Restraining Grace

Good morning. Convictionally, I do believe the sermon is meant to be the central part of a service, but I have to say my personal favorite part of a worship service here with you all is oftentimes the singing. To gather with you and to be ministered, to gather as we sing lyrics like, praise the Lord, his mercy is more. Stronger than darkness, new every morn. Our sins, they are many. His mercy is more. The words are not only us singing together the very words of Scripture, where sin abounds, grace abounds, but we're ministering together and having a balm for our souls as we gather from all different kinds of problems and backgrounds and sing the one song of the gospel together. So thank you for coming and ministering to one another this morning. Think about that, the mercy that we need in sin. We typically think of that in terms of we've sinned and we need forgiveness. We regret and we need to repent and seek mercy. This morning we're going to look at a different side of how mercy is greater than our sin and that God also grants mercy so that we're restrained from sin. God's mercy is enough to keep us from sin. This morning we're thinking about regret. So I wonder if I were to ask, what's the thing you regret the most? When you think about regret, what comes to mind? For me, it's oftentimes my unhelpful, quick responses to something that may have been hurtful. You know, the words that bubble up and seem so helpful at the moment. And then they come out and I audibly hear them. And I realize I just intensified this problem tenfold. You see, some people have a filter here. Mine's kinda here. Or the conscience may be here. Mine, it doesn't sometimes come until here. There's a beauty of growing up in Christ and learning how to have a restraint. Grace isn't just to forgive us of our sin. Grace is meant to restrain us. God desires for us to grow in His grace. This morning we've heard the story in 1 Samuel 25. It's a wonderful, rich story because we have some real characters. We see who they are and how their actions reveal who they are. It's important to see this in its context, because this is unique here in 1 Samuel, because before it is Saul trying to kill David, and after it is Saul trying to kill David, and here we see David trying to kill Nabal. It's a bit of a twist, it's a bit of a turn. We see David living very faithfully with reverence of the Lord when it comes to Saul, and we see David having no reverence for the Lord up until he's corrected by Abigail. The story shows us that David is a man after God's own heart. That doesn't mean he's sinless. It means he responds fully and quickly to the things of God. Being a man of your God's own heart means we respond fully and quickly to God's words of command, God's words of encouragement, God's words of correction. If you're looking for just a one-sentence summary of the passage, praise God because His grace restrains our sin. God because his grace restrains our sin if you want one verse look at verse 32 how David responds blessed be the Lord the God of Israel who sent you this day to me because your words have restrained me We're going to look at different characters. Our first section is going to be verses 1 and 8. That's just kind of developing who they are. And then we're going to look at Nabal's folly, and David's response, and Abigail's warning. And we'll walk through those as we go. But we're looking at kind of who is doing what as we walk through the story. Interesting, verse 1 gives us a whole other context. Remember, this book opened with the word of the Lord being rare. Samuel being the promised child of the Baron Hannah, who then goes and proclaims the Word of God throughout Israel. And now he's died. He's passed away. Not the last time we're going to hear from him, in an odd way. But here we see an ending of an era. Samuel is the last judge of Israel, I believe. He's the prophet. It's a significant turning point. But here we're looking at David, who's the center of first and second. Samuel. So let's look at the setup. All right, where are we? We're in Carmel. David, remember, he's gone back in the wilderness. He's hiding away. We have some new characters. Who? Nabal. He's a very wealthy man. He's got 3,000 sheep, 1,000 goats. Well, we're not sure what that currency translates to in our world, but he's a very wealthy man. He seems to be the center of this city when it comes to wealth. He has many people working for him as shepherds. And notice there's some descriptions of him. Verse 3. He's harsh. He's badly behaved. His name, as Abigail will say later in her speech, means folly or fool. Maybe the most kind of interesting declaration is verse 17. He's worthless. The kind of man that no one can speak to. He doesn't listen. Then we have his wife, Abigail. These two are unusually matched. She is, verse 3, discerning and beautiful. We see she has a courageous faith who's going to go out and actually meet the king humbly and say some pretty bold declarations. And then we have the event that led to the complication. David sends men. So David has been on the outskirts of this city, on the outskirts of where Nebal's shepherds are. He's been helping those shepherds by protecting them from robbers. He's not asked for anything. He's not taken for anything. And it's the