“You’re the man!” We say this to someone today as if it is a thing of honor. they have done something unusual in a good way, and we acknowledge that by saying these words. But the original use of these words are right here in our reading today. I have to wonder how long David had thought about being with Bathsheba. After all, he did decide not to go out to battle when the kings usually went out to battle. He decided to stay home and walk on the roof. I suppose maybe he was surveying his kingdom, for what other purpose would you go and walk on the roof. But I think he had seen Bathsheba before when he was up there. He knew what time she bathed, and now, when all the men were out to battle,w as the perfect time to take her. And without a second thought, he did.
Typically, when we fall into sexual sin, it is more of a walk into that sin than as falling. We decide we are going to skip the battle and go right into our chosen way of sinning, whatever that may be. All of us have different things that entice us sexually. David is really no different than any other man. He just had more power to carry out his plan, and when it developed into something more, he had the power to take care of it. We,as common men, do not have that kind of power. We see something we weren’t and we scheme to get it. Red flags go up all over the place, but we so easily slip by them and go up on the roof. We ignore the fact that we should be fighting against the enemy, and just plunge into sin by choice.
What is different about David is the repentant heart he shows after he is caught. Nathan was a good man, and a good accountability partner. When Nathan exposes his sin, David writes one of the most beautiful Psalms of all, a psalm of repentance that is all too familiar to me. My Pastor had me memorize Psalm 51 when I was caught by my family in sexual sin. It made a deep impact on my life at the time, but after a while I returned to my old ways. But David did not. David weeps for the child before it dies, and when it dies, he gets up, washes his face, and eats. Davbid displayed godly sorrow, not worldly sorrow, something I am learning about in a book called “Finally Free.” David is not sorry that his schuild was dead, but he had a much deeper sorrow than that. His sorrow was that he had sinned against God, and he had to pay a price for that. He expressed this sorrow by lying on the ground and weeping for days upon days. I have never done that in response to my sin.
Psalm 51 is one that I will always cherish, and need to get back to reciting regularly. But even more than that, I need to get it down into my heart, and speak it with passion. It is not just a psalm, but a prayer of remorse over my sin. Knowing this verse, and applying it as a prayer to my life, can bring me to a place of godly sorrow I have not felt in a long time. If you are struggling with sexual sin today, make this your daily prayer. It truly can change your life. I think this is something I need to do. I have now been sober for a week, and want to stay that way. I need to pray this prayer daily, asking God to strip away my sinful; nature once again. Reciting Psalm 51, and getting it deep into my spirit is a wonderful way to feel His presence in my sorrow of my sinful ways.
God's Maintenance Man 