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Watch Out

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• 2 Samuel chapter 8. 2 Samuel chapter 8. The title of the message is "Watch Out." Watch out. I think you will understand why before I finish. Notice, if you would, 2 Samuel chapter 8, and we're going to read verse 6. 2 Samuel 8 and verse 6, the Bible says, "Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus: and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." Now, if you'll skip down to verse 14, "And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." We're talking today about God's preservation. Preservation is the act, grace, and mercy of God, whereby He preserves His own in the face of wicked men and events. We will see a greater example just shortly of God's preservation in the life of David. However, you have to understand that God also is the one who preserves His creation. There are a lot of things that God preserves that we never even think about.

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• For instance, Nehemiah 9 and verse 6, the Bible says this: "Thou, even thou art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee." Thou preservest them all. So God is not just simply the creator of the universe; He is the sustainer and the preserver of the universe and everything that is therein. Of course, we understand that God also preserves His Word. The Bible tells us in Psalm 12, verses 6 and 7, "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." And, of course, you remember Psalm 119 and verse 89, where the Word of God says, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." So God not only preserves His creation, He also preserves His Word. And thankfully, God also preserves His people.

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• The Bible tells us in Psalm 37 and verse 28, "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." And one of my favorite passages is 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. The Word of God says there in verse 23, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly"—W-H-O-L-L-Y—"the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." And then when you get to the book of Jude, chapter 1, verse 1, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." So God not only preserves His creation, He not only preserves His Word, He preserves His saints as well. And when you stop and think about Israel and God leading them out of Egypt through the entire wilderness, it was only by His preservation that Israel was brought through the wilderness.

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• In fact, we are told in Joshua 24 and verse 17, "For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed." So it was God who sovereignly preserved them as they went through the wilderness, and as they traveled through all of those nations.

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• And interestingly enough, the Bible tells you in Deuteronomy 8, verses 4 and 5, that He also provided for them as well as preserving them. For the Bible says, "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years" in the wilderness. And God provided the food and the manna and the water out of the rock. God provided everything. You know, I find it absolutely interesting that for forty years their feet did not swell out of all that walking, and they were satisfied with the same raiment; the raiment did not wax old. Boy, I wish that was true today.

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• I could save a lot of money on dresses, I can assure you. Nothing wrong with them; she just wants new ones, you know. But that's the way it is. But it was God who preserved Israel. You know, a lot of times when we talk about God's preservation, we don't really comprehend how great that preservation is or was until we get into our straits. You remember Job had a wonderful life until he was afflicted. And then in Job 29 and verse 2, he said this: "Oh that I were as in months past, in the days when God preserved me." So during his suffering and during his affliction, he recognized and understood the preservation of God. And I'm sure that most of us could probably give illustration after illustration of how God sovereignly preserved us. I just showed you the picture of that four-foot diamondback rattlesnake that I killed yesterday. He was about a foot and a half from my trail camera, and I was about to step over him to reach my trail camera, and I saw him, and I think I probably jumped back about fifteen feet. I don't know

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• how far I jumped back, but I can assure you I jumped back, and I thank the Lord for preserving me and taking care of that. But you know, there are many, many times that God has sovereignly preserved us, and we were totally unaware of the danger. We were totally and completely unaware. We did not discern the danger. We did not see the adversary. We did not hear or heed the warnings.

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• We were not cognizant of our surroundings. And yet God, in His grace and mercy, just sovereignly preserved us. I remember years ago, went golfing with an old friend of mine. He was an older man; I was a younger man. And I could care less about golf. You know, I always called it as a boy "cow pasture pool." Okay? But I went with him really just to be with him and just mainly for the exercise, because we walked. And to get to the golf course, we had to cross a train track. And he came to the train track, and of course he slowed down, and was rolling a little bit. And I saw him look to his left, and when he did, I looked to my right, and here came a train, just a-barreling down the track.

