" Joy ", such a simple word, easy to spell but not always easy to keep. King David knew all too well how easily the true joy, that only comes from the LORD, can be lost or in his case sinned away. Many people believe that their sin hurts no one but themselves; that their sin is fun and they don't want to give it up, after all everybody is doing it ! As we will see sin does require a payment not only in eternity but also in this life. King David's sin caused the death of 2 people and the loss of his integrity to many of his men.
Many people know the sin of King David. He was not out with his army as he should have been, but was in his palace. He opened the window and gazed out at the city and spied a women (Bathsheba) undressing on the rooftop, readying herself for a bath (as their custom was). David should have closed the window and talked to the LORD about what he saw and asked for strength to resist, but he did not. Instead David had the woman brought to him and he had his way with her. It soon was told him that she was with child and since her husband (Uriah) was away in King David's army there was no chance that it was his. King David had Uriah brought back home under the guise that he could rest and refresh himself for a couple of days. Of course David was hoping that Uriah would have relations with his wife (Bathsheba); but Uriah was an honorable man and would not take a short vacation while the army was out fighting King David's battles. So Uriah lay outside of King David's palace and slept and did not see his wife. Now this upset King David so he had his most trusted commander send Uriah out in the front of the fiercest battle and then have David's Army silently retreat; which left Uriah alone and of course he was killed.
Now all of this was done to hide the sin of adultery which produced a child; the murder of one of King David's most trusted men by the Kings own command; and also, when the child was born, he was sick and eventually died. So what did sin cause ? Did sin only effect King David ? Were there no long lasting consequences of his sin ? GOD sent Nathan the Prophet to King David to confront him about the sin. Now GOD told Nathan to tell King David about a poor farmer that had only one small ewe lamb; that the farmer loved and nourished and it grew up together with the farmers children. Then a rich man came and would not take of his own flocks but had someone go and take the farmers beloved ewe lamb to serve to a traveler. When David heard this story he was greatly angered and told Nathan that "surely as the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die ! " King David also said that the man shall restore four-fold "because he had no pity." Then Nathan said to King David, " You are the man ! " Nathan proceeded to tell King David all that GOD had done for him and how much more GOD would have given if David would have asked or needed anything. GOD gave a sad description to David through Nathan the Prophet, of those things that would befall his family including the death of the child.
So David's sin did not just affect him. Like a flat stone that a person tries to make skip across the pond and the stone sends out ripples in all directions; so does sin. It alters the beautiful course that our lives could have taken if we would stay in GOD's walk. It steals our " joy " as King David's joy was taken from him because of his sin that rippled across so many families, including his own. We shall now see the agonizing prayer of King David that he prayed after Nathan the Prophet confronted him about his sin. Psalm 51:1-19 is as follows:
Have mercy upon me, O GOD,
According to YOUR lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of YOUR tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity;
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against YOU, YOU only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in YOUR sight--
That YOU may be found just when YOU speak,
And blameless when YOU judge.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, YOU desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part YOU will make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness,
That the bones which YOU have broken may rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O GOD,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from YOUR presence,
And do not take YOUR HOLY SPIRIT from me.
Restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation,
And uphold me with YOUR generous SPIRIT.
Then I will teach transgressors YOUR ways,
And sinners shall be converted to YOU.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O GOD,
The GOD of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of YOUR righteousness.
O LORD, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth YOUR praise.
For YOU do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
YOU do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of GOD are a broken spirit,
A broken and contrite heart --
These, O GOD, YOU will not despise.
Do good in YOUR good pleasure to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then YOU shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then they shall offer bulls on YOUR altar.
Psalm 51:1-19
King David had lost that close fellowship that he once had with the LORD. He acknowledged his sin before GOD and asked for HIS forgiveness. He also asked the LORD to cleanse him from the sin that had darkened and dirtied deep into his very soul. He asked the LORD to give him back the ability to " hear joy and gladness. " His sin had hurt King David to the bone and caused him great physical pain and the very thought of GOD seeing his sin caused David shame.
King David asked GOD to clean up his heart; to renew his spirit; and to "restore to me the joy of YOUR salvation. " David's fellowship with GOD had been broken by his sin. He asked the LORD to restore that joy he had when GOD was in perfect fellowship with him. As long as there was this sin festering between him and GOD, there was no joy. First came acknowledgment of his sin, then confession of it; which means to agree with GOD about what HE says about your sin; then to be cleansed of it and then restoration of fellowship and the joy that surpasses all understanding.
Many times people think that their sin is fun and it may be, for a season. But sin always requires a payment. It always requires a payment of more than we are willing to pay; and it never just affects the person who sinned. Remember the ripples in the water ! Sins tentacles are far reaching and if you read the complete story of King David you will see that it reached through not only his generation but the next and the next. There is a phrase that I once heard and the longer I live the more obvious its meaning, " Be sure your sin will find you out ! "
This may be a strange image for you to think upon but there is an old black and white movie called, " The Portrait of Dorian Gray. " It involves a wealthy, young, good looking man and his desire to stay that way. He made a deal with the devil that if he did anything evil / sinned that instead of the consequences falling on him they would show up in the portrait that he had done of himself. Now this portrait was nearly life size and it showed him gloriously young and vibrant. As the years went by he stayed young, wealthy and good looking, but as he had his way in life with many women, gambling, drinking and doing such horrible deeds as murder, his portrait changed with each hideous sin until the portrait was hidden away and covered so that no one would see his true self that the portrait showed. The end of the movie was his agonizing with himself over how awful he had been in his life and he asked for forgiveness, the evil left the portrait and he died in peace; his body showing what his portrait had been hiding.
" Joy " the joy that only a life lived for CHRIST can give. " Joy " that can be easily lost by sin and shame in the life of a Born Again Christian. True joy that an unbeliever has never really experienced outside of CHRIST. If you have never come to JESUS for Salvation; today is still the day of grace and HIS desire for you is that you accept HIS most gracious gift of Salvation before it is too late.
Your servant in CHRIST,
Julie
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