, but nor, is he left, to walk with it, all his tears, will not wipe it out, but the Lord, has put away, his sin, because, he loved him, and he puts away, the sin, of all, who will trust, and believe in him, because, he loved them, and if we are enabled, by grace, to love him, it is only because, he first loved us, and took our sin, upon himself.