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• And I said very calmly, "You better whoa or go." Thankfully, all he heard was "whoa," and he slammed on brakes in time, and the train shot by. We would have never made it across that track. And when the train got by, I looked at Brother Colter and I said, "Don't you think it would be wise if we just sat here a few moments and praised the Lord and thanked Him for His deliverance?" And yeah, it could have been over that quickly, but God just simply sovereignly preserved us. I think that one of our praises ought to be on a daily basis thanking God for preserving us, even when we are totally unaware of His preservation.

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• And we need to thank Him for that. Now, we are looking at David, and the Bible says that God preserved David whithersoever he went. You have to remember that David was a man of war. Saul was, of course, king when David killed Goliath. And, of course, he started fighting under Saul. And when he would come back in, of course, you remember how the women would sing, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Well, when you consider the mode of combat in Bible times, it is absolutely astounding that anybody ever lived through that combat. Archery would have been long-distance combat, and that would not have been very far. Spears would have been just a little bit of distance, but most of that fighting was with short swords and daggers, which would have been up close and personal. When I was in boot camp many, many, many years ago, they took us out for a night exercise and just showed us an eleven-man squad. And back in those days, there were no AR-15s.

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• There were no M-16s. We just had M-1s. And you had two BARs on each end, a Browning automatic rifle. And the men in the middle, everybody had sectors of fire, cross sectors. So I remember they told us that every fifth round was a tracer. And I remember when that firing started, all you could see was a solid sheet of red, which meant you were only seeing every fifth bullet. There were four that you were not seeing. And I never will forget the thought that entered my mind: "Oh Lord, how could anybody crawl through that and live?"

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• And yet hundreds and thousands did, you know? And when you stop and think about these battles in the Bible, when some of these people in one day, twenty, thirty, fifty, sixty thousand people. And when you read about Alexander the Great and some of these men, it was nothing to kill eighty to a hundred thousand men in one day. And it was all up close and personal. So when you consider this combat in the Bible, then you understand how Saul wanted David dead, but he did not want to be the one to kill him. I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 18. 1 Samuel chapter 18, and let's begin reading there verse 17. 1 Samuel chapter 18, verse 17. Saul has promised David his daughter to be his wife, and of course he did not give his older daughter to David. But I want you to look what the Bible says in 1 Samuel chapter 17—I'm sorry, chapter 18 it is, and verse 17. Chapter 18, verse 17: "And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles.

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• For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him." In other words, Saul wanted David dead, but he said, "You know, I just want you to fight, and if you fight, I'm going to let you marry my daughter Merab." Now watch verse 18: "And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king? But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife. And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him." Now I want you to see why it pleased him. "And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain."

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• "And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law. And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David. And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired. Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law.

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• And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife." Now, the interesting thing is Saul wanted David dead, and he knew that combat was very close and personal, and he knew that probably David would fall. Therefore he'd be rid of David. The only thing Saul did not consider was God's sovereign preservation, how God protected and preserved David. David could rightly sing, and he did so, in Psalm 140 verse 7, "O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle." And certainly God did indeed cover his head. When you stop and think about God's sovereign preservation of David, when David faced Goliath, it was an absolute astounding miracle that David prevailed. Because David was a mere lad, and here he is confronting and challenging Goliath, who was not only a giant but also a warrior from his youth. Here was a trained military man, and when David fought Goliath he was fifteen or sixteen years of age. Moreover, you remember what he told Saul before he fought Goliath. He said that a bear and a lion came up and took a lamb out of his father's flock, and he said, "I caught the bear by the

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• beard and slew him, and slew the lion as well." So obviously the hand of God was on David preserving him as well. But now, out of all of David's battles, there was one very close call. If you will turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 21. 2 Samuel chapter 21, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. 2 Samuel 21, verse 15. Here's the close call for David. 2 Samuel 21, verse 15: "Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint." I don't know if it was heat exhaustion, I don't know if it was tiredness, but he was faint. Watch verse 16: "And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

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• But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel." So Ishbi-benob thought he had taken care of David, but he did not. And whoever David fought against, and wherever David fought, and whenever David fought, it was the Lord that preserved him. So when he fought against the Syrians, we read, "And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." When he fought against the Moabites, we read, "And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." When he fought against the Edomites or the Ammonites or the Philistines, you can read, "And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went." So it was precisely with this preservation in mind that David wrote 2 Samuel chapter 22. And I want you to turn there, 2 Samuel chapter 22, because this is a psalm that David has written. Now we're only going to read the first seven verses, but I would encourage you to read this entire chapter. Notice, if you would, 2 Samuel chapter 22, beginning there with verse 1: "And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of

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• the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul: And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

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• When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid; The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears." But I want you to note the words that David uses. The Lord is my rock. The Lord is my fortress. He is my shield.