season where it's the biggest party for shepherds. It's sheep shearing season. Yeehaw. You know, it's when you slaughter, and it's when you have an abundance, and there's a big feast. David, as a shepherd, knows this, and he asks, send us provisions from this overabundant feast you're going to have. He's a wealthy man. Notice David sends some men. And in verse 6, there's a threefold peace. Peace be to you. Peace be to your house. Peace be to all that you have. David is coming in peace. Now, we might think in our culture that he's being forward. I would like for you to give me something. In this culture, this is kind of expected. called hospitality. The Bible actually assumes hospitality. The Bible endorses and prescribes hospitality. And hospitality by definition is loving and welcoming the stranger. Sharing your life with others. Here we see David ask for it. And we now jump into the complication of our story. First point, Nabal's Folly. Nabal's folly. Verse 9. He answers these men who have come in peace with these harsh words. Look at verse 10. Who's David? Who is the son of Jesse? Now, I think these are rhetorical. He's not actually asking who is David. It seems to be David's name is all throughout Israel. We know that. Right? There's a little jingle. You know, David killed this many, Saul killed that many. Nowhere did David say he's the son of Jesse. He seems to know who David is. He's rhetorically asking, who do you think you are? Then, in case it's not clear, there are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. Kind of a rhetorical punch. David, you're an outlaw. You're out here in the wilderness because you've broken away. You're, you're, you're disobedient. We don't know who you are. We don't know where you come from. Shall I take my bread, my water that I've killed for my men, to give it to somebody whom I don't know where he comes from? These are the words that are shared with those men. This is Nabal's folly. He is not responding the way that a man of God would. He does not show hospitality. He does not show generosity. He does not recognize David has been helping him this entire time. Now, remember how David responded before. He's gonna respond a little differently, right? In Saul, he doesn't dare touch the robe of the king, but David's gonna respond a little differently. But here we see the folly of Nabal. And we can't move too quickly from this because we see how he's a selfish man. Later he's gonna be so drunk from everything he has, his wife has to wait till the next day. Again, verse 17, no one can speak to him. You see that actually played out here. As the men come in peace, he sends them out with harsh words, badly behaved. That's that description of verse 17. No one can speak to him. When foolish is what you are, and you will not let wisdom come from outside, foolish is what you're stuck with. That's a terrifying description. Someone who is in the name of the Lord and coming to the Lord, he will not listen. So Nabal's folly is he does not recognize the Lord's anointed. He is not generous. He is a foolish man who's harsh. And he does not listen. Now look at David's revenge. Again, remember he He would not touch the coat of Saul, but now this guy who has insulted him with words, verse 13, it's a very simple, straightforward declaration. Every man strap on his sword. Regulators mount up. It's so quick and so harsh and so, it is rash. David just responds from an insult, Get your sword on. We're going to have bloodshed. There's a sense here of insults. Okay, is this tooth for tooth, eye for eye to come with a sword? Is this overreaction? A man who seemed so restrained with Saul, who was trying to murder him, he would, he felt bad just cutting off the rope of his, cutting the cord of his rope. Now he, he just quickly says, everybody get your sword on. How dare he insult me. See a different side of David. He's a sinner. He's acting a lot like Saul. We see one more insight later on. We drop down, and after we've been introduced to Abigail, verses 21 and 22, tell us a little bit more of what David has said. Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed all that belonged to him. And he has returned me evil for good. Remember that evil for good? When David comes out and says, Saul, I could have killed you, Saul's response? David, you're a better man than me. You returned good when I returned you evil. David's not flipped around. He is seeking to respond to evil with evil. He's regretting the goodness that he's done. And God do so to my enemies, the enemies of David, and more so, if by morning I have so much as one male of all who belong to me. God, if I don't wipe them all out, I want you to finish the job for me. It's a, it's a vow invoking the name of God saying, if, if I don't finish the job, Lord, kill them all. I want you to establish the work that I've committed to. Notice what's missing. He's not praying to God, should I do this? He's not inquiring of the Lord for wisdom. He's, he's saying, God, I want you to finish the work I am committed to. He's not loving his neighbor, Nabal. He's actually decided he's not worthy to be his neighbor. Now we turn to Abigail's rebuke. We've got Nabal's folly. He answers harshly. We see David's rage. We see David's revenge. Strap on your sword. And now we see the hero