Chapter 71—David’s Sin and Repentance
This chapter is based on
2 Samuel 11
;
12
.
The Bible has little to say in praise of men. Little space is given to
recounting the virtues of even the best men who have ever lived. This
silence is not without purpose; it is not without a lesson. All the good
qualities that men possess are the gift of God; their good deeds are
performed by the grace of God through Christ. Since they owe all to
God the glory of whatever they are or do belongs to Him alone; they
are but instruments in His hands. More than this—as all the lessons of
Bible history teach—it is a perilous thing to praise or exalt men; for if
one comes to lose sight of his entire dependence on God, and to trust
to his own strength, he is sure to fall. Man is contending with foes
who are stronger than he. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against wicked spirits in high places.”
Ephesians 6:12
,
margin. It is impossible for us in our own strength to maintain the
conflict; and whatever diverts the mind from God, whatever leads to
self-exaltation or to self-dependence, is surely preparing the way for
our overthrow. The tenor of the Bible is to inculcate distrust of human
power and to encourage trust in divine power.
It was the spirit of self-confidence and self-exaltation that prepared
the way for David’s fall. Flattery and the subtle allurements of power
and luxury were not without effect upon him. Intercourse with sur-
rounding nations also exerted an influence for evil. According to the
customs prevailing among Eastern rulers, crimes not to be tolerated in
subjects were uncondemned in the king; the monarch was not under
obligation to exercise the same self-restraint as the subject. All this
tended to lessen David’s sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. And
instead of relying in humility upon the power of Jehovah, he began to
trust to his own wisdom and might. As soon as Satan can separate the
soul from God, the only Source of strength, he will seek to arouse the
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unholy desires of man’s carnal nature. The work of the enemy is not
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