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David's terrible sin
(Arthur Pink, "David's Terrible Sin")

"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions. Wash
away all my iniquity and cleanse
me from my sin. " Psalm 51:1-2

Why did God permit David to fall
so fearfully, and sin so grievously?

One reason may be--
that we might have set before
our eyes the more clearly--
the solemn fact that

"the heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked"
(Jeremiah 17:9).

Unmistakably plain as
the meaning of those words is,
uttered by Him who cannot lie--
yet how very slow we all
are to really receive them
at their face value, and
acknowledge that they
accurately describe
the natural state
of every human heart!

But God has done more than
make this bare statement:
He has placed on record
in His Word--
illustrations, exemplifications,
demonstrations of its verity--
notably so in allowing us to see
the unspeakable wickedness
that still remained in the heart
of David!

Also, the fearful fall
of David, made way for a
display of the amazing
grace of God, in recovering
His fallen people.

If we are slow to receive
what Scripture teaches
concerning the depravity
of the human heart and
the exceeding sinfulness of sin--
we are equally slow to really
believe what it reveals about
the covenant-faithfulness of God,
the efficacy of Christ's blood
to cleanse the foulest stain
from those for whom it was shed,
and the super-abounding grace
of Him who is

"the Father of mercies and
the God of all comfort."
2 Corinthians 1:3

Had David never sinned so
grievously and sunken so low--
he would have never known
those infinite depths
of mercy which are
in the heart of God!

Also, had his terrible sin,
his subsequent broken-hearted
confession, and his pardon
by God, never been placed
in the Divine record--
many of God's people
throughout the centuries
would have sunk
in abject despair.

Also, thousands, from age
to age, have by this solemn
example of David's terrible sin,
been rendered . . . .
more suspicious of themselves,
more watchful, more afraid
of temptation, more dependent
on the Lord, and more
fervent in prayer.
By means of David's fall--
they have, themselves, been
preserved from falling!

Grace Gems