of the story, Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who's discerning and beautiful. A servant of Nabal comes to Abigail, verse 14. Behold, David sent messengers, and they were good to us. We've suffered no harm. They were a wall to us. They've done so many good things. Verse 17, now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house. He's a worthless man, one who no man can speak to. Verse 18, Abigail makes haste. She's decisive. She's courageous. She does what needs to be done. She does what her husband will not do, and that is she gathers food. She sends it out. And verse 19, she did not tell her husband. Is Abigail insubordinate to her husband? How do we make a judgment here on Abigail's actions and doing what her husband refused to do and not talking about it when she's going over against what he's obviously wished? We'll come back to that. She goes to David who is committed to killing everybody of Nabal. Now, verse 23. We see how she approaches. Notice how humble and lowly she is. Notice the language repeated. She hurried. She got down. She fell before David on her face. She bowed down to the ground. She fell at his feet. When somebody's angry and has a sword, you typically don't want to expose yourself in such a vulnerable position. She's got a trust in the Lord. She's got a commitment to coming to David in the right way. She falls down. There's a lowly humility. And then we even see the way she addresses him. My Lord. There's a respect and honor that she has for David. And notice the way she takes responsibility. First words that come out of her mouth. Verse 24. On me alone, my Lord, be the guilt. She'll literally say, I wasn't there. Verse 25. But I, your servant, did not see the young men, my Lord, whom you sent. Please forgive me. She takes as much responsibility as she can. She can't take responsibility for Nabal's sin, but she's simply saying, I wasn't there to show the kind of hospitality that should have been shown. What she says gets much bolder. Verse 25. Let not my Lord regard this worthless fellow Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. His name means folly or foolishness. Now this is not a typical way a woman should talk about her husband. This is not a model of Titus 2, which I hope is demonstrated in a much more helpful way right of the service at the shower. But she's speaking here with a reverence for David. God's anointed. She's speaking as a woman who's lived with this man. And notice what she says next. She's speaking as a prophetess in many ways. Verse 26. I'm going to translate the capital L Lord as Yahweh because all the Lords can kind of get confused here by the way we do the translation. Now then, my Lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, because Yahweh has restrained you from blood guilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my Lord be as Nabal. There's a huge assumption right there that she just made. She just told David Yahweh is restraining you from what you have committed to in your heart. That's bold. That's courageous. That's assuming a truth here that she's committed to the Lord and His anointed, and she is saying, David, I think there's a better way than the way you're going. The Lord is restraining you. As much as Yahweh lives, and as much as your even soul lives, The Lord, Yahweh, He's restraining you from blood guilt. He's going to murder Nabal for an insult. That's not eye for eye, tooth for tooth. From saving yourself with your own hands. Just as He trusted God with Saul, He should be trusting God here with Nabal. This is a correction. But notice how kind it is. It doesn't lack clarity, but it's gentle. It's loving. She doesn't say reconsider if you're right. She simply says the Lord has restrained you. Verse 27. Now let the present that your servant has brought to my Lord be given to the young men who follow my Lord. I've come and given you what you've asked for. I'm coming with gifts. Please forgive the trespass of your servant. That's referring to herself. Notice now. So she's, she's, she's come humbly. She's come lowly. She's taken responsibility as much as she can take responsibility. She said this is what the Lord is doing at this moment. He's restraining you. Now look at the second half of that verse 28. She's pointing David back to the promises of God. for the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house because my Lord is fighting the battle of Yahweh and evil shall not be found in you so as long as you live if men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life the life of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living care of the God of Yahweh your God in the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling and when Yahweh has done to my Lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you the Prince of Israel my Lord shall have no cause or grief or pains of conscience for having shed blood without cause for my Lord working salvation himself This is quite the model of correction. Because it's not just saying this is what's wrong, it's saying, here's what God's way is, and it's so much better. She's invoking, she's calling upon the very promises of God. I wonder if she's saying more than she understands here, because in chapter seven of 2 Samuel, that's when God says to