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• He is my high tower. He is my refuge. You're my Saviour. You will save me from violence. All of these are places of defense. You will find that 2 Samuel chapter 22 is repeated in your Bibles as Psalm 18. So I would encourage you to read that and note, if you would, how David praises the Lord for his sovereign preservation. Now, I pointed all that out to say this, and I want you to think about this with me. Seemingly, the wicked could not destroy David. The giants could not destroy David. None of his enemies could touch him. David was almost totally destroyed—not by a Philistine, not by a giant, but by a woman. And I want you to think about this. She was not a wicked woman. She was an Israelite. She happened to be a very beautiful and married woman. Have you ever stopped to think about the men in the Bible who were basically destroyed because of a woman? Do you realize it was a woman that caused the fall and the destruction of Adam?

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• Eve said, "Here it is. Take a bite." It was a woman that caused the fall and destruction of Samson. It was a woman that provoked and caused the wickedness of Ahab. Jezebel, the Bible says, stirred him up to do evil. It was a woman that caused King Jehoram to fall as well. There are a multitude of warnings given in the Bible concerning women. Let me show you some of them.

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• Look, if you would, to Proverbs chapter 5. Not all of these necessarily are wicked women. Some are. Most are in these passages. But I want you to see it in the context. Notice, if you would, in Proverbs chapter 5, and let's begin reading there with verse 1 and just read through verse 13. In fact, I tell every young man and every old man, you ought to read Proverbs 5, 6, and 7 about every day. But notice, if you would, Proverbs 5, verse 1.

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• "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge." And now watch what he begins to say: "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil"—in other words, very enticing, very seductive, very beautiful, very delicious. But watch verse 4: "But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;

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• I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me." So here is a warning. If you will skip to chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 23. Chapter 6 and verse 23. Watch carefully. He says, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." What are these reproofs of instruction to do? Verse 24: "To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?

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• So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry; But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house. But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away. For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

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• He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts." Now one last passage: look in Proverbs 7 and skip down to verse 24. He says, "Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." So let me repeat this again: David fell to a woman, not a giant. He fell to a woman, not a Philistine warrior. So here's a question, and this is what

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• I want to point out. Since we know that God sovereignly preserved David in all of these battles, because the Scripture says so, why did God not sovereignly preserve David in the situation with Bathsheba? Now God certainly had the power to do so. You remember back in Genesis chapter 20, when Abimelech had taken Sarah, Abraham's wife, into his house, because Abraham said, "She's my sister," and even she herself said, "He's my brother." And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said, "If you touch her, you're a dead man. I'm going to kill you." And Abimelech said, "In the innocence of my hands and integrity of my heart have I done this thing." God said, "Yea, I know that thou didst it in the innocence of thy hands and integrity of thy heart.

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• Therefore I withheld thee from sinning against me." So He said, "If you don't return her to her husband, you're a dead man." And of course Abimelech certainly did so. We know God could have done that. But why? Why did God preserve David in all of these battles, and yet He did not preserve him in the situation with Bathsheba? Well, I could answer this in two ways. First of all, I would say that God's preservation of David during these battles was the fact that David was fighting the battles of the Lord. He was not just fighting for David. He was fighting for the Lord. He was fighting for the Lord's people as well, of course, as his own life in self-defense many times. So obviously David was not just simply fighting for his own lusts and his own desires. He was a warrior, and the Bible tells us that God taught David how to fight, and oftentimes God directed the battles Himself. So when God preserved David, you have to understand David was doing the will of God and honoring God in all that he did. The second answer I would give is this: God's preservation does not nullify, abrogate, destroy, or set aside our responsibilities. Now, let me explain what I mean.

