Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-27
Ry REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON
NATHAN LEADS DAVID TO
REPENTANCE.
II Samuel, 121-10. 10.
Golden TeXt-A broken and a
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt
not despise. 51:11.

Davids shameful transfression fur
nishes the background for our lesson
this week 1t has been told with d
frankness and delicacy in the preced-
ing chapter. His fall should warn US
of our personal peril of being tempted.
1t probably grew out of his great pros
perity and power. While MS armies
were at the front David, enjoying the
comforts and ease of his cedar palace
was tempted. The aimless and idle
wav he was ENJOYING his luxurious
home made him peculiarly susceptible
to sin. The law prohibited the prac-
tice of polygamy by the King. David
followed the practice of the rulers OF
his day and married in succession
Michal. Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah,
Haggith. Abital and Eglah. At Jeru-
salem he had taken more wives and
concubineS.
The blunted sensibility Of his con-
science by his practice Of polygamy
had for the time dethroned his high
ideals and blinded his eyes to the
depths of his iniquity. Although he
had committed base adultery when he
invaded the sacred relationships exist
ing between his loyal Hittite soldier
and his wife and had tried to cover up
his treacherous acts by having Uriah
removed by death in battle, DAVID
appears to have failed to see his great
sin. 1t was this state of affairs
which caused the prophet Nathan to
be sent to the King with a message
that lead to his repentance. The world,
with it's false ideals. has been deceiv-
ing itself about sin, which has in
creased so rapidly in recent years that
-, ty.in tho .
have deliberately censored the news
papers and refused them the permits
sion to print the records of crime.
This fact ought to warn us that we
must face the reality Of sin and its
punishment. We may deceive our
fellowmen, but we can depend upon
our reaping what we SOW. We cannot
do the things that displease God with
out suffering physical, mental and
moral punishment. THE wages of sin
is DEATH" that every sinner will re-
ceive unless he repents.
King Convicted of Sin.
About a year had passed when
Nathan was sent to David to lead him
to repentance 1t took courage for
the prophet to confront the King with
his sin. He used a parable that would
appeal to David's sense Of justice
without arousing any suspicion in
the Kings mind concerning any per-
sonal application of it to himself.
Every word of that parable gripped
the King. 1t recalled his boyhood
days as a shepherd; it revived his ten
derness for the weak lambs; it APP
pealed to his sense of justice and
aroused his fury against all forms OF
robbery. Before he realized it, David
had pronounced judgment against him
self for his own sin. When Nathan
courageously charged him with being
the man who was guilty Of using his
wealth and position to deSpoil a poor
man Of the little eve lamb" the King
acknowledged his transgression. The
hot Indignation that decreed death for
the man guilty of such outrageous
acts suddenly became a chill when he
saw for the first time the fact that he
was sinner in Gods sight.
There was no question concerning
the Kings repentance. Gods search
light had opened up to him the dark
| ness of his sin. He saw that he had
sinned against God, whose kindness
had lifted him from the shepherd S
| life to the sovereign's seat. All that
he was David owed to the everything
Jehovah, whose kindness to him the
King had disregarded. He had de-
spised the Lords commands concern
ing purity in life by his polygamous
| practices. He had been unfair to the
poor foreign Slider who had Loyalty
| fought in his ranks, and the King
| was guilty Of committing murder,
even if Uriah had been slain in battle
| by "the sword of Ammon." He saw
| that in Gods sight he was not only a
murderer but also an adulterer. The
prophet had unmasked David SO that
| he saw not only his own iniquity but
| he brought him to repentance by
| showing him his need Of salvation.
Penitent POtentate COnfesses His Sin
| His conviction Of sin filled David
with contrition. In his sorrow for his
sinful deeds the King revealed that he
was a man after God 8 own heart. His
! conscience filled the rich, powerful
| potentate with the spirit of a coward.
| He was undone and mastered by the
| facts revealed to him by the prophet.
He saw that he had made a mistake
| by following the practices of other
| rulers. for he had been ungrateful to
| God and disobedient to His word. He
| did not try to find any excuses or
| plead any extenuating circumstances,
| for he confessed, Il have Sinned
| against Jehovah"
Pride gave way to penitence. In the
| ffty-first Psalm we have a record of
| the penitent potentate pleading for
mercy and forgiveness. Every lndl
| yidual has sinned and missed the
| mari. that God wishes all to attain
| David was not man of God in his
sim but in his penitence that followed
| his sin he revealed his higher self
Throughout the penitent's plea for
pardon two words were constantly re.
peatcd-Thou, me. True conviction
| fills one with the realization that they
| have broken their relationship with
God and must look to Him, and Him
only, for forgiveness.
! In another Psalm, the thirty-second
! we have a picture of his spiritual
struggle at that moment. He had
thought that no one knew or cared
yet during that period of silence he
recognized, looking back, the fact that
he saw the hand Of God trying to cor
rect him both night and day. He
realized through the searching Of the
Holy Spirit, who had revealed tC
David by the words of the prophet
the depths Of his unsupported eVi
doing. lie refers to it by three diff
ferent words that described his expert
ence "Transgressions" showed thai
he was walking out of bounds. HC
! recognized that in Gods sight he was
a rebel against Him and His law
"Sin" spoke Of his acts in their rela
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