David, I'm going to build for you a sure house. But she knows that David is the promised prince. He's the next king. And she's simply saying, when that happens, you don't want to look back and regret this blood guilt. You don't want to look back and have the pangs of conscience knowing that in this moment, you did not let the grace of God restrain you. You don't want to look back and regret. the shed of blood, the working of your own salvation. She's a lot like Jonathan here, isn't she? Jonathan being the friend of David who strengthened his hand, the friend of David who pointed him back to the promises of God, don't worry David, I know you're gonna be king, even Saul knows you're gonna be king. Here she's pointing him back to what God's plan is, and the whole point here is, you being the king, we expect more from you. This is not the way of the godly king. You're not trusting the Lord. This is a real clear warning and rebuke, but it's so sweet because it's saying, there's a better way. Too often whenever we warn somebody, it's like, okay, you're just a sinner. This is where you are in your box, but it's not calling you back. There's not a better way. Here it's so clear. David, you just, more should be expected of you. It's powerful rhetoric in that one. Notice how she ends, and when the Lord has dealt with my Lord, when Yahweh has dealt well with you, my Lord, remember your servant. This is respectful. It's humble. It's clear. The Lord is restraining you. This is a rich passage. to show God's grace protects us from being as sinful as we otherwise would be. The Christian life isn't just constant failure and seeking forgiveness. The Christian life is also refusing sin. The Christian life is learning how to live in a victorious way so that we're constantly not regretting, but we're also being restrained. Let's see how David responds. This is the moment of tension, right? He's got the sword. He's angry because he's been insulted. This woman is bowing on his feet. She just told him, you're wrong. The Lord's keeping you from doing what you've planned. David said to Abigail, there's a threefold blessing. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to me. Blessed be your discretion. And blessed be you who have kept me this day from blood guilt and from working salvation with my own hand. For as sure as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had heard and come to meet me truly by morning, there had not been left in the bowl so much as one male. He even says, I obeyed your voice. David is saying, you're right. I've been wrong. He's allowing himself here to be the man after God's own heart, who hears the Word of the Lord and recognizes it as true. He is, he was like Nabal. But we see he's actually a man after God's own heart. He, he responds to the truth of God quickly and fully. He's not willing to, to take matters into his own hands anymore. He's going to trust God. He's, he's repenting from this blood guilt. Again, it's not eye for eye, tooth for tooth. David responds to God's mercy. He's repenting of a sin before he commits it. Because he was committed to it. God's grace is powerful. We've seen Nabal's folly. We've seen David's revenge. We see Abigail's correction. We now saw David's repentance. He's turned his direction. He's not going to go in that same way anymore. The Lord has restrained me. The final step of the story is God's judgment. This story now wraps up very quickly and very fully. Verse 36. Abigail came to Nabal and behold he was holding a feast in his house because it is that time of year. Like the feast of a king. And Nabal's heart was merry within him for he was very drunk. He's a self-indulgent man. He's not a giving man. He's a self-indulgent man. So she told him nothing. That's wisdom and discernment right there. Don't speak to a drunk man. She told him nothing at all until the morning light. In the morning when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things. and his heart died within him. And he became as a stone. And about ten days later the Lord struck Nabal and he died." Now that may be their way of referring to a heart attack. It may be the Lord just spiritually struck him and made him just still. We see the first direct action of God The Lord struck Nabal. The Lord had vengeance. It's very important if we go back to Genesis 12. God said to Abraham, I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you. God is fulfilling that promise right here with Nabal. Nabal cursed David, God's anointed one. And so God responded with a curse on Nabal. God can be trusted for his vengeance and his justice. We can't. The Lord's first direct action is striking Nabal. Verse 39, when David heard Nabal was dead, he said, blessed be the Lord who has avenged the insult I received at the hand of Nabal and has kept back his servant from wrongdoing. The Lord has returned the evil of Nabal in his own head. God is the one that can make that kind of declaration. Then David sent and spoke to Abigail to take her as his wife. The servant of David came to Abigail and Carmel, and they said, David has sent us to you to take you as your wife. Now, before we turn, I do want to make it obvious here that David has many wives. We have polygamy. In the weekly, that's our weekly newsletter, I sent a video that I think is a