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• Since David was a warrior, he had a responsibility to prepare for war. He had a responsibility to have his arrows sharp, his bow ready, his sword sharp. In other words, he had a responsibility to make sure his men had the horses, had the weapons, everything that he needed to fight. But David also had that same responsibility to make sure that he was ready to fight spiritually as well. And he had the same responsibility to make sure that he could control his own lusts and his own desires. Now, in just a moment, we're going to be looking at 2 Samuel chapter 11, and you're going to see that David totally ignored all of the warning signs, all the warning lights, and all the blaring sirens. But before I do this, let me just tell you this, and then I'm going to show you. Okay? There is absolutely no excuse for David to have committed adultery with Bathsheba. Absolutely no reason, no excuse.

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• How can I say that? Well, because David already had at least seven wives, and I don't know how many concubines. Look in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. 2 Samuel chapter 3, and let's begin reading there with verse 2. 2 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 2. Six of his wives are listed right here. Notice 2 Samuel chapter 3 and verse 2: "And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite"—she was the widow he had married—"and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; And the fifth, Shephatiah the son of Abital; And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron." Well, there's six mentioned right there. Moreover, you remember Michal was given to David; that was Saul's daughter. That's seven wives that he had right there. Now if you would turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 5. 2 Samuel chapter 5, and begin reading there with verse 13. 2 Samuel chapter 5, notice if you would please verse 13: "And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after

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• he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. And these be the names of those that were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shammua, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, Ibhar also, and Elishua, and Nepheg, and Japhia, And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet." And note, if you would, now Bathsheba would be named here. She would be number eight, because Solomon is named here. But note, if you would, all these other children, and the Bible says in verse 13 that David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem. How many wives did he have? I have no idea. How many concubines did he have? I have no idea. But the truth of the matter is this: if David had a particular physical need, he had plenty of wives and plenty of concubines. He did not need Bathsheba. Now, all through the Bible, we have been admonished over and over to watch out. That's why I titled this message, "Watch Out."

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• Let me give you just one passage. 1 Corinthians chapter 16 and verse 13, God says, "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." Now when you get to the word "watch," gregoreo is the Greek word and literally means to watch, to be cautious, to be diligent, to watch out for lest you be overtaken. It is a military term, which means literally to set out sentries or sentinels, put out guards. Do not let anyone or anything slip up on you. You watch out. You be careful. So over and over we've been commanded to watch out. In fact, those same words are in the Old Testament as well. But I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 11. And I want you to see where David failed to watch out. David failed to watch out. Look, if you would please, at verse 1, because verse 1 gives us the very first failure of David to watch out. "And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah.

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• But David tarried still at Jerusalem." Now note, if you would, "it came to pass after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle." David sent Joab and his servants; David tarried still at Jerusalem. Now David was not only king, he was also captain and leader of his people. It was his duty. It was his responsibility to be with his men. In fact, Joab had to send for David and said, "If you don't get here, then I'm going to take this city, and the city's going to be called by my name and not your name." Turn over to 2 Samuel chapter 12 and begin reading there verse 26. Now this is the same city that he's fighting against in chapter 11, verse 1. Watch at verse 26 of 2 Samuel 12: "And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name. And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it." In other words, Joab has

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• done all the fighting, and David still in Jerusalem. Joab said, "You better get out here. If you don't get out here, the city's going to fall to me. I'm going to get the honor. I'm going to get the glory, not you. It'll be called after my name." So here is David. He's in Jerusalem when he should have been fighting. He's in Jerusalem when he should have been there directing his men.

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• Let me just put it to you very plainly. The truth is that usually bad things happen to us when we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. When you become slack in your responsibilities, when you shirk your responsibilities, when you refuse to fulfill your duties and perform your obligations, you're headed for trouble in one way or the other. David had responsibilities. David had obligations. And David was a shirker in this particular instance.

