RESULTS FROM FAILURE
G. Bailey
I think the edge of the word has come to us already this evening, but I thought of this incident in David’s life, a very sad and dark part of his experience; a part which he went to considerable ends to conceal, but which God in His affection for him did not allow to be concealed. I think the goodness of God is seen in the exercises that have to be gone through; they may be painful, and they may bring out what is not the best, what is not characteristic. The Lord has His own way, the Lord will deal with it.
David lowered himself considerably in this incident as to Urijah. I thought of Urijah perhaps as being one who was really appropriating Christ as food; he was deriving from something outside of himself; he was moving in relation to what was pleasurable to God; he could speak of the ark of Jehovah, saying, “The ark, and Israel, and Judah abide in booths; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields”, 2 Samuel 11: 11. He was concerned as to what was proceeding in the testimony and in the history of Israel, what was of first and prime delight to the heart of God at that time. But all the time there was this activity proceeding which was undermining. Urijah might have thought, as he was put in the thick of the battle, and as a man of evident skill himself, that there was something amiss in the conduct of this warfare, and yet he goes through with it. I think that is a very encouraging feature of this man.
My exercise in reading this scripture is to refer to what is proceeding with David in deceit and how God has to speak as to it. He sends the prophet who speaks to David and alerts his right instincts. We are thankful for these right instincts. When things go awry, what is there of the work of God that can be appealed to and wrought upon? It produces judgment right in principle, but he was not yet applying it to himself. David is quick to judge of this matter, “As Jehovah liveth, the man that hath done this thing is worthy of death”, he says (2 Samuel 12: 5). How truly he spoke, and Nathan has to say, “Thou art the man!” What a stain on David’s character we might say; how solemn indeed if we lose sight of the perfection of the Lord Jesus and allow ourselves to be moved in a sinful way. What had become of Abigail, what had become of those assembly features that had so appealed to David? There must have been a sad declension in his view as to that, but how wonderful it is to turn to the recovery of the servant. In Psalm 51, which has often been referred to, how full and how complete is his judgment, “Wash me fully”, he says, “from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me” (Psalm 51: 2, 3). I think as we contemplate the perfection in the Lord Jesus; as we contemplate the all-seeing, penetrating character of the word; this would be the product in our experience—“I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, be clear when thou judgest” (verse 4). I think David would realize that he had betrayed the trust that God had put in him, and impeached the ability to judge clearly and without favour.
So he goes on to speak about creating in him a clean heart and restoring the joy of salvation; then the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit—“a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51: 17) “Then shalt thou have sacrifices of righteousness” (verse 19). I think this is the searching matter, sacrifices of righteousness. If God is to be rightly served, and there is to be power and progress, then righteousness would be the foundation to it. Think of the righteousness that was found in Jesus, not one deviation from the will of God; what a Model, perfect and unswerving, we have in Him. May our hearts be set in relation to Him and to what is of Himself here, so that our committal and our judgments may be clear, and that our hearts and footsteps may be set in relation to upholding what is of assembly character for His pleasure and delight. For His name’s sake.
Word in meeting for ministry, Edinburgh
20 August 1991