great explanation of polygamy in the Old Testament. And you should listen to it. You should watch it. If you don't get the weekly, great opportunity to find out how to do that. The short of it is this. God never condones polygamy. Polygamy is always over against God's clear pattern of one man and one woman. The fact that his people sin against him and don't obey him shouldn't surprise us because that's kind of what we do. God never condones polygamy. So there's our story. David asks for hospitality. He receives an insult. Nabal is a fool. David responds with revenge. Abigail, the wife, corrects David. David responds to God's grace. How do we think about this story? Let's first deal the tension. Let's think about this marriage, which we don't actually ever see them interact until the very end. Is Abigail insubordinate? The reason I ask the question is we've got to assume that at all times in all ways God's pattern for marriage has been clear and that a wife is called to submit to her husband. How do we think about Abigail being so praised in this story for her actions as her actions appear to be insubordinate? She doesn't talk to her husband. She goes against her husband. Paul says in Ephesians 5, wives submit to your husbands in all things. I think we probably want to put an asterisk qualifier on what all things means. All things can't include bowing down to idols. All things can't be lying. all things can't be going against God's Word distinctly and, and, and intentionally. He said there's a principle for, for government, which is another earthly authority, given to Caesar what Caesar's. A human authority never has the power to trump God's authority. A husband cannot command, or should not command, and a wife doesn't have to submit to a husband who's leading her to sin. You cannot win him over with your good works if you're going to follow him and sin. So that principle, giving a Caesar what is Caesar's, is important here, because I believe what we see is Abigail recognizing her husband is fighting against Yahweh himself. I'm going to align myself with Yahweh. We really shouldn't be that concerned about Abigail's insubordination or what appears to be. We should be concerned about Nabal's absolute lack of love for his wife. That's what should stand out in the story. This man doesn't love his wife. She puts her in this very vulnerable, difficult situation because he, claiming to be the head of the household, makes all these decisions and they're foolish. He doesn't listen. His job is to provide and protect her, but he's put her in danger. You see the difficulty here. Nabal is called to love her and lead her in love. She's called to submit. I think this is where we see that tension of 1 Peter 3, 7. I think it's such a wonderful pastoral word from Peter. After telling women to submit to their husbands, Peter then says to husbands, live in an understanding way because she's a weaker vessel. I believe what he's saying there is because the wife is in a more vulnerable position to have to submit to you, live in an understanding way, recognizing she has to submit to you. She's supposed to respect and follow an imperfect leader that is her husband. We husbands should seek to not be like Nabal, but to live in an understanding way, seeking wisdom from God, listening. It's painful to see so many men insisting on their authority and their wives having the burden of living with a man who does not pursue her in an understanding way. Now that we've gone past that tension, how do we apply this regarding the gospel? The first step today is to take a deep look and ask God, where are my hidden sins? Because we might see that there's some areas of our life that we're like Nabal. The first thing is ask God, please help me see if I'm in any way like this fool. Where am I harsh? In what areas am I not willing to be patient and kind or generous? In what ways am I behaving badly? In what ways am I not listening and just insisting? Another question there is, is there anybody I'll listen to? Is there anybody who can speak truth into my life? Am I pursuing God and His wisdom? There's also fruit here, right? Nepal's actions are leading to destruction. The blessed life of the wise one is one that's sweet like honey. This one is destructive. I do believe that verse 17 is powerful and penetrating for us to think about as disciples of Jesus Christ. He is a worthless man that one cannot speak to him. That's powerful because if you go to Matthew 18, Jesus says if somebody's done something wrong, the next step is if he doesn't listen. The next step is if he doesn't listen. Not listening. Not seeking wisdom and guidance and help. Being committed to our own folly. That, that is a dangerous place to be. Christian. Are we seeking help from outside or are we committed to our own folly? Christian, are you easy to talk to? Are you welcoming feedback? Does somebody have permission to speak truth into your life? There's something very dangerous about being committed to our own way without seeking wisdom from above and from others. So the first is to be warned. There's areas of our lives where we're like Nebo. The second is, what about David? We should seek to repent like David. To listen like David. To want to hear God's correction so that we don't run head fast into the wrong way. He