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• There was no excuse for him to be in Jerusalem. He should not have been there at all. I've said it like this before; I'm going to say it again. Don't go to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things. David should not have been in Jerusalem. It was a stupid thing. It was a stupid place to be when he should have been out fighting, leading his men against the Ammonites.

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• So his first failure was he did not do what he was supposed to do. If you look in verse 2, you'll see a second failure to watch out. "And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon." Now note, if you would, "it came to pass in an eveningtide." Now, when you and I think of eveningtide, we think of dusk. We think, you know, you can see a little bit.

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• It's not quite dark, but no, no, no. Eveningtide, according to Albert Barnes and several other commentators, began at 3 p.m. So there was plenty of daylight. And it had to be daylight for him to have seen Bathsheba.

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• Now, listen to me very carefully. David was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He did not have any business being in Jerusalem. Secondly, David had erred from his regular routine. So probably here's what has happened. He's probably had a big meal. He doesn't have anything to do since Joab and all the men are out fighting. So he lies down and takes an afternoon nap. And he wakes up and he walks out to the roof of his house in the cool of the day, and he sees Bathsheba. Now, why did I say that he erred from his regular pattern? Because I'm taking the words out of David's own mouth in Psalm 55 and verse 17. Here's what he said.

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• "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." So David said he prayed at evening and morning and at noon.

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• Now, if David was following his regular routine, he should have been praying. But he wasn't. He should have been meditating, but he wasn't. And the reason he wasn't is because he shouldn't have been in Jerusalem to begin with. And since he was there, he had nothing to do but to eat and take a nap. So he's not praying. You know, I usually tell people, if you have absolutely nothing to do, come to my house.

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• I can assure you, I have plenty for you to do. But you know, if you're not going to come to my house, if you have nothing to do, how about reading your Bible? How about praying? A lot of times I'll wake up during the night. When I wake up, sometimes I can go back to sleep. Sometimes I can't go back to sleep. So I just lie there and pray. I might as well, you know, I'm not sleeping. And there have been many, many times I've literally prayed myself asleep. So I'm just simply saying, if you have nothing to do, try reading, try studying, especially the Bible, and certainly pray.

  #42 | 38:28 to 39:09 | cleaned

• So David failed because—here's a warning sign number one: he should not have been in Jerusalem. He was shirking his responsibilities. Number two: he was shirking his regular routine because he should have been praying. But here's the third warning sign in verse 2. Look at it again: "And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon." So here's the third one: he saw her.

  #43 | 39:09 to 39:43 | cleaned

• Now, where did he see her? Well, I don't know. But there was probably some garden, or she thought maybe that she was in some secretive place. In other words, she was not just out openly washing in the open, obviously. But she was in a place where she thought no one could see her, but evidently David could see her. But now look what the Bible says: "It came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing." So here's my question: Why did he continue to look? Think about this.

  #44 | 39:44 to 40:25 | cleaned

• You cannot avoid so many times a first glance. You cannot avoid a first look. But you can avoid a continued look. You can turn your head. You can close your eyes. You can walk away. And David did not do that. He continued to look. Even our Lord said that adultery begins with the eyes. What did He say? Matthew 5: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So we have to learn to control our eyes, because the eyes are just simply the channel by which a multitude of things go into our minds. I can assure you, everyone in this room has seen things that you wish you'd never seen. And the truth of the matter is, you cannot avoid sometimes that first glance or that first look, but you can avoid a continued look. So here's a good question: Why in the world would anyone look at pictures, movies, magazines, and even people that promote lust and ungodliness?

  #45 | 40:27 to 41:54 | cleaned

• You know, to me, that is absolutely insane. And Alice has heard me say this many, many times. Why in the world would you window shop if you have no money to buy? Why would I waste my time going down to the furniture store looking at that beautiful furniture there? Oh, I'd love to have it, but no, I can't buy it. Why would I waste my time looking at it? You know, and but people do that all the time. They wish and they look at things that they will never—why would you tempt yourself? Why would you tempt God? Why would you put yourself in a position to sin knowingly and willingly? I mean, David just kept on looking when he should have turned and walked away. The fourth failure to watch out is found, if you would look, in verse 3. Look what David did: "And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the

