"The Relief of Getting Caught"

Anything to keep from getting caught! David had made his bed – literally – and now he would do about anything to keep from getting caught. We see in our text this morning, that royal David had sinned royally.

Our text commences right after David has basically murdered Bathsheba’s husband Uriah. Uriah was a soldier in David’s vast army. And after lusting after and sleeping with Uriah’s wife, David had him put on the front line of battle, where the chances of his being killed were pretty high.

We are told that after receiving the news of her husband’s death, Bathsheba lamented over her husband. This probably means that she followed the outward rituals that Israelite mourning customs prescribed. This was most likely, only for a period of seven days.

At first opportunity, David married Bathsheba and brought her into his household. He hoped that by quickly taking Bathsheba to be his wife, the child she was carrying – the child David had fathered in their adulterous affair – would at least appear to be his. After all, neither one of them could afford for their adultery to be discovered. Under the Laws that the Lord gave to Moses, Leviticus 20:10 says that "If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife – with the wife of his neighbor – both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Although it may have seemed that David had completely covered his tracks and would get away with his misdeeds, our text’s author observes that at least one observer was not fooled. "The thing that David had done displeased the Lord." The Hebrew verb used to describe how David offended God is a strong one, reserved for the deeds of those who deliberately plan and inflict injury on others. Clearly, David was gambling with his soul.

However calm David appeared on the outside, verses 3 and 4 of our Psalm (32) reflect how miserable, guilt-ridden and terrified he was on the inside. "For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as in the heat of summer."

In his grace and mercy, and out of his love for David, God confronted him. By telling David a simple and compelling parable about an unjustly deprived poor man, the prophet Nathan provokes in David the righteous indignation that ultimately convicts him. David had no reason to suspect that Nathan was approaching him with anything other than a real life case of a wronged Israelite appealing to the king for justice. David’s moral outrage was accompanied by an official legal verdict. The man deserved to die because of his lack of pity. Based on the Law of Moses, the sheep would have to be replaced four times over.

Without hesitation, Nathan proclaims to David, "You are the man." Nathan reminds David of all that the Lord had done for him. Nathan makes it clear just how brazen and hardhearted David’s actions were. David’s greatest sin was not his crime against Uriah. His greatest sin was how he had despised Yahweh and His Word. So David broke the 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 10^th Commandments, and we know that if we break any of the Commandments, we also break the 1^st. But with David, it was breaking the First commandment that led him to break the other four.

You know, I feel sorry for Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire. I know – they both hit a ton of home runs. They made a lot of money. Both will probably end up in the hall of fame. I don’t personally like Bond’s attitude. I think McGwire was a real popularity boost for the game of baseball. Those comments aside, this whole steroid thing means that everything they’ve ever done - even things they accomplished that were completely legit – will always be under a cloud.

It sends a bad message to our kids. It reflects on the other players too – putting everyone under suspicion. It might be better if none of this had ever gotten out. In the old days, sportswriters kept the off-the-field indiscretions of the stars like Ruth and Mantle discreet. Maybe we were all better off.

Now, I’m not trying to comment on the spiritual lives of Bonds and McGwire. I know nothing about their spiritual lives. But it doesn’t do a soul any good to get away with dirty little secrets. David went 9 months thinking his sin with Bathsheba was still unknown, mostly because his army commander Joab and folks around the palace kept their mouths shut.

But all that did for David was cause him to live in impenitence, and the risk of spending eternity in hell. But God loved David too much for that, and so did Nathan. That’s why God sent Nathan to bring David’s secret out into the open – not for the newspapers, but for the one soul concerned about another. And it worked. It brought confession and repentance.

David neither denies nor offers an excuse for what he has done. Having been confronted by the all-knowing God, he takes but two Hebrew words – six English words – to confess; "I have sinned against the Lord." David acknowledges his sin without attempts at self-exoneration, excuses or rationalization. His sin exposed before God, there was no need for a lengthy statement.

Upon David’s confession, he was immediately put right with God again. Nathan declared that the Lord also had put away his sin. God’s gracious attitude toward David had never changed. But the prodigal David had come home, and he finally knew once again the peace of God’s presence and forgiveness. David expresses his relief and joy in the next verse of our Psalm; "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin."

Sure, there was fallout from David’s sin. There usually is fallout from our sins. David’s reputation was tarnished. His infant son died. There was family strife and his kingdom was thrown into turmoil. Yet, God kept David in the faith and supplied him with the strength he needed until the day he died.

Sometimes we need the relief of getting caught. We Christians ask God to do for us what He did for David. We want God to catch us in our sins and spare us from the spiritually lethal effects that come from our hard-heartedness.

We need to be caught, because we are aware of the sins we have committed, but like David, we cover them up. And that is a dangerous thing. CFW Walther asserted that "The light of faith can be extinguished not only by gross sins, but by any willful, intentional sin. Defection from faith occurs more often than we imagine. Faith ceases not only in those who lead a life of shame, but also in those who permit themselves to be led astray against their better knowledge and the warning of their conscience."

So it’s important to keep ourselves is the places where we can get caught. Like in the Word and Sacraments. In fellowship with other Christians. Through sermons and liturgies, through Bible study and interaction with fellow believers, God will send "Nathans" to you who will call you to confession.

And just like David did, when caught in your sins, give up quickly and voluntarily. Take advantage of the opportunities God gives you to confess your sin and receive absolution. You can confess your sins directly to God in personal prayer, and then rejoice in the promises of complete forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says; "If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:7 says that "The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin."

Confess your sins with your fellow Christians at the beginning of the Divine Service. When the pastor forgives your sins "in the stead and by the command of" the Lord Jesus Christ, believe the Good News; Your sins are really, truly, completely forgiven.

Part of my job is to hear the confession of repentant sinners and pronounce forgiveness. I promised at my ordination to keep those confessed sins confidential. David discovered that private confession and absolution is a powerful experience of the Gospel. Luther wrote "If you were a Christian, then you ought to be happy to run more than a hundred miles to [private] confession.

Why go through such a humbling and painful process voluntarily? Because we know that the One to whom we turn is the Friend who lovingly hung on the cross, being judged in our place. We confess our sins to the One whom God made to be sin for us and find that in him we have become the righteousness of God. We go through the pain of getting caught because it is in getting caught that brings real release.

You know, the thing that’s always missing when sins become headlines is what God offers so eagerly – complete forgiveness and a clean slate for the sake of Christ’s cross. Confession is the joy of being free, of going home! It is the joy of returning to the pronouncement God made when we were baptized; "You are my dear child forever." Amen.