has a heart like God. There's anger in David's heart, just like ours. There's lust in David's heart, just like ours. There's coveting in David's heart, just like ours. What separates David's heart to be one that's like God's is that he responds quickly and fully, seeking to agree with God and align himself with God, and seeking to ask for forgiveness. What's interesting is the quick judgment he makes against Nabal. He needs to die. It took me back to Jonathan Edwards. His resolutions are just very rich. They're short, easy to read. This is Resolution 21. Resolved to act in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins or had the same infirmities or failings as others, and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my sins and misery to God. When someone sins against us, when someone offends of their sin, the first response is to recognize, I too am a sinner in need of grace. Not strapped on the sword. We see the beauty of how God has designed David and given him grace. He repents. If you're not a believer this morning, I want to make sure the gospel is clear here. everyone, apart from God's grace, has committed their own folly. Some people's folly is more obvious to others. Some people's folly is, has greater consequences than others. But, but the main point here is, wisdom begins with a reverence for God. We can't truly be wise until we recognize that God is worthy, and he deserves our allegiance. He's right and we're wrong when we think we disagree with God. He's right and we're wrong when we think we disagree with God. That's why everyone must believe in Jesus. On my own conversion, my own turn, becoming a Christian, I was a fool and I didn't realize it until I started reading Proverbs. And it was astonishing how clearly God's Word, when it described a fool, it was a mirror. That was me. And then when I looked to read the words of Jesus, He was wise. It was a balm. It was a solution. Here's what you do. You believe in Jesus, and He forgives you of your foolishness, and then He calls you into wisdom. It was a thriving life. It was a better life. We can't rely upon our own foolishness. It only leads to foolishness. Believer this morning the the death of Jesus is what's central here because our Foolishness our refusal to respect and honor and listen to God is punishable But Jesus took the punishment for us God forgives us because Jesus down on the cross in our place that is grace to repent and be forgiven and then he gives us grace so that we can follow Jesus and know him But you must recognize your foolishness We call sin. And recognize Jesus paid the penalty for it. So that you can be forgiven and restored and put on the new way. Believers. Don't stop seeking him. On Wednesday night of the sanctification study, we talked about what it means to know Christ and then recalculate constantly because of the gospel. Know that you're dead to sin in Christ. Consider yourself dead to sin in Christ. That constant recalculating. That's how you actually don't sin in a way that you need to repent. That's how you restrain in God's grace from sin. Our final point, which is the main point, praise God for His restraining grace. That's what we see David doing. Praise God. Blessed be the Lord God who sent you to me this day. We're not left in our sin. We're not left in darkness. We're not left in our own deception. The truth penetrates. The truth untangles. The law is a delight to those who let it do what it's supposed to do and show us our sins and repent, show us God's way so that we follow. The promises of God should direct us back to. This morning as we think about what this means, Believer, are you praising God for warnings and convictions, or are you trying to keep yourselves away from them? Are you praising God for the warnings and the convictions, or is your heart and your conscience so cold from numbing it and quenching the spirit that you don't even feel it? God saved you to rejoice in grace. God saved you to be thankful for the grace that points sin and lets you see sin, so you repent of it and remove it. But for living in sin, we might have a cold conscience. Are you flourishing? Are you flourishing as a believer because of obedience today? Are you praising God that He does restrain you, or are you only living the life that's constantly saying, please forgive me? God has called us to know that we are free from sin. He's the God of peace. This story is about God giving peace where there was going to be war. This is God giving peace to David where he was going to have pangs of conscience. There's two things we have to go walk away from with this. God's grace is sufficient. to forgive us. God's grace is sufficient to forgive us when we sin. And secondly, God's grace is sufficient to keep us from sin. Those are two truths. We usually talk about the first one. God's grace is sufficient so that we can say no to sin. That's who has a clean conscience before God. One who knows the blood of Christ has washed. One who heeds the warnings and seeks to obey the commands. To walk in this kind of blessed state that David is in, be warned. We can be hard-hearted and foolish. Be encouraged. God gives us grace to correct us and be thankful. We're not left to our own folly. Jesus has come to forgive us and to lead us. Will you pray with me?