  #46 | 41:56 to 43:06 | cleaned

• daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" So let me ask you a question. If David saw this beautiful woman and got excited, why did he not send for one of his own wives or one of his concubines? He had plenty of them, that is for sure. Why must he have another? Why must he have Bathsheba? So he not only looked, he sent and inquired of the woman. When he gets word back, "Is not this the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"—the word "wife" should have been a loud warning sound for him, because he understood that she was a married woman. At that point he should have bowed out, but he did not. He knew she was

  #47 | 43:06 to 44:03 | cleaned

• a married woman, so therefore he's willingly about to violate the seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," violating the tenth commandment, "Thou shalt not covet." And he may not have grasped the fact that he's also violating the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," because he's putting his lust now ahead of God. And he's also violating the fifth commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother," because he's now about to dishonor them.

  #48 | 44:03 to 44:29 | cleaned

• And by the way, I want to show you something. He was not just simply violating these commands; he was actually despising the Word of God and despising God Himself. If you would turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12, and look if you would at verses 9 and 10, you will see that this is what God charged him with. Look what God said, 2 Samuel 12 and verse 9: "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight?"—notice a despisement of the Word of God—"thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife." So God says, "You've despised my word. You've despised my commandment. And now you've also despised me." Wow. So David is violating the seventh, the tenth, the first, and the fifth commandment as well.

  #49 | 44:29 to 45:44 | cleaned

• Now, you will notice the fifth failure to watch out is found in verse 4, if you will turn back to 2 Samuel 11. Look in verse 4: "And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house." Now, the Bible says, "He took her." The Hebrew word here is laqach, and it literally means to take hold of, to carry along, to take away, to get possession of, to capture, to seize, and to steal.

  #50 | 45:44 to 46:28 | cleaned

• So now we see he's also violating the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," because he is now stealing Uriah's wife, which is ultimately now going to lead him to violate the sixth commandment because he's going to murder Uriah to try to cover his sins. So the point I'm trying to make is this: David neglected his duties. He was slothful. He was idle. He was negligent. He fell into lust, and he violated God's law. And then he endeavored to cover up his conduct. All of these were warning sounds and signs to David. Can you imagine what went through David's mind when someone said to him, "Is not this the daughter of Eliam, and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Can you imagine? You know what he's thinking? He's got to be thinking, "I don't care if she's married. I don't care if she belongs to someone else." In other words, David is totally ignoring all of the warning sounds and all the warning signs.

  #51 | 46:30 to 47:54 | cleaned

• Let me tell you something. I do not care how loudly the sirens wail. I don't care how bright the lights flash. I don't care how loudly someone screams. If you're not going to pay any attention, nothing is going to help you. If you refuse to hear, if you refuse to heed the warning signs and sounds, nothing is going to help you. You will sin, and you will pay for that sin. Okay.

  #52 | 47:54 to 48:30 | cleaned

• David failed to watch out in five different ways. And David ended up paying for his failure.

  #53 | 48:32 to 48:42 | cleaned

• Now, let me try to make some applications, and I want you to think with me as I try to draw these together for you. Oftentimes it is not the dangerous and the difficult situations that destroy us. It is the easy, soft, and delicate things that end up capturing us and enslaving us. When we're in danger and we know that we're in danger, we're on our toes. We're aware. We're conscious. We're looking around. We know something is up. But when we think we're safe and we begin to relax,

  #54 | 48:43 to 49:24 | cleaned

• and we fail to watch out, and we fail to pay attention to the signs, that is when we're captivated. That is when we sin. That is when we're enslaved. You know what the Bible says in Amos 6 and verse 1? "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." There's never a time to let down our guard when it comes to sin. There's never a time that you and I can fail to watch out for our hearts, our thoughts, and our eyes.

  #55 | 49:26 to 49:57 | cleaned

• Let me give you another one, and I want you to think about this. Obviously, one of the ways to fight discouragement, depression, and even lust is to stay so busy that you do not have time for either. Just stop and think about this. Neglect of business, slothfulness, idleness, and the wandering eye will usually cause the downfall of the most diligent. You know, the Bible says, "The sleep of a labouring man is sweet," and "to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet." I got news for you: if you put in a full day's work and you work hard, you will be glad to come in at night and go to bed and go to sleep.

  #56 | 49:59 to 50:56 | cleaned

• You'll be thankful. But if you have nothing to do—what is it they say? An idle mind is the devil's workshop. Also idle hands. I mean, obviously that was the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah: pride, fullness of bread, and idleness. Wow. The Bible says in Proverbs 13 and verse 4, "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." You know what the sluggard is? The sluggard is the one who won't work. They're slothful, they're idle, they're lazy. They're always wishing, they're always wanting something, but they'll never have it because they're failing to work.

  #57 | 50:57 to 51:42 | cleaned

• And so the point I'm trying to make is this: if you are working, if you're doing everything that you can, you're staying busy. You're not going to be depressed. You're not going to be discouraged. You're not going to be doing things you shouldn't. You're not going to have time for it. And if you do have an abundance of time, please visit me. I can assure you I could fill your time very wisely and very efficiently. Alice and I cut up trees, carried them off, burned them this week. And I don't need a gym membership, I can assure you. There's plenty left if you're game for it. We've got plenty more to do. I'm just simply saying, you need to learn to stay busy. Here's the final one.

  #58 | 51:43 to 52:31 | cleaned

• Do not expect God to fulfill your responsibilities for you. God gave you your heart. God gave you your mind. God gave you your eyes. You are responsible to keep each one, and you're responsible to apply the principles of God's Word to your life. And when you place yourself in a situation that you should never be in to begin with, you're not only just tempting yourself, you're tempting God as well. You need to learn to stop challenging God. That's what you need to do. You're challenging God.

  #59 | 52:31 to 53:03 | cleaned

• You're saying—there's a vast difference between faith and foolishness. It's foolishness for me to jump off the Empire State Building and say, "Lord, catch me." That's not faith. That's stupidity. That's foolishness. Why would I put myself—if I loved alcohol, why would I put myself in a bar and say, "Now, Lord, protect me and keep me from drinking"? If I want to be protected and kept from drinking, I ought not to be in the bar to begin with. I'm just simply saying, you remember how Joseph acted when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him?

  #60 | 53:03 to 53:40 | cleaned

• He left his coat and ran out. Did you know the Bible in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 22, Paul is writing to Timothy, and he says, "Flee also youthful lusts." And Timothy was in his 40s. "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Years ago, there was a program that used to come on TV called Hee Haw, an old country music program. I've never really been a real fan of country music, but every now and then I saw some of that program, and I never will forget one scene. And one thing, it was supposed to have been funny, but it really wasn't funny, but it did convey the truth, and it really stuck with me.

  #61 | 53:42 to 54:39 | cleaned

• It was Grandpa Jones. You remember Grandpa Jones? He had overalls, the white beard—I mean the white mustache and all—but an old man, and he was there in his overalls, and there's a cornfield in front, and a beautiful young woman in short shorts and a mighty little tight shirt walked across in front of him, and he let out a real long wolf whistle. And someone said, "Why, Grandpa, you old man, you ought to be ashamed of yourself." And Grandpa Jones said this: "Well, you know the old saying, you're never too old to yearn." Instead of being funny, it was the truth. So I don't care if you're 20 or 40 or 60 or 80, stay out of places that will make you yearn for whatever it is, if it's wicked and wrong and ungodly and sinful. Watch out.

  #62 | 54:41 to 55:47 | cleaned

• That is exactly why David failed. He did not watch out. It was not the giant that got him. It was a beautiful woman. An Israelite. Watch out. Sin is so deceptive. If we're not on our toes, it will nail us. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We ask, Father, for Your grace and mercy, Lord, that You would indeed protect us and preserve us and keep us from sin, that we may honor and glorify Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. Any questions or comments? Yes, ma'am, raise that hand.

  #63 | 55:48 to 56:39 | cleaned

• I speak loudly. Write it down.

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• you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T21:28:38Z